27 weeks and "the baby"

Things are good here.  I have finally recovered from my long series of cold-flu-sinus infection-etc, and have my fingers crossed that things will remain healthy in the household!  The worst part during the illnesses was thinking about if I were to go into labor with a pre-existing misery like one of those.  Imagine trying to focus on birth, when you feel like absolute crap to begin with!  No thanks.

Blood pressure is good (I snagged an automatic wrist cuff from Jeff's Memaw just to do some checking on myself).  Swelling is minimal.  Body is not very achy.  Appetite is good and actually not all that much larger than normal (which just means that I eat a lot when I'm not pregnant too!).  Weight gain is still unknown.  Baby moves a lot - pretty much on my right side.  He has started to respond to prodding with kicks of his own.  Outlook and attitude pretty peachy.

I've been thinking a lot about Vicki.  We mostly just call her "the baby" or "bub."  As in, "Did you pick up bub from your mom's house?"  Or "I need to give the baby a bath and get her in bed."  Suddenly, this week, it's like, boom.  Soon there will be another baby.  Things are going to get confusing.  I also call her "sis" a lot.  My mom called both my sister and me "sis" or "sissy" very frequently.  It was just sort of a natural nickname.  Maybe she will just have to be sis.

But she is the baby.  She will always be my baby.  She will always be one day old and gorgeous.

She will always wake up in the morning chanting her mantra:  Where Mama go?  Where Mama go?  Where Mama go?  And now I'm crying thinking about her theoretical college graduation and imaginary wedding.  Oh parenthood.  Enough to reduce the most stoic among us to a blubbery mess.  This little girl shreds my heart into ribbons every day - in the best possible way.

And I know that her brother will do it too.