A LETTER TO ROO: 33 WEEKS PREGNANT

Pictures taken at 26 weeks

Dear Roo,

Today I am 33 weeks pregnant with you.  You are the size of a honeydew melon, and a whopping 4.5 pounds!  Each week has gone by increasingly faster, and I can't believe that we're nearing the time when we finally get to meet you.  It makes me want to freeze time and also speed it up all at once.  I'm yearning to hold you in my arms, but also nervous about all the changes and responsibility of making sure you're happy and healthy.

I feel you moving all the time, and you really like to put on a show when I lie down in bed for the night.  It's then that I can see your tiny bottom move across my stomach and feel your hands and feet dart out in every direction.  I love this special time with you.  Then I tell you to quiet down and go to sleep:)

When we were watching a movie the other week, your dad reached over and tapped my belly.  You responded and gave him a high five back.  It startled him, but I know that he secretly treasured this first interaction with you.

The third trimester sluggishness has hit me hard this week.  I have a nice little waddle to my stride and carrying you up and down a flight of stairs has given me enough exercise in my opinion.

I worry that I've failed in my grand plan of writing special letters to you each week about various topics or things I've been thinking throughout this pregnancy.  It's ok, though.  There will be a few letters and the rest I'll tell you as we go.

The good news is that your room is almost complete.  Just a few more special touches I want to add this week to fill it with just the right amount of whimsy.  I hope you like it, because we worked too hard on it to change it anytime soon.  It's not too babyish, though, so it should make you smile for years to come.

When we took the pictures above, it was way back at the 26 week mark.  Just imagine how big my belly is now.  Your dad and I snuck out of Uncle Chad and Aunt Amy's house after Elle's 3rd birthday extravaganza to capture this moment as the sun was just starting to set and document the fact that I was now unmistakably pregnant.  Picking my outfit for that day, I wanted something tight with horizontal stripes so that I could show off my belly (and you) proudly.  I wanted to add some color with my bracelets, but I hate when you stack bracelets and they all clang together.  So I made this to look like a stack of bracelets.  It fastens with velcro, which makes it easy enough for even me to get on.  This was my second attempt at making one.  I hope I can teach you patience when working on new things.  Things rarely go as you plan the first, or second, or even third time around.  But projects worth doing and ideas worth learning require that extra effort, and you'll be more satisfied in the end.


As the summer slips by, so does the waiting and planning.  Soon it will give way to the first hints of fall...and the true reality of you.  You will become a part of this outside world, and I will no longer have you all to myself.  You'll always be my sidekick, though.  Of that I am sure.