Dear Unborn Baby,

Ahh, here are a few things I want to remember about being pregnant.

Most of the time feeling the baby kick my butt from the inside is not really great. My babies grow up and up into my rib cage without a whole lot of "out" growth. Five times now, five, I have had a little functioning person kicking my ribs on the right side of my body. This baby does not like it when I lie down on my left side--Lorien was the same way. Some nights when I lie on my left side this baby will kick until I roll to the other side. Lorien would place her feet under my ribs and pop them out until I rolled over. This baby has only done that once but I still have seven weeks to go...

Today while I was driving around town the baby was rubbing his/her feet along my right side under my ribs. I took a few minutes to marvel at the idea of this actual person moving inside my body. There really isn't another way to describe what a baby moving inside you feels like--it feels like a person moving inside you! Those are actual feet rubbing under my ribs. This baby is thinking about ways to make him/herself more comfortable and moving to accommodate his/her comfort. Or s/he has already figured out how to impersonate a cricket...

I don't want to forget how to hard it is to move with this gigantic beach ball stuffed under the skin of my midsection. I really look forward to moving with ease when I am not pregnant but I know I will take it for granted. I will also find time to complain about daily aches and pains when I am not pregnant. I just need to remember how truly cumbersome and out of control my body is right now. I waddle like a duck and the idea of bending over to pick up any thing is preposterous. Dressing a toddler is straight up torture. So, I need to remember this and be extra grateful once I get my physical freedom back. I should also try to work out or something but I am not going to make any promises here.

I know a solid nights rest is a long ways away but I want to remember that I am not getting a solid nights rest right now--with out having to care for a new born baby. I have to flip like a pancake every couple of hours. Heart burn keeps me awake and crazy pregnancy dreams wake me up once I fall asleep. Must be prep for the late night baby care coming in seven weeks or so.

Just a few things to remember about being pregnant.

Love,

Momma

Dear Fifth Baby,

24 weeks pregnant and 32 weeks pregnant

Or maybe this letter should be just

Dear myself...

I am 33 weeks pregnant with baby #5. I am so excited that we are having another baby. The big kids are all pretty excited. Adell, naturally, does not really get what is happening but she acts excited right along with Lorien, Wyatt and Clare.

Today, Wyatt got to feel the baby kick during church. We've all been so busy and the baby seems to really whomp it up after the kids are in bed--none of the kids have really felt the baby move yet. For some reason the baby likes to kick my butt from the inside during church. Maybe s/he does not like the sitting position I have to take during sacrament meeting? Anyway, the baby was kicking me and Wyatt was sitting on my right side (where the baby does most of his/her kicks) I asked Wyatt if he wanted to feel the baby? He put his hand over the side of my big-ole-belly and a few seconds later the baby slowly drew his/her foot along the space where Wyatt has his hand. Wyatt looked up at me and we both started laughing. It was fun to share some of this "alien-movement" with him.

Like I said, the baby likes to move at night. Many nights I cannot fall asleep because the baby is kicking so much. A few nights ago I made Will wrap his arm around my right side to feel the crazy kicks. We talked about how excited we both were when we got to feel Lorien moving for the first time. We talked about the magic of a first pregnancy and how every thing is new and wonderful. Will thanked me for pulling him into this pregnancy. I get it, it is harder to feel the magic the fifth time around. Mostly, I just feel the discomfort.

That being said, I am so thankful to be feeling all of this again. I think this will be the very last baby I have. Strike that, I know this is the last baby I will birth. If there are more Anderson children who need to come to our home we are going to have to adopt them. My body is done growing and birthing babies. I love babies and it is sad to think this will be the last one I have--because they grow up despite my best efforts. But I feel very much at peace with making this the last baby I birth. I am not 100% certain what the future holds for our family and its size but I am confident in closing the "pregnancy" chapter in my life.

Just for my own memories and recollections, here are the reasons I feel like we are done having children after baby #5.

Physically, I do not want to do this any more. I was the sickest I have ever been with any of my pregnancies with this one. Even taking Unisom and B6 I would start barfing at 3:00 pm and couldn't stop. More than once I even jumped out of bed in the middle of the night to barf. It was horrible. Finally I upped my dosage and started taking the Unisom/B6 twice a day. That helped but I still felt pretty crummy.

