Things are getting a little tougher around here. Katrena is a petite lady, and she is carrying around what looks to be an enormous baby. We're still about two months from the due date, and regular activity is already an effort for her. As everyone knows, you get tired more quickly, and your body is simply not behaving in any was you could ever imagine. There is a medicine ball suspended from the front of her, and the little man inside of it is kicking to get out all the damn time.

So if Katrena lies down, she's down there for good. She needs help getting up, sitting forward, leaning over, anything. The amazing thing is, she is petite and still pretty small from all directions but the baby-view. From behind, you can still only barely tell she's pregnant.

Tonight she was sitting on the couch, grimacing. The baby was going to town in there, she said, kicking away. She wanted me to come and feel it. I didn't need to go over there, though, because I could see the impact from across the room. Her belly was reverberating like a bass drum. The kid was hammering away, and you could see he wasn't sparing the lash.

The worst thing, of course, is the helplessness. Not only can I not help in any way, but there isn't anything Katrena can do. She looks at me with a sad expression on her face. I bring her ice cream. What else can we do?