Saying hello to baby

I found out I was pregnant a year ago this week. It had been 10 days since my wedding, and I'd been half-jokingly telling my husband that maybe we should "start trying". No one around me thought I had a way with children (and I didn't either), yet I've always wanted to be a mother.

I wrote a heartfelt note to my baby on the night I discovered I was expecting:

"Hello Baby,

As I write this, on November 9th 2016, you're supposedly a tiny little speck the size of a poppy seed, and you've just made yourself cozy in my uterus. I say "supposedly" because all proof we have of your existence so far consists of salmon cravings, some dizziness, tender breasts, cramps, and 3 positive pregnancy tests. Yet, you've already managed to turn our world upside down.

Yesterday at the office, you spoke to me. I heard your faint, soft whisper, and it said "you're pregnant". I had always wondered if I would feel different, if I would have been able to tell before any test could confirm. Thank you for letting me know.

The moment I tested positive with you, I thought I was going to faint. You see, your daddy and I weren't planning for you to come this early, although we did already talk about you a lot. Daddy and I have been married for less than 2 weeks, which means that you were there, too, quietly forming our little family with us. And now here you are, making yourself known. Everything else has become unimportant in one instant.

I wish I could give you good news about the world you're being born into, but I'm afraid it's a bit of a mess at the moment. One of your 3 countries has just elected a big bully and a villain, which makes us feel both scared and queasy about the future. Yet I can't help but smile, and dream, and rejoice. A world where you exist is a world worth living in. Thank you for giving us hope."