As the pregnancy has progressed my physical ailments have worsened. My varicose veins are so, so, so painful. I do not know how my Mom did it?!? She started having varicose veins with her third pregnancy (just like me) and had seven more children with out fixing those veins! The pain from these veins is constant and I don't want to keep doing this. Also, my hips, oh my hips! With each pregnancy my hip joints have gotten weaker and weaker. At this point I am just waiting for them to give out all together leaving me in a heap some where. My right hip is the worst. By days end I am hobbling around if I can move at all. Several times Will has had to come and hold me up so I could walk back to bed. The last physical ailment I am ready to be done with is heart burn. I don't get the acid-creeping-up-my-esophagus heart burn. I get the icy-hot-poker-being-drilled-into-my-pancake-flat-stomach heart burn. It is painful and constant. Full of food or empty the space under my left rib cage is this thick line of icy-hot pain. I think this is because my belly never sticks out very far. My babies grow up, and up and up into my ribs and don't get a lot of out space. I find myself trying to stretch my belly out to make more room and take some pressure of my stomach.

My other reasons focus on my quality of parenting. I know with each child my love grows for all of my children. Seeing them grow and change is miraculous. However, I know with each child my attention is being divided again. I love all of my children--all together and individually--and I want to make sure I can make the time for each one. I know lots of large families and some have managed to give each child the attention they need and others have been less successful at attending to individuals. I don't know for sure where my quality of parenting would fall if we were to have lots more children. I do know that right now I feel comfortable with the care and attention I can give my kids. Sure, I wish I could give more but I don't feel like any one is falling through the cracks. Things are going along pretty well--despite my craziness.

Finally, I've given this a lot of spiritual thought. In all of my digging I have found lots of talks and guidance from Prophets and Apostles about families and child rearing. No one puts out a number of children families should have. They also don't come out and give specific reasons why parents should or should not have children--just that families are good and important. The best specific information I have found has been that families should not wait to have children for financial reasons. Children are a blessing and it is OK to struggle financially while you raise children. No one says you should have children if you cannot afford to feed, clothe or shelter them just that you don't need to be living in high style in order to have children. None of my reasons for being done having children have to do with finances. I think Wyatt and this baby are the only two born when we felt really financially stable, Lorien and Clare were born when we were living on a student's income (or lack there of) and Adell was born when Will was technically unemployed! No, we are not afraid to struggle financially while we have children. All of our families needs are met and it is OK if we want for luxury items.

Well Fifth Baby, or myself...I hope this letter is insightful later on. Right now it is late at night and I am pretty sure I am not making much sense. I do love you baby #5 and I am so excited to meet you in about seven weeks!

Love,

Momma

Dear Children,

I cannot tell you this great news in person yet--mostly because I do not want the world to know and you guys are really terrible secret keepers. Don't worry, you'll get better at keeping secrets right now it just isn't a strength.

I am pregnant--again! I am having trouble keeping this secret from you. Wyatt, you just asked yesterday if we could have another baby after Adell turns two. Adell turns two in just a couple of months! I said, "Sure--some time after Adell turns two, we'll have another baby." You were not satisfied with this answer. I think you took it to mean "Sure, some day in a million-billion years, we'll have another baby."

I am very sick--as usual. Every morning I drag myself out of bed, eat a bowl of cereal and then spend the next 30 minutes hoping I do not barf up my breakfast. We make lunches and snack for the day, I holler at all of you to get your shoes on, brush your hair and teeth and get ready for school. You all ignore me. Lorien and Wyatt ride their bikes to school every morning and I give Clare a ride in the van. Every morning Adell says "Let's pass the kids!" hoping she will see Lorien and Wyatt on the van ride to school. As soon as we drop Clare off Adell cries "I miss Clare!" She knows she is in for a long, boring morning with me.

Every afternoon I take a nap. I think Lorien is suspecting I am pregnant because of all these naps. Sleep is the only time I don't feel like I am going to barf and I want to sleep all the time.

The house is a mess.

We aren't eating good dinners.

I am pregnant.

Hopefully my morning sickness will not last very long this time around.

I love you all so, so, so much and I look forward to sharing this secret with you. Maybe I will tell you next month for Lorien and Wyatt's birthday. That would be fun!

Love,

Your Momma

Dear Clare,

You are just about to start Kindergarten--in less than two weeks! You are so nervous and worried about Kindergarten. I think you would be more calm about the start of school if you were starting at Orion like Lorien and Wyatt did. You would have been to the school a thousand times by now and would know exactly what to expect. However, we moved this summer and every one is starting at a brand new school. Just about every day you tell me how excited and nervous you are about Kindergarten. We spend a lot of time talking about the nervous part.

