At nineteen weeks, I get a rare privilege: a trip to the Ob’s office without my children. They are across the river, playing with cousins under the eye of grown-up cousin-once-removed, auntie, and Great-Grandma. The doctor’s running late, so I pore through the pages of a magazine I’ve been trying to market research but haven’t…
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Hi, Baby
I wish I had a picture. But there is no way to capture it as I see it: these three beautiful children gathered around me, on the couch, lounging on my bed while we read bedtime stories, sometimes even in the middle of the kitchen. “Mommy, I want to pat the baby,” Alex says. “Nicholas,…
Read MoreHeartbeats
The doctor was running late, and the tiny waiting room teemed with children: one mother with four, a couple who’d brought only the baby, and Christian and I, with our three. While the grownups chatted, Alex fidgeted with boredom, annoyed because we weren’t reading to him. Meanwhile, Julianna discovered the babies, and would not leave…
Read MoreA Scattering of Reflections on Family and Pregnancy
Because Christian’s on vacation, and because we have a long day planned, and because I have an assignment due that isn’t ready, today I’m going to share some random thoughts on pregnancy and family. I’m in that in-between stage of pregnancy. My clothes don’t really fit anymore, but I’m not big enough for maternity. In…
Read MoreBoy, Girl, Spork?
We don’t find out the sex of our babies. I know many other people feel differently, and that’s fine, but I can’t imagine going through the third trimester with no suspenseful anticipation to offset the misery. Not to mention the misery of a spinal, which is, hands down, the worst part about a C-section. (Much…
Read MoreFirst Trimester Screening: A Motherhood Moment
Most of the parents I know eschew the first trimester screening. Before Julianna, that was me, too. I was not at any particular risk for having a child with chromosomal abnormality, and what was I going to do with the info, anyway? Besides, I knew the tests often gave false positives. After Julianna, we decided that it was…
Read MoreWhy I’m Obsessed With Sleep
When you’re pregnant, the standard question of greeting—you know, “How are you?”—takes on a whole new meaning. There’s a different inflection to it. Sometimes it’s even worded differently: “How are you feeling?” I know that people aren’t asking the polite question; they’re asking the polite question about pregnancy. In the first trimester, they’re really asking…
Read More7 Quick Takes
___1___ Alex brought home a sheet of paper this week from school. I have no idea what it was for, but it said: “In 25 years I will be 31. I would like to be a scientist and train driver. I will get married.” Go for it, boy. 🙂 ___2___ As…
Read MoreIntroducing…a blob
Christian tells me I’m incapable of keeping a secret. There’s some truth to that, I fear. As I have said before, I, like everyone in my family, am an emotional exhibitionist. So it must have given Christian some satisfaction last night about 9:30 to be the first one to make the announcement (however obliquely) on…
Read MoreAn Infertility Story, Part 4–Conclusion
For part 1, click here. For part 2, click here. For part 3, click here. Surgery recovery is ugly: me and anesthesia don’t get along. But the news is: definitely PCO; definitely mild to moderate endometriosis (now burned out and out of the equation); no blockage of the fallopian tubes or scarring. Dr. Stegman prescribes…
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Kathleen M. Basi 