The Lily Pad

In three days I will be checking into the hospital to start the induction process. To say that this is completely unreal to me is an understatement. My days are spent thinking about how this time next week I'll have a little baby girl in my arms. My anxiety has reached all time highs as I worry about labor, delivery, and what happens afterwards. I calm my fears by knowing that she will be in a loving home and Chris and I have gone to great lengths towork on our relationship and communication skills to ensure that we can provide the best for our new little addition. That said, I am off for a nice night of a fancy dinner (reservations required), non-alcoholic mojitos at our favorite bar*, and a nice walk downtown for coconut cake. It is our date night and I am so excited to spend it with the father of my child, the love of my life, the man who can make me smile when all I want to do is cry. Tonight anxiety takes a back seat. *To call this place a bar is a gross misrepresentatio...

I am being induced on October 24. I just bought milk that expires on October 25. I will have a baby before the milk in my refrigerator expires*. I'll let you think about that for a moment. Are you freaking out yet? I might be, but it's a good freak out. It's an awesome freak out. It's the kind of freak out that you have before something so big and exciting that your brain just can't handle the awesomeness of what is about to happen. I'm giddy. I can't think about it without smiling and fighting back tears of pure joy. I will meet our daughter in 9 days (or sooner if she deems it appropriate to grace us with her presence before then), I will hold her, look at her little face, kiss her little lips and toes and hold her closer to me than I've held anything in my life. It's absolutely amazing. Quite simply amazing. I'm terrified. Do you know what has to happen for her to get here? She has to leave my body! As in there is something inside ...

Dear Pregnancy, I love you! I love you so much that when I wake up at 11 p.m., 1:15 a.m., 2:45 a.m., 4 a.m., 6 a.m. and finally at 7 a.m. I am in awe of what my body is accomplishing. I am amazed at how many times one person can get up and pee 5 drops. Pregnancy, you are amazing. I have never in my life gotten such a work-out just trying to roll over in bed or sit up from laying down. You have pushed my limits, forcing me to exercise at all hours of the night. You are a wonderful motivator! You have even been able to transform my appearance into many things, sometimes I look like a turtle trying to roll off it's shell, sometimes I waddle like a duck, sometimes you even let me look like a pirate with planks for legs and feet! You know that I love Halloween and have given me this gift, the gift of not even looking like myself! You are so thoughtful. It is amazing what we are accomplishing together, we're nurturing and growing a new life. I know that froggydaddy is thril...

Dear Froggyhusband, Sometimes in pregnancy it's easy to overlook the daddy's role in the gestation of the baby. I haven't overlooked you. I promise. You have been so supportive and loving, more so than I ever could have imagined. I felt that as soon as my belly began to grow you would see me as a baby incubating blimp, instead you have constantly told me how beautiful I am and how much you love me. I don't know that you'll ever be able to understand how much that means to me, how absolutely fabulous it makes me feel to hear you say that and know that you mean it. I know that this hasn't been easy for you, the mood swings, the grouchiness, the late night need for candy but you have stuck through it even lying to me and saying it hasn't been that bad. You are happy to do things, happy to be there and to be a part of this process in every way that you can. You do everything in your power to make things easier for me, from holding your cheeseburger out o...