delayed hearing

the other day my grandmother-in-law said something to me that many people have told me;

something that i already knew, 

but for some reason.... had never really heard until now. 

she said, "take care of yourself, because when you take care of yourself you are taking care of the baby"

i think that before that moment i had always interpreted that advice as "don't play soccer pregnant" or "don't get drunk while pregnant" or "don't drive angry while pregnant" and not that any and all of those things aren't true as well, but i suddenly understood it to mean more. like, "treat yourself to things because the happier you are, the happier the baby will be"

and the moment that i had that thought, i realized that it did not only apply to pregnancy but for the rest of my parenthood.  we are so very much a product of our environments, and as kids our environments are 90% our parents. i realized that the happier i was, the better it would be for my kid, both while it is in my body, but also just as much when it is out of it too. 

 here is my baby "environment" growing at a steady rate...