The difference that four letters make

At one of our recent hospital appointments to monitor the baby's heart rate and movements, we had to spend about 2 1/2 hours hooked up to the monitors, rather than the standard 20 minutes, because I was noted to be having steady contractions and the doctors wanted to see if I was going into labor. So, we called Mario and said that we might be a little later getting home than we had anticipated. In the end, I was indeed not in labor and we went on our merry way home to continue waiting for this baby to make his grand appearance.

Shortly thereafter, however, Berni and I began to realize that quite a few people around town--neighbors, family friends- seemed to know about this seemingly inconsequential experience in the hospital, and were calling to ask for health updates about me and the baby with surprising seriousness. "We heard about the false alarm! What a scare!" "So, the doctors didn't have to induce labor?" "You are already home?! We thought that you would be kept in the hospital until the delivery!"

It all made much more sense when Maria informed us that Mario had told her, and likely everyone else, that I had been in the hospital having convulsions.

the view from here

A glimpse of our growth and of Mieres from the terrace of the family apartment:

Birds and Bees

The timing of my daily trips to the community swimming pool almost always coincides with the hour of the 5 and 6 year-old girls' swimming class. Our daily encounters in the women's locker room has led to many curious and wide-eyed stares at my belly from inquiring little girls and has given rise to more than just a couple of terribly endearing and not-so-private "Where do babies come from?" mother-daughter discussions, some of which I think "hit home" with the little girls a bit more than others. (One girl flat-out refused to believe that there was actually a baby inside of me, denying the entire explanation with a resolute shaking of her head--I think she preferred the idea of the stork bringing the babies here to Mieres from Paris, as she had been told previously.)

There is one little girl in particular, Lucia, who is especially awed by my pregnancy. I think that she has never been in such close quarters with a pregnant woman before, and she can utterly not take her eyes off of my belly as her mother shampoos and bathes her/towels her off/dresses her/combs her hair, etc. The first day that we coincided in the locker room, Lucia's mother pointed to me and said "Look, that woman has a baby inside!" Lucia responded with visible excitement, "In her backpack?" (To her credit, I did have a large, red backpack with me in which one--or two, even?--small children could likely fit, so it wasn't such an illogical question on her part.) Once her mother explained that I, in fact, have a baby growing inside of me, the little girl was absolutely awestruck. She looked at me with wide eyes as though she had been told the world's most marvelous secret--not far from the truth, I would say. A few days later, Lucia was waiting in a line of children outside of the locker room, her mom at her side, to enter the pool area for her class. I passed her in my swimming suit and towel and as soon as she saw me she shrieked with excitement and exclaimed, "Look, Mom! The lady brought her baby with her again!!" I could not help but laugh with delight. I told her, "That's right--I couldn't just leave him at home." Lucia then turned knowingly to the girls in line with her and announced with glee, "That baby is going swimming!"

An hour later, while we were showering in the locker room, Lucia approached me on the sly and whispered, "But how did your baby learn how to swim?" (She, of course, being just now in the process of learning herself.) "He just knows," I said, "He follows me." She returned to her mother to think about it and finish getting dressed before approaching me one last time, nodding knowingly, and said, "Does the baby have to wear goggles, too?"

Children are wonderful.

Right where he needs to be

We had another great appointment at the hospital this morning and are happy to report that our little one is growing just as he ought to be and moving around enough to dizzy even the experienced hand of our sweet OB/GYN with the ultrasound machine. Our baby had us all laughing with his dance. We are in the final stretch here and couldn't be more excited.

Good news

Our 35-week appointment with the obstetrician brought a good surprise and a great view of the baby. The little guy was able to turn himself around sometime since our last appointment and so we no longer have to plan on a c-section in 3 weeks, but rather will let the little one decide for himself when he is ready to come out and join us. We are thrilled. We also got a clear view of his profile on the ultrasound screen and were overjoyed to realize that he looks just like Alma did. It seems so generous of God to make it that much more visible that both of our children are here with us, even though Alma's earthly life was such a brief one. We can watch our little boy grow and know that he has a lot of his sister in him.