Good morning, Sunshine!

There's so much you can learn about a baby through pregnancy. Before Pregnancy (B.P) I had a serious sweet tooth. I would pass dinner and go straight for the dessert, but with the baby I'm very sensitive to sweets. I can't even eat ice-cream without grossing out afterwards. Don't get me wrong, the sweetness wouldn't stop me from eating it, but I'll be sure to be punished afterwards.

Scotch bonnet pepper is a spice my stomach can't even tolerate; so, that rules out a lot of Jamaican food at restaurants. Pizza and tomato sauce joins that list as well, leaving me with heartburn and acid reflux. But now, I'm learning that not only the baby can't handle spicy, greasy, and acidic food; I'm learning her sleep patterns. I'm officially twenty-two weeks, a little over two weeks of my halfway mark through pregnancy and the baby is big enough for me to know when she's awake and moving, or sleeping. I know where she prefers to reside, which is lower rather than high, and I know when she's most active. Right now, Baby Mills is in slumber, I think in another two hours she'll be up kicking and moving.

Everytime, I'm around Garfield and she's moving I urge him to touch my stomach to feel her soccer kicks. Although, I'm the only one to know, I feel as if he should be a part of it as much as myself. Hopefully, gaining an idea of how she is in the womb would coincide with when she's out of the womb. From what I see now, she sleeps most of the night. Hopefully that's a fair prediction.

Belly Button Blues

Again, another experience I was completely unaware of during pregnancy. My belly button had been sore since the third month of pregnancy. For some reason, I thought my belly button was linked to my child's belly button. That's a big NO. My doctor advised me that my belly button is completely my own and my daughter's has her own. The discomfort I feel is merely my ligaments stretching. That seems like the answer for everything as of late, are ligaments stretching.I doubt if they ever come back.

So, here I am last night talking to my dad on the phone and "Ouch." It felt like my belly button popped, but it didn't. I pictured my uterus pushing against my belly button. No one told me about this little tid bit of information. I wasn't even sure whether my handy dandy "What to Expect When Expecting" even mentioned anything about a sore belly button. I guess belly buttons may not be as exciting to talk about. Pregnant women have so much more to contend with like the likes of stretch marks or varicose veins. Sore belly buttons are probably a topic that are almost laughable.

But, I do know that most women's belly buttons usually pop somewhere during the second trimester. I used to look forward to this occurence, much like how I look forward to a nice round belly, but if it accompanies sore belly buttons; I may pass on that...if possible.

Homecoming Outfit

Okay, call me a cheap stake or plain thrifty; but I haven't bought anything for my baby. I know this sounds really weird being that it's my first, but I'm an extremely practical person. I figured I'll shop for any remaining items after the baby shower. However, there are certain items that still requires my keen eye such as her coming home outfit.

I fell in love with the Baby Style store and I found the perfect outfit for my sweetie. Ironically it's pink and chocolate, the colors of our wedding. Is that serendipity or what? It also has a classic look to it that will never go out of style. It kind of reminded me of the illustrations for a fairy tale book.

Bend It Like Beckham

Okay, it was one of those nights. I had a long week, full of sterile days at a sterile office job with sterile cubicles and people dressed in gray and black all around me. I needed to unwind. I needed to kick back and do nothing at all. For some reason, McDonald's and a new CD seemed like the most ideal combination.

I picked up the car from the shop and didn't entertain hanging around, not even for a nano second. I just wanted to be tucked in my fluffy pajamas, laying atop my fluffy pillowtop mattress, underneath warm layers of sheets and a blanket.

I hopped and skipped over to the CD collection. Sade and Roy Ayers was ideal. I smiled to myself thinking of my solo party. I grabbed a six piece chicken nuggets and fries, which in itself was funny considering my stance on fast food. I even forgot the name of the sauce. Was it sweet and sour?

When I started eating the nuggets at home, I had to shut my eye to the first ingredient on the sauce: High Fructose Corn Syrup. I completed the "meal" and wondered how did I ever like McDonald's. Unmoved I grabbed a candle and the stereo and washed away the stress from the week and welcomed the possibilities of the three-day weekend.

I was finally where I wanted to be from 10:00 A.M. that morning, underneath some coverings just relaxing. No agenda. No place to go. No phone calls. No guests. Just me.

Then, I felt a kick. I opened up my robe and looked and there it was. She kicked three times to remind me that I'm not alone.

I called my husband.

"You're baby just kicked. I saw it for myself."

"Really? That's good."

Knowing my husband, I knew he had a bunch of customers in front of him who didn't care about our baby and only cared about some teriyaki glazed chicken. He later told me that he was so upset he couldn't enjoy the moment with me. I reassured him there would be many more.

I tapped my stomach and hoped that she would kick, at last once for daddy. She reminded silent. She has a mind of her own.