You wake up to a feeling that has become more familiar to you the further you get into your 2nd trimester. Your baby kicking.
A quick glance at the clock on the bedside table burns your eyes from the brightness but tells you it's 2.49am. Perfect. It's starting to seem as if the baby does this in the early morning just to annoy you, this is the 3rd morning you've woken up to your unborn son reminding you that he's in there.
You turn on the bedside lamp and Henry stirs slightly in his sleep beside you, but his hand remains stuck like glue to your ever-growing belly. You feel another round of kicks and are surprised that they haven't woken Henry up yet.
When the doctor let you know that you would feel more movement, you could tell Henry was a bit jealous. He was desperate to feel your son in the way that you could, and it upset him that he still hadn't felt a single kick despite trying his hardest to be ready should the baby start kicking. You offered to kick Henry so that he could know what it felt like but, unsurprisingly, he turned down your offer.
Running your hand through his hair, you can't help but feel your heart swell with love for the man lying beside you. You couldn't have asked for a better partner to start a family with. No matter what was going on or what time it was, you knew he'd drop everything if you needed him. He stirs again and his eyes begin to flutter open slightly, adjusting themselves slowly to the light coming from the lamp beside you.
When he notices you looking down at him, he smiles. "Hi there beautiful, you alright?" He shifts to get a better view of you and his hand stay resting in its spot without even moving an inch.
"You need to have a word with your son," you say, chuckling. "The little guy refuses to let me have a full night's sleep anymore."
Henry's gaze shifts from your eyes, down to where his hand rests and his smile grows even bigger. He lowers his head down so that he is just above his hand and plants a gentle kiss on your stomach before he starts to speak softly.
"Now Clark." He looks back up at you with a cheeky grin plastered on his face. He's waiting for you to tell him, as you've done many times since you found out you were having a boy, that you are not calling the baby Clark. "You've got to let your mum sleep otherwise she gets cranky and do you know what happens when mummy's cranky? She moans at daddy." He winks at you cheekily and you shake your head despite it being true.
He gives your belly another kiss and says, "How about we sing a song to help you sleep?" He knows that the only thing to calm down your son is his voice. Any spare moment Henry has, he spends it talking to your son. Whether it's about football or his day at work, the smile on his while he's talking lights up the room and fills your heart with even more love for him.
He starts to sing 'When You Wish Upon A Star' by Louis Armstrong and you slowly close your eyes, listening to him as he sings lovingly to you and your bump. You fall asleep dreaming of the family you are starting together.
