She loved every moment of it.

I grew up with a mother (see above) who is a spokeswoman for pregnancy. Is it any wonder that I have baby fever? Mom has never had anything but glowing things to say about growing me and, four years later, my brother. Last night I gave her a ring so we could delve a little deeper:

Me: So how did you find out you were pregnant with me?

Mom: Well, back then, you had to go to the doctor to get a pregnancy test. And I think there was some waiting involved before you got the results.

Me: Oh, right! [Insert little prayer of thankfulness to the person who invented the home pregnancy test.]

Mom: We were trying, and I missed a period.

Me: How did you and Dad know you were ready to start trying?

Mom: I decided.

Me: What? Dad had no hand in it?

Mom: Well, it’s like a lot of things in our marriage—he didn’t have a strong opinion about it, and I did. I was ready. I was 29 years old. I could have had five or ten kids, and he wouldn’t have said anything.

Me: Right. Do you think that has anything to do with the fact that he comes from a big Catholic family?

Mom: Maybe.

Me: What are your best memories from being pregnant with me?

Mom: I loved it. I loved the whole thing—watching my belly grow, waiting for you to move and then sharing that with others. I was huge, and I let people feel my belly. It was a good pregnancy. I didn’t really have any unpleasant experiences, at least not that I can remember.

Me: So how big did you get, exactly? I’ve seen pictures.

Mom: I stopped paying attention after the scale passed 160. I gained 30 or 35 lbs. I didn’t care—I just ate whatever I wanted.

Me: That’s nice. [Insert little prayer for all of the poor Hollywood starlets who don’t know how to let up on a restrictive diet and exercise regime, even while pregnant.] What did you crave?

Mom: Pizza. And I started eating meat after being a vegetarian for five years.

Me: Oh, wow! Any other special memories?

Mom: Well, there was the time that I picked up a stethoscope and listened to your heartbeat. It was so cool! And then I found out it wasn’t your heartbeat at all. And then, when I was really huge, I found out that my good friend Kim was pregnant, too. That was fun!

Me: Was anything different with Sam [my little brother’s] pregnancy?

Mom: That was a good pregnancy, too. I didn’t get as big. But boy, he was so active—he used to kick so hard! For years after I had dreams about being pregnant and having the baby punch right through my stomach.

Me: Yikes!

Mom: And the smartest thing I ever did was get my tubes tied after Sam was born. I was 35. I wanted another baby so bad, but somehow—I don’t know where this wisdom came from—I knew that I didn’t want to have a teenager when I was in my fifties.

Me: That was really smart, Mom.