In utero rivalry

I committed a serious error when I posted this on my family's blog. Since (and before) then, I have been regularly bombarded with a barrage of somewhat goodnatured challenges and threats such as "Our baby's going to be bigger than yours" and "Our baby kicks more than yours" and "Our baby is going to beat yours up."

Actually the error came long before "The race is on" post. Unbeknownst to me, my gravest mistake occurred when I conceived a baby on the same day as my most competitive sister conceived her first baby. Krista is my most competitive sister, and probably the most competitive female I know. I've spent a lot of years shutting down many of her attempts to compete with me.

For those who don't know Krista, let me indulge you in an example. For family home evening, our parents occasionally treated us to ice cream cones from the ice cream counter at a nearby grocery store. Krista was a fast eater. Before we arrived home, she was often long done with her cone. As soon as the last lick of mint chocolate chip ice cream had been devoured, she'd pounce on me and say, "I'm a faster eater than you" and would likely demand payment for her genius in the form of a few licks of my cookies'n'cream cone.

The next time family home evening graced us with a trip to the ice cream counter, I would remember my "failure" from last time, and I'd devour my cone as quickly as possible, surely suffering from brain freeze and lack of enjoyment in the process. When the last bite was gone, I'd rush triumphantly to Krista to report my win, and there she'd be, carefully licking her cone, and savoring it in a very un-Krista-like way. She'd shake her head patronizingly at my empty napkin and say, "It's better to eat your ice cream slowly. I'm the going to be the last to finish of the whole family." Deflated, I would pout all the way home, without the benefit of a few victory licks from Krista's long-lasting cone. [Lest you think Krista actually won her own "slowest eater" contest, let me assure you that she didn't. Kim always held that title...how was Kim so patient? Krista didn't really care, though, as long as she beat me. Or Danielle.]

Now, babies aren't ice cream cones. But anyone that's ever been to a mother's group will know that comparison of children is inevitable! And when the babies are too young to do much that's brag-worthy, like cooing and gripping toys, mothers will still find grounds for competition on the basis of labor and delivery stories. [I am totally guilty of this...I admit it, I am irrationally proud of my labor stories. Because clearly, I had a lot to do with my body's involuntary responses.]

So, if someone can make a competition out of eating ice cream quickly (or slowly), that is NOT the best person to share a due date with. Or a delivery date. Or, at the very least, a common baby gender.

So, wish me luck. Tomorrow's my big ultrasound. In 12 hours, I'll know the extent of the competition. And since Krista's ultrasound was today (of course she was more than pleased to be first), and she's having a GIRL!, wish me luck. Cross your fingers for an XY Williams baby. Because then, maybe, Krista and I won't have to compare quite as much. That is, once I get over gloating how much faster my labor went than hers. And she gets over gloating how she gained 1/2 the weight I did. And then, maybe we'll go out to ice cream, for old time's sake. And then we'll see who wins.