Letter to Baby #3

Dear Baby Girl,

What can I say, a number of months ago now, you took us completely by surprise when you showed up in my belly! I thought that our family might be complete with the 4 of us, but as the months of this pregnancy went by, it became clear that there was a space waiting for a sweet little one to fill it.  All of us are very excited to meet you! Morgan is convinced that you are going to look just like Mikayla, but I'm sure you're going to have a look and personality all your own, just like each of your sisters. Please don't forget that while I know you'll be hungry in the middle of the night for a while, your mommy really needs her sleep, so try your best to sleep mostly at night. We will all get along much better if Mommy isn't a zombie during the day.

I guess I should tell you a little about this pregnancy and your life in my belly. Well, my first clue that you were in there was the massive amount of heartburn that I was having. I actually had this realization while your daddy and I were out on a date at Chili's. Perhaps it was this that made me crave Chili's cajun shrimp pasta almost the entire pregnancy. Unlike when I was pregnant with your sisters, I did not lose any weight at the beginning of the pregnancy. Instead, I was almost immediately starving with you!  I guess in hind sight it is a good thing I didn't get sick with you because having your sisters to run after would have been really hard...but I was rather looking forward to losing a few pounds in the beginning! Oh well. For a long time, hamburgers sounded like the worst things in the world...until about a month ago when all of a sudden I decided that hamburgers were amazing! I have craved a number of things this pregnancy, from Togos turkey sandwiches (with avocado of course) to funnel cake. With Morgan, I would put off my cravings for a month or so before finally indulging in them. With Mikayla, I think I actually only got to eat what I was craving a few times since your daddy didn't want me to eat too badly. For you, I basically got to eat what I wanted when I wanted....I'm not sure why, but your daddy actually let me. He was really great to me this whole pregnancy. He even let me take naps and sleep in, too. One thing that was crazy this time was what I like to call "pregnancy narcolepsy." I could pass out mid sentence...even mid word. Thank goodness your daddy can work from home a lot because it allowed me to actually take a nap some of the time during the day! When Morgan started school in the fall, he even took her to school and picked her up a lot so that I could rest. It is so nice to feel like you have a partner in this...not that he can actually grow you in his belly (that is my job and I'm happy and proud to do it) but he really does help out in any way that he can. I'm now 36 weeks and 4 days along and it is almost time to meet you. I have everything all washed and ready for you whenever you decide to come along. It would be incredibly convenient if you came on Thanksgiving weekend since your Mimi, Papa, and Auntie Maddie will be here already, but if you aren't quite done baking, I completely understand. Any Friday after that would work out just fine..that way, they can make their way back up here to meet you! Oh, and if you could come out relatively easily, that would be great. Morgan's delivery was amazingly easy, but Mikayla's was a bit of a nightmare, so I'm a little scared of how this one is going to go. Either way, I am really so excited to meet you and to have you become a part of this family. I will be sad when you leave my belly because I love feeling you move around in there...and watching you move across my belly. It is the most amazing feeling and I will miss it  so much. I really do love being pregnant and I loved being pregnant with you. But it is almost time for you to take your place in our family of 5, and we're all waiting to welcome you with open arms. We love you already, with all our hearts, and can't wait to hold you.

Love,
Mommy