What would I do without my pregnant friends?

Not to say that all of my friends haven't been absolutely superb through this whole thing so far. Cause you have, my friends, you have really been fantastic. On the best of days I'm a roller coaster of emotion - so much so even I can't keep up with it - and everyone has been truly understanding. Special props goes to my hubby, who I'm told bites his tongue. A lot. Love you sweetheart.

But I digress, as I often do.

One of my buddies in particular has been my rock through the past few months, eating, commiserating, and b*tching with me each work day. Yes, for those of you who know her, Clicky (aka Cheryl Clarke), has been a godsend. Unfortunately for me, (and fortunately for her, as I'm sure she would think) she is now on her maternity leave and will soon leave me behind in the land of those who don't yet know the joy of labour and birth. But I did want to say thanks to her for all the laughs and listening to my incessant moaning about this, that and whatever these past months. It was priceless as well to have someone brave their way through the months ahead and report back to me on what I had to look forward to, with a sense of humour that is uniquely hers. I wish her the best of luck in these last few days (she's due one week today!) and I really can't wait to meet the lucky girl who gets to be her daughter. Miss you, Le Clik.

Then there is my good pal Shawn, who had the decency to also brave the path for me by getting preggers ahead of me by a whole three weeks. She hasn't had the amazing luck I have with her health through the whole thing, but she never loses her Mary Sunshine attitude, and never ever fails to ask how I'm doing, God love her. The girl is so hardcore she was still doing I think five days (or some equally insane amount) of Tai Kwon Do training a week. I still think the doctor must have had to pay her to make her stop. Even now, he or she has dared to suggest she stay at home and rest, but she is having none of it. Not to say for a minute that she is putting her baby in any danger- she would never dream of it - it's just that she is such a determined, smart, young go-getter that she wouldn't want to think of herself as an old-fashioned delicate sunflower who could do nothing but rest, whilst fanning herself and sighing. She is a strong woman, hear her roar, and all that jazz. Much respect to you my Shawn, your wee Turpin is going to be something else, that's all I know.

Then there is my homegirl Sue. We go all the way back to Grade 2, and have been through about a million and a half hilarious situations, been in some kind of weird fight neither of us can remember the cause of, and somehow come to the present. She had the decency to move back to the western hemisphere recently after some time in New Zealand and I couldn't have been more pleased. It's given us a chance to renew our friendship, occasionally meet up at our respective cottages (which are 20 mins apart) and remember why we've been such good friends all these years. Unfortunately we haven't had the opportunity to spend loads of time together through our pregnancies, but she did throw a kick-@ss coed baby shower one afternoon, and it was great to see her all glowy and enjoying her pregnancy. Her emails and laments over her lack of belly have made me smile (and find another reason to be happy I am short). She is another Little Miss Hardcore and is planning on going on a canoe trip in a couple of weeks, despite the fact she is due September 23. Also, her sense of adventure made her decide against taking childbirth preparation classes (which inspired Rory and I to do the same and go the "watch a video" route). I know no matter what, she is going to be a force to be reckoned with in that delivery room. I hope the nurses are ready for the superpower that is Susan Crysler. For that matter, I hope her future son is ready! He's a very lucky soon-to-be boy indeed. I've been glad of my encounters with Sue during pregnancy as she's made me think twice about some things I wouldn't have otherwise questioned.

I also want to give a shout out to my sisters in solidarity at work here - Simrat and Heather. Simrat works in my unit and is a total cutie. She's having her second little one, so I figure she might know a little bit about this and that. We share snacks sometimes and just have some good laughs about everything. It's nice to have her so close by. Heather just fell pregnant with twins and we touch base once in a while to talk all things annoying and medical. They actually switched her last ultrasound results up with some woman who was only having one baby. So if this had been Heather's first ultrasound, it could have been much worse (she already knew it must be wrong, since she had previous proof there were two). But that poor other woman. Needless to say, an investigation is pending. Never a dull moment here at the old MacDonald Block!

What I am trying to say in this seeming endless post is that, there is something so comforting about having some friends go through the same wonderful, but really confusing journey with you. All of this is uncharted territory for most of my friends, and it really helps to have someone to talk to, even if it's just to check that you are still sane. Much, much love to my preggo girls. You are all truly unique ladies, and have each taught me something very important about what it means to be a mom, even though none of us are quite there yet.