Dreaming of you

Dearest Emi,
I had a lovely dream about you last night. I went into labor, and you came out perfect and beautiful. It was such a vivid dream, I actually felt the first couple of contractions. Afterwards, we went to a family wedding - a big, grand affair - where you made your debut and naturally, everyone loved you. We had you bundled snugly in an infant carrier, and you went from table to table, sleeping peacefully as the family oohed and ahhed.

I can still see your face from my dream - soft and round with a tiny, pudgy nose and full, red lips - just like your 3D portrait. I remember marveling out loud to Grandma Jacque as we examined your outstretched arm, "Can you believe she was born brown?" And indeed, you'd emerged from the womb with a ready made tan.

The night before I'd been counting kicks, per Dr. Chan's instructions, and it was taking you longer than usual to complete the requisite 10 movements in two hours. Nearly an hour had gone by and we were still one kick short, so I called your daddy into the bedroom. "Tell Emi she has to move one more time."

"Emiko," he cooed into my belly. "This is your daddy. Be a good girl and move one more time for Mommy." He lifted his head and a few seconds later you gave me a good, swift punch - hard enough for your daddy to see my stomach move. We grinned at each other. "Works every time," Daddy said.

You spent the next few minutes rolling around in my uterus. I wondered what you were doing in there. I'd read that babies at this stage move their legs in a cycling motion in an early preparation for walking, and it made me wish I had some kind of fetal video monitor to watch you grow and move around inside me. Once again, I found myself longing to meet you.

When I woke up, you were already moving around as if to say good morning, and it made me smile.

I've been a lot hungrier the past several days. I usually eat lunch by 11:30, even when I've had breakfast, and by mid-afternoon I'm ready for a hearty snack or a second lunch. My stomach starts growling again right around the time I get home from work. Did I mention I usually eat a bowl of cereal, fruit or beef jerky in the middle of the night as well?

Your daddy and I went to Sushi Cafe for dinner Friday night. I watched enviously as he ordered a hamachi roll, while I had to settle for saba shioyaki and tempura. No sashimi for me - at least not until after you're born. Hmm...maybe we'll celebrate New Year's Eve with a dinner of all the things I haven't been able to eat while pregnant.

I've also been craving sweets. Although I'm ordinarily a savory person, I suddenly developed a sweet tooth during my first trimester, often waking in the middle of the night with a strong desire for cake. Then it was popsicles - I must've devoured five or six boxes of red, white and blue Firecrackers. Lately, it's been ice cream. I've already gone through three 1/2 pint tubs of Haagen Dazs Rocky Road, the best in my opinion because of the generous amount of almonds and marshmallow swirls.

Saturday, however, I wanted mochi ice cream in the worst way. Several weeks ago, your daddy brought home Bubbies, a gourmet mochi ice cream from Hawaii that costs $7.99 for a box of eight. Spendy, but oh so yummy! So we drove to Oto's, the Japanese grocery store, where I bought a box of Bubbies guava mochi ice cream - pure heaven.

Then last night I woke up around 4:30 a.m. wanting cake. I went so far as to go through my Jamie Oliver cookbooks in search of a quick recipe that I could whip up, but to no avail. I nudged your daddy, asking him if there was some place we could go to get 24 hour cake. Even though I reminded him that he'd yet to have to go on a midnight run to satisfy my pregnancy-induced cravings, he wasn't up for a late night drive. But bright and early this morning we went to Freeport Bakery, where I bought the last three remaining chocolate chip rugelach.