Ma big ole belly.

Pre-pregnancy my belly and I had a love / hate relationship. It loved food and I hated my belly for that particular weakness.

This has partially changed in recent months.

My belly still loves food, perhaps more than ever, but I am now very much in love with 'ma big ole belly'.

And I'm not the only one.

For starters, Mikan can't get enough of my belly. In the past she had a number of places where she would flake out at the end of a long day of naps and eating. However, these days the second I sit down she is all over me. Her favourite place to perch is on the top of my belly but, as you can imagine, it is crazy uncomfortable. So we usually wrestle until she finds a position that suits her.

The Bean doesn't put up with this for very long. Perhaps it's the weight of a ten pound cat crowding him, or maybe he and Mikan have already started battling for territory. Whatever the reason, he usually waits about five minutes and then he starts in with the kicks and punches. Of course Mikan retaliates in kind.

She bit my belly about two minutes after the above picture was taken. I am sure she was tired of being pummeled in the chin.

For the amount of time Mikan spends trying to get close to my belly, Shin spends as much time trying to avoid it. Don't get me wrong, he loves my belly but it often seems to appear where it's not wanted.

In the kitchen while making dinner, the belly is there.

In the supermarket in front of the cart, the belly is there.

On the sidewalk on the way to the convenience store, the belly is there.

Shin is constantly asking how my belly manages to be just within range of his elbows. I certainly don't mean for it to be, but it's just so...big. When Shin isn't being bombarded by my belly he likes to watch the Bean shuffling around, practicing for his next K1 fight.

When I first started to feel the squirming in my belly, I have to be honest, it was rather freaky. Now it's a part of everyday life and Shin and I both find it fascinating. The Bean is most active after dinner when we are chilling on the sofa - his poking and shuffling around causes my belling to contort into all kids of strange shapes. Shin's favourite is when I've been resting on my side and then stand up and my belly is all lopsided and pointing out to the left or right.

Family time, love it!

There are only five more weeks left until 'B-Day' (Bean-Day / Baby-Day / Birth-Day) and recently I've been thinking that 'ma big ole belly' can't possible get any bigger. At our most recent appointment with the baby doc, the Bean weighed in at just over six pounds (about 2800 grams). In my 'professional' opinion that's him just about cooked, but the doctor says he'll gain weight right up until the end.

Making 'ma big old belly' even bigger.

Eeek!