That's right! She's now at least 13.5 inches long (head to toe) and moving a lot! Her movement definitely corresponds to my eating habits and she seems to move more when I'm laying down, so I try to eat my last bit at least 45 minutes before bed and to get in bed at least half an hour before I want to be asleep. As for her length, she's now so long that they measure babies from this point on "from crown to rump" as opposed to "from head to toe". Now strangers and everyone I see seem to acknowledge the life in my belly. This has to be one of the best times in pregnancy -- when the mom has energy, no varicose veins and swollen ankles yet, and yet is obviously pregnant.
The hardest thing about this time for me is realizing that after 3 months or so I will never again not be a parent. There will always be a child who needs me and will rightly demand certain things from me. Also, I am plagued by wondering if I'll be "enough" -- good enough, smart enough, healthy enough, able to produce enough milk, if there will be enough money, if Ben and I will be good enough disciplinarians and role models, etc. In a sense, I am sure that I will not be "enough", and that's a good thing. This is surely where faith and trust and the church come in -- if they haven't already! Ben and I babysat two kids yesterday and I quickly realized that even together, we're not "enough" to keep them happy all day while maintaining some focus on each other. When we left, I realized that we hadn't made eye contact more than a few times because our eyes had been focused on the kids, and when we arrived at home, I immediately crashed, waking only for dinner. Wow. Where do children -- AND PARENTS! -- get all that energy?! Here's hoping that we always live in a generous and loving community like we do now!
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