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November 27, 2020


To my Rainbow Baby,


Today, I am 27 weeks pregnant! We are officially entering my favorite time of year, and already things look so different from what we usually do. Yesterday was Thanksgiving; we typically drive to Pittsburgh to have dinner with part of your Pup Pup’s family. Then I get up super early with your Grandma and shop until lunch time for all the best Black Friday deals. Then your dad and I hope in the car to go to Grandma and Grandpa Miller’s house, where we have another Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday with Grandma Miller’s family, and then we make the long trek home on Sunday just in time to go to bed for work on Monday morning. Then I spend the next day or two frantically putting up Christmas decorations so that I have the entire season to enjoy them.


This year, we are still in the midst of a pandemic, and the situation is getting much worse than it was when it started. To keep everyone safe, especially you, we decided to skip all of our travels. Your daddy and I split cooking duties with Grandma and Pup Pup; we made green bean casserole and baked corn, your Grandma made mashed potatoes and stuffing, and daddy deep fried a turkey and a duck! We had a small but delicious day, just the four of us, and then we got on Zoom to visit with Grandpa Miller’s family. Today, daddy and I stayed home, ate a smorgasbord of leftovers for the first time ever, and I leisurely started putting up Christmas decorations while watching Christmas movies on Netflix. I took breaks to do my shopping online, and for the first time ever, I’m almost finished and it’s not even December yet! It was subdued but filled with love and gratitude at your impending arrival, and although I’m sad we missed all of our family, it was nice to actually relax through the holiday for a change.


Putting up my Christmas decorations, especially my nativities, struck the cords in my heart much differently this year. I always love putting up my nativities, thinking about each piece of the Christmas story and smiling over my favorite verses as read by Linus in A Charlie Brown Christmas. I tear up thinking of the birth of our Savior, how this little baby came to earth to one day sacrifice His life for my salvation. But as I felt you fluttering in my stomach throughout the day, the journey of Mary to birth our Lord took on a whole new meaning for me. Each week, I look at my Bump app to see how you are growing and developing- Jesus experienced all those things. As we start learning about delivering a baby and caring for a newborn, I realize Mary experienced all of it as Jesus grew up in her arms- although it didn’t include epidurals and Diaper Genies! Through all of it, she knew that she was raising the Son of God! How miraculous, how scary. I know the nerves I feel about caring for you as your arrival draws near- how much more must Mary have felt knowing that her child was the Savior of the whole world! I am looking forward to celebrating Christmas next year with you in our arms, but I am cherishing this season with you in my belly, so much little one.


Right now, you are the size of a head of lettuce, measuring 14 and a half inches and weighing almost 2 pounds. We’ve reached the last week of the second trimester- my goodness, it’s flying by!! You’re breathing amniotic fluid and showing brain activities, getting smarter in addition to growing bigger. You’re also developing that baby fat that will make you extra cuddly when you are born, but right now it’s regulating your body temperature. You can also get the hiccups now, which I think I’ve felt a few times already! Your hearing is fully developed, but still muffled- that doesn’t stop me from talking to you all day long. You are incredibly active in my belly, which I thank God for every time I feel it. I pray that He continues to give me this blessing as He allows you to grow bigger and stronger, as this also gives me comfort for my anxieties. As I return to 100% virtual teaching at work, I pray that He allows this time between Thanksgiving and Christmas to be more manageable, to give me opportunities to slow down and enjoy the season, and to keep my stress levels low. I praise Him for the protection this switch will provide both of us during this ever-increasing pandemic, and I pray that He will grant me peace over everything that is happening out in the world, trusting Him to take care of those things while I take care of myself so I can take care of you. I place all these things in His hands and ask Him to do His will again this week.


I love you, little Rainbow Baby.


Love, Mommy

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