A few pregnant pauses

Charlie is already a month old now and it's enough to send a new mom reeling. One minute, you're as big as a house. The next minute, you're as big as a house, but without the convenient excuse of an additional human being in your tummy.

With both Will and Charlie, I never got to that point where I thought, "I'd do absolutely anything to get this baby out." That's supposed to happen -- some biological thing that makes you actually want to go through labor. Despite a few aches and pains, I pretty much enjoy being pregnant. A few of my favorite moments from my most recent pregnancy:

-- We were at a park about two weeks before Charlie was born. After having a picnic lunch, Will was playing on the playground equipment, most specifically the "fireman's pole" that he had recently mastered. He challenged Scott to go down the pole too. Scott did, despite the ridiculous image of a 6'2" man sliding down a 5' pole. Scott, always looking for a laugh, decided to extend the challenge to me. Will quickly came to my defense. "No. Mommy can't do that, she has a baby in her tummy," then, looking at me with his serious face, "Mommy, it's my job to keep you off the pole." Perhaps, if we hadn't seen so many Sopranos episodes featuring scenes from the "Bada Bing," that wouldn't have been so funny.

-- My friend Karen saved my life by providing me with pretty much all my maternity clothes. I loved them all, except for one shirt. It would have looked great on a woman with more height, but the gray color with sequin trims made me feel, um, well, like a circus elephant. I told Scott, "I'm that elephant that they dress up in a tutu, pop a big pink plume on her head and cart her around the ring calling, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, say hello to 'Cha Cha', isn't she pretty?'"

-- Months ago, I bought a pink maternity sundress and waited anxiously all spring for it to be warm enough to wear it. I broke it out the week Charlie was born. It did elicit some comments. My doctor said, "You're still shaving your legs! Good for you!" One fellow employee said, "Wow, can't miss you coming down the hall!" And, Scott's inevitable response: "Here's Cha Cha! Isn't she pretty?"