8 years. That’s how long we’ve been together. We met as children, and turned from friends to lovers to now husband and wife. You bring flowers on your way home from work. I get dolled up, and wear the same red dress and earrings that I wore the night we got engaged. The bottom of the bottle of wine was calling to me, I’m sure in the same way the swaying of my hips and flourishing from the bottom of my dress was calling to you as you watched me walk up the porch to our home. The wine speaks on behalf of my heart’s desire, and I lead you to our bedroom. I slip out of my dress, the moonlight shining through the window is painting my body in a pale, ethereal glow. You lay me down in the bed, and lay claim to your property. With fingers clasped and interlocked, you plant your flag in my soil and release the nutrients that enrich my soul. Our eyes lock as you flood my vulva with your seed.
From the moment your seed first entered me, I knew my fertile womb would meet the high standard your seed requires. Then, two pink lines appear to confirm what I already know. Tears well in my eyes, until the dam breaks. I feel so grateful and fortunate to be worthy to carry your heir. I try to muster up the words to tell you, but my emotions pour out of me and you understand implicitly, you child now rests in my womb.
The nausea I once feared, now reassures me of life being nourished by my body. My breasts that ache, remind of my body reshaping itself to house your child. I’m amazed at what my feminine body can do, yet the most dramatic changes have yet to take hold.
2 months go by in the blink of an eye, and the first hint of a bump begins to form. To say I’m obsessed is an understatement. I remember the first time I realized I popped, I came running in from bathroom as you were getting ready for work, to show you the small bump I was so proud of. You put your hand on my belly and my heart melted. I just keep rubbing and caressing my sweet little bump, hoping it’ll grow more and more but I know it just takes some time.
At 4 months, it’s become apparent to everyone who sees me that I am expecting your child. Your eyes linger on my female form, admiring how I’m reshaping myself to house your baby. I hope you’re proud of me for growing so well for you and our little miracle. The morning sickness has subsided for the most part, but in its place is the round ligament pain, caused by how quickly your baby is growing. Every symptom is a welcome acknowledgment of a healthy baby growing strong in my body.
Month 5 comes along and the pregnancy glow they always talk about is in full effect. My hair is thick and flowing, my supple breasts have swollen as they spill out of my pre-pregnancy bras. In fact none of my pre-pregnancy clothes fit anymore. You take me on a maternity clothes shopping spree, and like a kid in a candy store my eyes go wide. Trying on cute flowy maxi dresses, form fitting bodycon dresses, supportive body suits and maternity leggings. Hours and hundreds of outfits later I pick you up from the husband corral where all the other husbands were sitting and you take me home. The fun isn’t over though, I demand to do a fashion show for you. You roll your eyes but you can’t help but humor the mother of your child.
The 6th month is here, and this belly has really POPPED. I am in awe of my bump. When I catch a glimpse of how big it is, I can’t help but feel grateful for my body and to you for gracing my womb with your seed. You’re always doting on me, saying cute things like “you gotta sit on that little goose egg, baby”, while you make me a grilled cheese. I love how protective and territorial you get over me and our unborn child. The little things like coming around to open the car door and help me get up, or walking slightly in front of me so you can always lead us. I hold on to your upper arm as we walk, and I feel the strength you hold. The same strength you use to lift our family. My bump protrudes so far it’s touching your forearm as we walk. I look up at your face, so handsome and confident. Our little one kicks, in response to the stimulus of your touch. We stop for a tender moment where you hold my belly. Your hands are so strong and their size somehow manage to make my belly seem small. The kicks from our child, however, were anything but small. They have the strength of their father, that’s for sure.
7 months. The third trimester. Things are getting heavy now. I can’t believe I’ll have actual living breathing human to take care of everyday in two months. On the other hand I can’t believe I have two months left of growing this baby. The number of times I get mistaken for full term borders on offensive, but I just take it as a compliment cause I know it just means we have a strong and healthy baby growing inside me. The full term comparisons make sense when you look at the size of me, and this belly isn’t the only thing getting bigger either. My breasts have swollen two cup sizes, and my hips have widened due to my body getting itself ready to deliver our little miracle. I’m sure the weight of your baby on my pelvis doesn’t help either. My thighs have gotten stronger from carrying the weight of our child, and they have also gotten softer in the anticipation of their arrival. My body has adapted to be as warm, soft, cozy and nurturing as can be for our baby to call home. I love feeling the weight of your baby inside me, filling my womb more and more each day as they get stronger. I love being so round and plump, and I know my hormones have gone haywire, because I used to be so proud of my skinny body. Now I just want this baby and this belly to grow as they much as they need. I can’t wait to grow for two more months and see what my body can do.
