First we had each other, then we had you, and then we had everything!

I’ve started picking out things for Emmy’s nursery now that we know for sure that she’s a girl. Actually, that’s a lie: I had things picked out even before we knew that she was a girl. What kind of self-respecting woman would I be if I hadn’t already decided on a color scheme and picked out the bedding before we even knew the sex? I’ve always liked brown and pink together and luckily that color scheme is all the rage these days so it’s not hard to find things that I like. Actually I’m running into the opposite problem: I’m finding too many things that I like! From clothes to bedding to strollers, it’s hard to narrow things down and just pick out the necessities when everything is just so darned cute! I’m convinced that by the time Emmy gets here, I’m going to be running around hungry and naked because I’ve spent every last penny I have to make sure she’s outfitted in bows and lace until she’s 55!

In case anyone is interested in taking a peek, I’ve started registries at both Target.com and BabiesRUs.com. My friend Casey tells me that they are both way too skimpy and I still have a lot to add to them but I don’t think I’m doing too bad so far. Pretty much everything except Emmy’s bedding is on my Target registry. When I saw the bedding from BabiesRUs, I fell in love with it so rather than settle for something from Target that I wasn’t as crazy about, I just started two different registries. It’s kind of overwhelming when I think about everything that she’s going to need. I know there are a hundred things that I’m not putting on the list, so if any of you experienced mommys out there have any suggestions for things that we simply cannot live without, leave me a comment. All advice is appreciated, seeing as how I really have no clue as to what I’m doing! Now all we have to do is start getting her room ready. With all the trouble I’m having picking out things to put on my registries, how on earth will I ever pick paint colors?!?

This week I’m realizing that there’s a method to Mother Nature’s pregnancy madness. The whole pregnancy process and all the craziness that comes with it truly does prepare you for motherhood. Let me explain: First, there are the sleepless nights. You can set your watch by my bladder each night. Exactly every 2 hours I’m going downstairs to pee. I just can’t hold it any longer than that. And when Emmy is born I’ll be waking up about every 2 hours to feed her. Coincidence? I think not! This past week or so, as Emmy’s kicks get stronger, I’m feeling her kick me every morning about 30 minutes before I want to get out of bed. I’m afraid I’ve been blessed (or cursed?) with yet another morning person in my life. She’s already just like her Daddy! And speaking of her Daddy, I’m so tired by the time I get home from work each day that I barely have enough energy to fix myself something to eat and take a shower, let alone pay any attention to my poor, neglected husband. I think this is Mother Nature’s way of preparing him to take a back seat in the attention department for the next several months while we adjust to life with Emmy.

And Tony won’t be the only one getting less attention when Emmy gets here. So will my appearance. And I think my crazy hair is trying to prepare me for the less glamorous phase I’ll be going through in a few months. My naturally curly hair has always been so easy for me to control and deal with but for the last week or so, it’s been out of control. It’s like it’s twice as thick as it used to be so it wants to stick out everywhere (which it normally does to a certain extent anyway but this is out of hand!) and I think the texture is changing, too. It’s not quite as curly as it was and I have some weird cowlick thing going on where part of it wants to go in a very unflattering direction all the time. My hair stylist warned me this might happen but I didn’t want to listen to her. Thank God I don’t look like an idiot in a baseball cap! (And too bad I can’t wear them to work!)

So it’s true what they say: You truly are a parent from the moment of conception and all this craziness I’m going through now is only preparing me to be a better Mommy to Emmy when she gets here. At least that’s what I have to keep telling myself in order to keep from pulling out all of my now-out-of-control hair!

As I was quietly sitting on the couch the other morning, I felt the absolute most awesome feeling I’ve ever felt before in my entire life: Emmy kicked me! For the last several weeks I’ve been feeling the “butterflies” in my belly, but they’re more subtle and don’t seem very deliberate. But this time was totally different, much stronger and noticeable like she was trying to get my attention or something. She kicked me 3 times right in a row in the same spot and I could just imagine her in there doing some sort of little dance move. I sat there in awe for a few seconds before I busted out bawling and then I called Tony to tell him what had just happened. He can’t wait until he can feel her kicking too. This mommy business just keeps getting more and more real to me everyday. It started with a positive pregnancy test and then we saw her on the first ultrasound and I heard her little heartbeat. Then my belly began to grow and I started to feel those first little movements and we found out that she’s a girl and now I’m feeling her move around more and more everyday. Before I know it, I’ll be looking into her precious little face and holding her in my arms. I can’t wait until I can stop dreaming about what her laugh will sound like and what color eyes she has and whether she’ll have curly hair like mine or if she’s got Tony’s cute little nose. This is the most incredible thing I’ve ever experienced in my entire life and while it hasn’t always been easy or fun so far, I know as soon as I see Emmy for the first time, all of it will have been worth it. I never knew I could love someone so much that I haven’t even met yet!

It turns out I do have maternal instincts after all: IT’S A GIRL!!! I’ve had this gut feeling (pun intended) since the moment I found out I was pregnant that I was having a little girl and it turns out, I was right! On Good Friday we went for our second ultrasound (we being myself, Tony and my parents and my sister in Phoenix via speakerphone on my cell) and there’s no mistaking that Little Miss Emmaline Elizabeth (a.k.a. Emmy) is on her way! After the ultrasound Tony said to me, “You know, they could be wrong. It could be a little boy.” To which I replied, “I hope for his sake that it’s not a boy because if it is, he’s got a very unfortunate situation going on below the belt.” Tony didn’t think that was very funny. Tony (like all men) was hoping for a little boy but now that a few days have passed, he’s excited about little Emmy. He sent me a text message yesterday morning that said “I can’t even stop thinking about Emmy for 5 minutes.” She’s already got daddy wrapped around her little finger!

When you're only 5'3", there's not a whole lot of room for baby to go in there and you end up looking like you're about 7 or 8 months pregnant instead of the 5 months that you really are. I can't imagine what I'm gonna look like by the time this kid makes its grand entrance into the world! I'm not complaining though; this is the first time in my life I don't have to suck my stomach in when I wear tight shirts (and they're all tight these days!). Bring on the baby belly!