Our Very Own Octopus

Sooooo...I am starting to believe that, despite three ultrasounds showing to the contrary, Baby Strawberry has eight arms and legs instead of the typical four. The unusual thing is that she only employs the additional four at approximately 10pm each night, and she uses them until about 3am. Part owl, part octopus...altogether a frightening glimpse into our potential sleep schedule for the first few weeks/months of her young life on earth. Can you spell, "E-X-C-I-T-E-D M-A-M-A"?! Can you then spell, "N-O S-L-E-E-P F-O-R M-E?"

The things she does "in there" are pretty funny, though, so it does delight me, and I confess that I do find myself lying awake just to enjoy her nightly Tae-Bo routines. She clearly has active fingers that I feel in my lower abdomen at times. Imagine: just like little spiders crawling around on your bladder! Our baby is going to be using scissors to cut ornate designs in cardboard within a week after birth if all this practice is any indication of her potential fine motor skills. And she regularly gives kicks to my lower right ribs, which propel her little hiney to the left, where it juts out semi-uncomfortably in a very visible lump. Her feet have started doing something new: she seems to criss-cross them and slip them off of one another in her fluid-filled nest, creating a "thud" that jolts my entire body! Propping a book on my upper tummy gives me a glimpse of what it might be like to read while on a roller coaster!

What a gift to be able to look down and see all this action happening! Harry and I find ourselves in awe each evening as we watch this miraculous little life develop.

Two weeks-ish til we meet her...