It has been a while, but eventually, we are now in week 40. Things always look easier and go faster when they happen to other people.
Soon after we heard the baby’s heart beat, my husband started to read a book called, "Help! Ik heb mijn vrouw zwanger gemaakt! (Help! I made my wife pregnant)". The book was highly recommended by a couple friends. The author is speaking from a male point of view and shares a guy’s feeling during the pregnancy period. Regardless of how useful or how informative it is, this book at least provides those fathers-to-be a sense of belonging.
Chapter 6 is absolutely an eye catcher – "Sex during pregnancy".
"A-ha, bingo! Now we are talking," most guys must be saying this to themselves quietly when they see this.
Page 61, ready? Ladies and gentlemen, there is nothing on that page! This must be a printing mistake. Ok, take a deep breath; let’s try pages 62 and 63. No way! There are two more blank pages.
Let me borrow one of Dutch people’s favorite sentences, "Hoe is het mogelijk? (How is that possible?)"
All right, all right, it is not that bad. It is a joke the author made to his readers, even though I wonder if guys would find it scary instead of funny.
According to my husband, the book helped him build some sympathy and understanding. Moreover, he even grew a sense of empathy in terms of feeling exhausted very often, and having a bigger appetite. I am not sure if I should appreciate his physical involvement or just laugh at it.
Since our baby is half-Dutch and half-Taiwanese, most people are interested in his appearance. Yet, I am more curious about his character. He has been an active baby since I first felt him in my belly. His energy reminds me of a series of children’s books in the Netherlands, Jip en Janneke. They are two little four-year-old Dutch kids who are involved in adorable troublemaking in almost every other page in the book.
Let me do a quick check-up to see if he has the genes to be a naughty boy.
When my husband was a primary school student, he once threw a lighter into the fire place in the living room as a science experiment. A few seconds afterwards, he heard a loud "boom". Hot air pushed the door of the fire place open and burned his eyebrows off.
When I was a primary school student, I tried to squeeze my butt in the bathroom sink and make it a mini-Jacuzzi. After a few attempts, there was a loud "bang" and I fell on the floor with my butt stuck in the sink.
Based on the history we made, we didn’t seem to be lovely angels when we were little. I had better start to prepare myself a stronger heart. If he is ever being mischievous, it must come from his heredity.
As my due date is getting closer and closer, I am becoming less and less patient. Since week 38, I have been asking myself the same question every morning, "Is he coming today?" One day, I heard a voice replying, "It is highly unlikely that he would arrive on time. Look at his parents; they are so good at being fashionably late. This baby is just following the examples he sees." I wanted to retort, but I was speechless. After all, it is true. Sigh.
There is a super cute height measurement in our baby room. Janneke is holding the stools tightly while Jip is reaching out something up high. A friend made this for us as a present. I was very happy when we finally put it on the wall. Yet, now I wonder if my heart would skip a few beats when I see my boy doing this in a few years.
Iris