I was very excited to start Kindergarten when it was my turn to do so. But I had a big sister who was starting Kindergarten with me. I had another big sister who helped me pick out my "first day of school" outfit--complete with leg warmers and a side pony-tail. I also went to school in "The Little Red School House" it was teeny-tiny compared to the school you will start at.

Today we had registration and you were a bundle of nerves! After we filled out all of the forms and we were heading back to the car you said "I wish school was starting today!". It was the first time you were only excited about school--not nervous.

Clare, you are a kind girl with super fun ideas. I know you will make friends easily. You are also smart and excited to learn new things. I know you will love Kindergarten!

Love,

Momma

Dear Lorien,

I am not sure if we are too alike or too different. Maybe it is just because we are both strong-willed. Anyway, some times we do not get along very well. I think we both drive each other up the wall. I also think I have control issues and you have freedom issues.

What am I going to to when you turn 16--or 10?

I want you to know that I pray just about every day to understand you and to know how to show you I love you. We get along just fine most of the time but some days and times are harder than others. But I do love you very much.

You are a treasure to me.

Love,

Your Momma

Dear Adell,

So this blog is probably just going to become your baby journal because I can never seem to find your actual journal...sigh.

You are almost one! You get to have your first birthday on Thanksgiving Day this year--lucky duck. You have taken a few tentative steps between me and Daddy and can stand on your own with some confidence. You like to walk pushing a baby doll stroller.

Last week we were headed down to the car taking the usual route down the outside walkway of the apartment building. One of our neighbors has lots of plants and a pumpkin outside their door. When we pass the pumpkin you always point and squak at the pumpkin and I say "Yes, that is a pumpkin." But last week you pointed and said "Pum-pum." meaning "pumpkin"! You can also say "Up" when you want to climb up and be with me on the couch.

You love, love, love to climb up every thing and anything! You've even figured out how to climb up and into your high chair.

Love,

Momma

Dear Adell,

I cannot find your actual journal and you are doing so many fun things I just have to get them down some where!

You are almost nine months old! You took your first craws this evening. I was sitting on the couch while the big girls gave me a fashion show with all of their new school clothes. You were sitting on the living room floor a little ways away from me. You rolled onto your belly and got up on your hands and knees. After plopping one hand in front of the other you straightened your legs in a modified bear crawl. When you figured out that you could not move from that position you went back to your hands and knees. Then you tentatively put one knee forward, then a hand, then the other knee...and you were off. You only took about four or five "crawls" but you made it over to Momma! I don't think you realized exactly what you were doing to get over to me but you were trying really hard. You'll be all over the house before I know it!

For the last two weeks you have been rolling onto your belly and using your hands to push yourself backwards. This is not an ideal form of locomotion as you have no idea where you are going and often end up stuck under furniture. We've pulled you out from under the coffee table, couch, credenza and beds.

You are quite the chatter box these days. You've always babbled but your sounds are starting to take on meaning. About three weeks ago you started saying "Nu-ah, nu-ah, nu-ah." when you are hungry and want to nurse.

You always say "nnnna-nnnna" late at night when you wake up and want to nurse back to sleep. You can say "Da" and "Ma" but not always meaning Dad or Mom.

You also make a "car noise" by holding your lips loosely closed and blowing out a "brummmm" like sound. You ALWAYS make this noise when you are not happy about what is happening to you or around you. Lorien was the first to make this connection.

Just last week you started saying "Ah-da" for Adell. You usually say "Ah-da" after we play patty cake together.

A few times (three or four) you have given me and Daddy a kiss. It is wonderful! We mush up our lips and ask for a kiss--you lean in and slobber on our faces.

About two months ago (just before you turned seven months old) you started standing up when we would try to get you to put weight on your legs. Previously, you would just curl your legs up and cross your feet--refusing to stand up! Both Daddy and I wondered if you would ever get to standing up on your own two feet. Now you love to be standing!

You have the most beautiful blue eyes and clear complexion. People compliment me on your sweet looks every where we go. Your hair is growing in and when it is wet it curls like your brother, Wyatt's, did when he was a baby. Once, Wyatt's kindergarten teacher (Jenny) said you looked like the baby from the Dick and Jane books. You have always been a pudgy, round baby but in the last few weeks you've started loosing a little of that baby fat. We all still love to squeeze and pinch your soft belly rolls.

You roll your hands when you are excited, happy, tired or frustrated. You frequently pat your belly, the back of the person holding you or the surface in front of you with your open hands. You point your finger at the pictures in story books. Daddy usually reads you a story every night before bed.

You are a wonderful baby. We all love you!

Love,

Momma