We're now into single digit waiting numbers

30 weeks. Going well if you ask me. We're out of the woods for a number of problems. GIII's chance of survival is now above 92% if he were to be born. And a small part of me sort of wishes that it would happen. I know, doesn't sound nice, but I'm sick of worrying. The rest of me knows that isn't something to wish for and feels guilty for even thinking of it. But, I've been a bundle of nerves (and understandably so) and honestly? It's getting tiring. Just 10 weeks till term, 9 till the scheduled C-section. I think I can wait. But it's been hard to not worry about every little thing, and harder still for me not to wish that I could breathe easily again.

Mind you, he's growing like mad. Average weight around this time is 3 pounds, and they figure he could be nearly 3 and a half. But another thing that they're freaking out about is that he's head down. Facing the wrong way (he's sticking his butt out, so he's facing my back), but head down. And for whatever reason, they take this as a sign that things might go early. GIII seems to be enjoying stretching out and sticking his butt out just below my ribs, making me look oddly lopsided. Gunther Jr. still hasn't seen him doing his acrobatics, only because he's got the attention span matching his age. If it doesn't happen right when I tell him to look, then he's not going to wait around to see.

And so the fun begins. Gunther Jr. knows his brother's in Mommy's belly, but where's his sister? (He doesn't remember Menerva Jr. I don't think he really knows he had a sister for 2 weeks. But he did want a sister, and I think because he figures he wouldn't have to share his toys.) And how did his brother get in there? (How do you answer that?) And how is he going to get out? I did tell him that a doctor is going to carefully take his brother out of a hole they'll make in my tummy (he was worried that Mommy would have a big owwie, but seemed to be calmed by the fact that he came out the same way and Mommy's fine). However, when Gunther Jr. first started asking all those questions, his Dad told him that there was a zipper... So that one was fun, trying to convince the little guy that no, Mommy did not have a zipper installed anywhere.

Ask G Jr if he's going to help with his little brother, and he's all cheerful and glad to help. I know that'll be short lived. But to hear him tell of it, he's going to teach his little brother everything from how to walk to how to ride a bike. We'll see though. A few weeks ago, a friend of mine had her little girl and we went to visit her in the hospital. Gunther Jr. was all excited to meet the new baby and was telling me on the ride there that he was going to hold her and sing songs. Mind you, when we got there, he was absolutely shocked with how small she was, and was too scared to come too close. Not like I would have let him hold her (love my boy, but I've seen what kind of damage he can do to his toys), but I crouched down to show him my friend's little girl, and Gunther Jr got all quiet.

"She's small Mommy."

"Yes honey, all babies are small. You were small like this once."

"What happened?"

"You grew up. All babies grow up. They don't stay small forever."

"Is my brother small?"

"Yes hon, and he'll get big just like you as he gets older."

"I was small?"

"Yes you were."

"Was Daddy small too?"

"Yep, when he was a baby, he was small like this too. So was Mommy."

"Wow."

I still don't think he gets the idea that he was small. He's seen pictures of himself when he was a baby (and refers to them as "Baby Gunther Jr." or "Me when I was a baby" but never as just himself), and he's seen babies before (my friend's child was the first newborn he's met). But as far as he's concerned, he's growing, but he's always been that size. Well, he can't remember that far back, so it's understandable. Boy is having a little baby around going to be a shocker for him. Aparently he's been telling all his friends at daycare about how he's going to have a new brother soon. And how his Mommy's going to have a hole cut in her tummy to get his brother out... The daycare staff think its cute, and haven't given him or us heck for that information circulating around the place. Gunther Jr. knows that when Mommy goes in to the hospital to have GIII, the doctors are going to make sure that I'm fine and not in pain (that was one of the things he's asked about). And that they're going to stitch the hole closed after so it goes away. Mind you, he doesn't seem to get that this will happen in September, cause every time I go in for a doctor's appointment or an ultrasound (so, twice a week), he asks if they're taking his brother out.

It's going to be interesting, two boys in this house... And when I get that urge to want things to be over sooner than later, I just remind myself of what's going to possibly happen when GIII's born, and how G Jr. is going to react to not being the only child anymore... Then I could cheerfully stay in this state for another year.