Baby Talk

I finally managed to go and see my sister. The journey wasn't bad at all - the M25, M3 and M4 were all pretty clear for a change - and I managed not to get lost, at least until I arrived in Pangbourne. Then, not being able to remember where her house was, I had to phone for directions. But it turned out that I was only about three minutes' drive away.

Martina is very pregnant. 33 weeks to be precise. Everything seems to be progressing well - and Martina gleefully informed me that everything in the "having-a-baby week-by-week manual" has happened bang on cue. My brother-in-law seems to share my views on all these advice and self-help books - namely that if you read too much you just get confused...

We all spent an agreeable afternoon discussing the progress of her pregnancy: I got to see several ultrasound pictures at various stages - she had to have several scans because she experienced such heavy and unexplained bleeding earlier in the pregnancy - and was treated to a DVD of my nephew/niece at the age of 11 weeks. It was really amazing: he/she could be seen clearly sucking on a thumb. Awesome!

I was also able to feel the baby moving around, though he/she wasn't as active (according to my sister) as normal. It was a little weird watching my sister's bump suddenly move... and I got a bit of a shock when the baby "kicked" my sister's belly-button out!! It's all terrifically exciting, and it's now dawning on me that I'm really and truly going to be an aunt!

The down-side is that I also got the distinct impression I was being "groomed" for babysitting duties...

*gulp*

The baby is due January 10th. Prayers to St Gerard for a safe delivery would be very much appreciated!