8. Months. “I can’t wait to grow for two more months and see what my body can do”. I may have spoken too soon. My bump used to be so cute, and I used to think I was so big! But now I know the true meaning of having a large pregnant belly, cause this bump is no joke anymore! I’m kidding (at least half kidding) of course, because I still do love growing our child. And I would never be able to do this without you, my love. Little things like helping me get up used to be just the gentleman thing to do, but now I need help getting up every time I get to deep in the couch. I can only waddle at this point cause the size of this bump was probably not meant for someone with my frame, but you put your hand on the small of my back and guide us and let me know everything will be okay. Braxton hicks have started to become more noticeable as my body prepares for birth. It doesn’t hurt so much as it feels like a lot of pressure. We see our baby on the ultrasound every couple of weeks, and they are measuring 7.5 pounds…😅. The doctor also said the baby grows the most during the last month, so this bump is far from done growing!
We enter the final month. Our baby is getting so big, and they’re settling in to the final position before the birth. I love how my hips cradle your baby, like they were meant to do this. I can feel the baby’s head in between my pelvis, which only serves to exacerbate my already pronounced waddle, but it makes me so happy to know they’re getting ready to be born naturally. Braxton hicks contractions continue to get stronger and increase in pressure, but I know they serve to help prepare my body for the real thing. The baby’s kicks are so intense and strong now. I’ll feel a kick to my ribs that will literally take my breath away, right before I feel an arm sweep across my lower abdomen. The kicks and dances from this little one in my belly will be what I miss the most about pregnancy. It’s truly the most surreal feeling. My womb, which once was barren, now pulses and burgeons with life. Being a woman is truly a gift from God. You continue to be the most caring and loving husband, even through my mood swings and wild late night cravings, you always take care of me. I feel so blessed and honored to give you an heir, and much like this babe in my belly, my love for you grows by the day.
40 weeks. Full term. I’ve tried everything to get this baby to come naturally. Eating dates, curb-walking, bouncing on a medicine ball, but this baby just won’t budge. The doctors say that if I go past 41 weeks they’ll need to induce, especially since the baby is already measuring 9.5 pounds, but they also mentioned another method to get the baby to come naturally. I blushed when they outright said, the best way to get this baby out is the same way they got in there. Something about the semen softening and ripening my cervix, but I don’t need another excuse to lie with my baby’s daddy. So like the gentleman you are, you take me on a date. Back to the same restaurant this whole ordeal started in, wearing admittedly not the same red dress, but one that was similar and could accommodate my full term belly. Even with this nearly 10 lb baby weighing on my cervix, you still make me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. No bottle of wine was needed this time, as you take me home and lead me to our room. You peel the straps from my dress off my shoulders as it falls to the ground. The light from the moon slips through the window and puts a spotlight on my bump. My heavy breasts, so full with milk for our babe, heave up and again my belly as the tension rises. You lay down and welcome me into your strong embrace. Despite my size, I still feel like a spring flower in your arms. You help me to lower my flower to meet your firm member, and like a tulip drenched in the morning dew, I accept you inside me. Your impossibly strong arms, help keep me steadily going up and down. I put my hand on your chest and my head tilts back in ecstasy, as you plunge deeper and deeper inside me. The baby stirs as they can sense something due to my elevated heart rate, but your hands on my belly calms our child as you empty your seed in me, like you’ve done so many times. The instant your seed flushes my flower, I feel a tight constriction in my abdomen that is so intense it can only mean one thing….im in labor. With my legs still shaking from the pleasure, I shakily say to you that I think I’m in labor. You brush it off as a joke, before I grab your hand and yell emphatically “the baby is coming!” We rush to the hospital and get admitted to our birthing room. The doctor checks under the hood, and she tells me my water is yet to break but I’m in active labor and about 4-5 cm dilated. That means we’ve got a little bit of a wait but the baby will be here today or tomorrow! The contractions continue to grow stronger and are now 5 mins apart, as I feel a pool of fluids flow out of me. That must have been my water breaking. You run to grab the doctor and she performs another check. 8 cm dilated. It won’t be long now. I can feel the contractions moving the baby further and further through my birth canal. A little while goes by and these contractions are two minutes apart. The doctor goes in for a final check and says I’m at a full 10cm of dilation, and I’m to get ready to push soon. The pain of the contractions are so strong, and they have left me exhausted, but I muster up the strength I need to deliver our baby. No amount of pain was going to stop me. I focus on my breathing as I can feel the baby is fully in the birth canal. The doctor sees the first signs of the head and tells me start pushing. I bear down with all of my might just to get the tiniest bit of progress. The pain and the pressure are so intense, I’m not sure how much longer I can do this. But you put your hand on my belly and kiss my forehead head and tell me I can do this. Your faith in me gives me a second wind as I continue to push. The crown is coming to a full head as I feel the ring of fire pulse through me. With one final push and feel a massive release of pressure and hear the unmistakable scrawling of our new born son. The doctor places him on my chest as I’m bawling out tears. You rain down praise for how good I did. I’m in total bliss, my life has been given meaning cause of this child you gave me. The only thing I seek now, is to grow another one of your children.
