YES, I'm Drinking My Damn Milk!

Since I've become pregnant I have noticed a change in many of the people in my life. But the changes have all been good ones, so I'm not complaining.

The first one was in the husband. He was always attentive before; checking if I needed anything, braving the cold to get me something I was craving, calling me to see how my day was going, all husbandy sort of things.

Since the news of Butterbean he has gotten even more so. Now when he leaves for work it's "Bye babies, I love you." When he calls me at work it's "How is your day going? Is Butterbean behaving?"

I also think Butterbean has caused my mom's sometimes harsh exterior to soften just a little. If I'm at her house and mention in passing the fact that I would kill for some chocolate, she has her shoes on and is on her way to a store before I even realize - this is very un-like my mom.

My dad has always been that way, but I notice that he hugs me for longer now. He offers to make me a steak when I'm drooling at 10 in the morning, and I often catch him staring at me with a quiet little smile on his face.

My brother doesn't act much differently except to ask how Butterbean is. But I print him out weekly updates that tell about the baby's development. I wasn't sure he paid much attention to them, but my mom says that he pores over them and then tells her all the things he thinks are cool. She said he'll all of a sudden say things like "Did you know that the baby has fingernails now?" And he gets a real kick out of the length measurements - which are crown to rump - being 15 he thinks it's funny to be measured from your head to your butt.

But, out of all the changes, I notice the ones in the boys the most. The one I'm married to, and the ones at work.

They all know me for my terrible eating habits, and were always quite vocal about them before. But now, you'd think I was eating for them. The husband never fails to ask me what I've eaten that day, and is always checking that I've taken my pre-natal vitamins. Zig and J are like food nazi's - watching how many bites I eat, shaking their heads in disapproval when I say I'm full. They've gotten into the habit now of telling me "_ more bites" depending on how much I've eaten.

J has now taken the liberty of ordering me milk if we go out to get something to eat for lunch. If one of them isn't there for lunch, he'll check with the other one once we're back in the office to see what I ate. If either one isn't satisfied they will ask what else I've got to eat in my desk.

It's so ridiculous sometimes that J will even check my milk container to make sure I'm not lying about drinking it.

At first I was exasperated, thinking "oh geez, I know how to eat - can't you leave me alone?" But now I actually find it kind of endearing, and the truth is that I've had terrible eating habits for so long that I don't even notice anymore.

And I know that they all really have Butterbean's best interest at heart, so how can I fault the (surprisingly) thoughtful boys for that?