A conversation with "buddy"

For anyone who may be wondering, I'm not losing it...and I'm not talking to myself more frequently -- I'm just talking to my son.

At any given moment, you are apt to hear me mumbling to myself -- and I'm actually talking to my little buddy. It's anything from "what's happening in there?" in response to a particularly rowdy series of kicks, twists and pokes to "I'm telling your father" when he's tormenting me by repeatedly stomping on my bladder.

Mostly, I find myself rubbing my belly and trying to comfort him when I feel like maybe all that movement is distress -- telling him "it's ok, just relax and get comfortable," or acknowledging his bumps and thumps with a "thank you" or "I know," especially when his movements are particularly well-timed, as though he's responding to something I'm saying or doing.

I've heard of people who sing to their bellies or write letters to their babies before they are born -- and I'll admit to reading a Dr. Seuss book to my belly a time or two -- ultimately I'm hoping by the time he comes out that we're a little better acquainted.