Waking Up

That slightly disoriented feeling I usually have when I wake up in the morning has been made even more surreal late in my pregnancy. By the end of the day, I feel heavy and uncomfortable. But when I first wake up, my body feels light and relaxed - so my first thought is, "why do I feel different?" (One morning last week, I even had the momentary fear that I had somehow "lost" my pregnant belly.) As I begin to wake up mentally, the baby usually seems to wake up as well. The kicking begins and I stay in bed for a while - enjoying the baby's movement, wondering if the little one is a boy or a girl, imagining what life will be like when I don't wake up to kicks, but instead to the sight and sound of our child.