An open letter to the boy

Dear baby boy,

It's time for you to come out now. Really. We mean it. There is so much for you to see out here. You think my uterus is great, and no doubt, it's sublime, but we think you'll find the outside even better. Out here we've got sheep and trees and rugby and ice cream. You haven't got any of that in there. OK, you have ice cream. But it tastes way better before it's filtered through that placenta. Trust us on this one.

Here's the thing: we moved to New Zealand so that we could do more hiking and camping and running on trails. We picked the south island because there is so much untouched wilderness to explore down here. But just as we were settling into our new jobs, finding our stride, WHAMMO! We were knocked on our butts with news you were on your way. Don't get us wrong, we were absolutely thrilled with the news! We had been hoping for you to come for almost 3 years. That was a really long time to wait. So it was great news, the best news we could have ever had. But waiting for you to get here has kind of delayed the exploration of our new home.

Which is fine, of course! The mountains aren't going anywhere. And now when we go see them, it will be even better because we can show them to you too. We really can't wait. Which brings us back to our first point: you really need to come out of there.

Other people are waiting to meet you too, people in America and the UK and here in New Zealand. You've got grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins. They've already given you heaps of gifts - you won't believe how many things you have already! Our friends B & K got you an awesome Kathmandu backpack so daddy can carry you on his back while we go hiking - we can't wait to try it out! And your grandma made you a beautiful quilt that we think you'll really like. (Please try not to pee on it.) We painted your room a nice green color, and put a tree on the wall. We hope you like green.

You're coming into a rather international family, which we think will be really cool for you. You'll be able to get passports from the UK and the US and New Zealand, just like Jason Bourne! Your friends will be super jealous. Not only will you be able to travel all over the place, when you grow up you can live and work in America, Europe, NZ, or Australia too. Not many people have those kind of options. You'll be very lucky. We hope you'll like to travel and see new things.

But maybe you'll decide that you just want to stay in Christchurch, and we're cool with that too. We'll be glad to have you nearby.

Of course, all that is a long way off. For now, you really just need to focus on one very short journey. We've got everything ready for you when you reach the other side: clothes, nappies, a place to sleep, your very own seat in the car. It's all ready and waiting for you. So as soon as you possibly can, please, please make your move. Send the hormones or punch through the sac or do whatever it is you need to do to get on your way.

So to sum up: you've been in there for 41 weeks. It's time to come out. You'll be glad you did.

We can't wait to meet you.

love,
mummy and daddy

p.s. please be gentle on your way out.