I hold my friend and former coworker Lois entirely responsible for my pregnancy with my older son.  Lois was pregnant in the summer/fall of 1994, and I suffered pregancy/baby envy so thoroughly that year it made me go out, get married, and get pregnant myself just to forestall the sympathy pains I had from living Lois' pregnancy vicariously.  Mrs. Chicky of Chicky Chicky Baby has gotten me thinking about this all over again:  the indescribable new-baby smell, the little sighings and coos and mutterings of a brand-new little person, the incredible high brought on by a combination of long term sleep deprivation and the blatant and complete love for the new human thrust in your midst all of a sudden.

So what do you do when it's your best friend's baby and you're suffering that baby urge though your uterus remains empty? (or you haven't even got a uterus; I know dads can envy just as well as moms)  Is it really possible to truly enjoy your friend's baby without feeling pangs of envy?  Or can you simply say to yourself, "Step. Away. From. The. Baby. and no one will get hurt"?  I like to think that most of us could be supportive and loving, sparing the new mom-to-be the horror stories that everyone seems to keep in reserve for such occasions.  

What about you, Babblers?  What do you do when it's your friend with a baby and not you?  Sigh with relief?  Or wistfully look through that half-finished baby book?  Or maybe a little of both.