I am beginning to realize something very significant.
I am going to have a baby.
Not in an abstract or distant way, as it has felt for the past 7 months. No, there is a very specific baby boy who spends a large portion of the day stretching my stomach in one direction or another.
Today, he is inside my body.
In two months, he will be on the outside.
And he will be totally dependent on me and DH. Only me and DH.
Holy crap.
I spent the first trimester in complete denial. I had the sense to physically take care of myself and Bean. But there was no connection in my mind, no emotion. I often used the phrase "if I'm pregnant" in my speech, to which DH would patiently (and later, less patiently) respond with "Honey, you are pregnant." Sure, whatever.
Pregnancy started to hit home in the second trimester, when I outgrew my denial as well as my pants. I finally admitted that indeed I was growing a little baby. Cool! Hooray! But although I accepted the pregnancy in general, there was still a huge gap between my easily manageable baby bump and the screaming infants with their harried moms in the grocery store. The idea of Bean's eventual birth was beyond my comprehension.
Now that my due date (March 3) is growing closer, a somber realization is setting in. I call it THE END OF LIFE AS WE KNOW IT. DH finds this a bit dramatic. I, however, feel it entirely fitting. After nearly 12 years of couplehood, approaching 6 years of fabulously selfish marital bliss, life is no longer about just the two of us. While I'm entirely convinced that motherhood is right for me, there will be a lot of changes, a lot of sacrifices. Our main discussion at dinner will not be about what movie we want to see in the theater that evening; it will instead focus on the contents of Bean's diaper that day. As excited as I am to meet our little man, the thought of turning our lives over to this unknown person is a bit daunting. How will he fit in with us? Or more accurately, how will we fit in with him? (He definitely has his own will, that's apparent even in utero.)
Regardless of the speed of my emotional processes on the subject, it is certainly time for us to start preparing the house and our lives for the baby's grand entrance. I've been working on a to-do list.
1. Clear social calendar for the next 15+ years. (Easy! Done!)
2. Cover the house with plastic wrap to protect from baby barf.
3. Buy cute little outfits. The baby probably needs some, too.
4. Teach the dog to change diapers.
5. Learn how to use new camcorder to capture exciting firsts (he cries! he sleeps! he poops!).
6. Create email list of everyone I've ever met to send daily video updates of aforementioned exciting firsts.
7. Stop swearing like a sailor.
8. Decide what Bean's going to be when he grows up; start selecting colleges.
9. Enjoy last moments of any personal time or quality time with DH.
10. Figure out what to do to care for a newborn.
Please let me know if you think I'm forgetting anything!
5 comments:
Ha, all of that is so true! I think things set in with me around the same time that after all we went through...this little one is on his way now! I always ask DH, "What if he doesnt like me?" :) You and DH will make it all work out just fine!
Your post cracked me up as always. I remember the exact moment that it dawned on me that I was actually going to have 2 babies to take care of, it was when the nurse brought them into my room for the first time after they were born!! So you are already 8 weeks more prepared than I was! You will do just fine, Bean (and I'm still trying to get his name out of you) will love you and fit right in, and soon you won't remember what it was like without him (I think the intense sleep deprivation has something to do with that). And remember, although you've never done infant care on a routine basis, Bean has never had it done, so anything you do will seem right to him!!
You will figure it out. You'll even figure it out a little TOO MUCH. I used to follow dh around the house like a maniac trying to tell him how to do everything. You'll learn. Train dh to help and take turns (EVEN IN THE NIGHT). My sister wouldn't let her husband help her in the night "because he works" and three kids later, guess what? He still doesn't help. Even when they're all up barfing.
Once they place that gorgeous baby bean in your arms, all those motherly instincts will kick into high gear and you just sort of "get it".
p.s. I FINALLY POSTED on tww. I didn't even know we had a new thread. I need to watch that more. And I loved your NOT headless pic. Gorgeous, as I assumed you would be.
Oh my heavens - I've got 5 kids and my chest tighted when I started reading this. Your life WILL change. You will be physically, mentally, and emotionally stretched beyond anything you could imagine. And someday you'll look back and be so happy and so surprised about it. It's a wonderful journey.
Post a Comment