Happy 37 weeks to baby Jack! He is now full term and while that means a little celebratory sigh of relief, it also means that another serious life change is going to happen here anytime in the next months or so. I have a list that I’ve entitled, “things to do pre-Jack” and I’m feeling like it’s a race against the clock. Am I (are we?!) prepared for this? We’ve been asked by just about everyone we know that same question and I don’t think it can be answered, at least not by two very inexperienced-soon-to-be-parents-who-are-still-mostly-kids-themselves. I sure am more prepared than I was 7 months ago when the Doctor informed me that I was feeling so wretched because I was pregnant. I had just barely stopped taking my birth control, and had heard that it could take several months for everything to work together towards that end. We were shooting for getting pregnant several months later. I came home that day thinking about how much my life would change when the little guy or gal would be here. I was ever so grateful for the months that I would have to prepare and adjust to such a change. Can you imagine if there was no buffer zone? If you just went to to Doctor one day and he tells you, “congrats! You’re having a baby! Please pick him up at the pharmacy on the way out today.” The months and months of Doctor’s visits and pregnancy and baby books, and conversations with family and friends have made this a reality. Little Jack danger will be out of my belly and in my arms in several weeks and I think that nothing could have prepared me more for this experience more than pregnancy, for the following reasons:
one. I can not eat often enough. I just had a bowl of cereal even though it feels like I didn’t. I’ll need to eat again as soon as I’m done with this post. This gets me used to the feeding schedule of a newborn, who eats every few hours.
two. I can not pee often enough. Five minutes after I’ve used the restroom I find myself in there again. Tinckle, tinckle. This prepares me for changing of the newborn 10-15 times a day.
three. I grunt when I put on my socks or try to tie my shoes. It is impossible for me to pick up something that I’ve dropped on the floorboard of the car. For the span of several months I didn’t feel well enough to stand up for 2 minutes. This has allowed me to be gracious in receiving Garth’s help for such mundane tasks (see previous post!), and it is preparation for both of us when/if I won’t be able to do much after the baby is born.
four. All of this was new and unexpected. Such is a newborns life. Imagine going from that comforting, warm, wet, quiet place to this busied, loud, bright, and cold world. Being born is the most traumatic thing most of us ever go through.
five. I’ve slowed down my pace, have temporarily given up running and feta cheese, and have gradually learned that there will be many more things that I give up, however relatively temporary. Very shortly both my life and Garth’s life will revolve around this little one, and, being a selfish person, it’s been nice to have that middle ground where it happens slowly.
six. My body has been an incubator this past 8 months. It’s primary function has been to serve the needs of the little baby inside, and what is left over nourishes me. While my body will once again be my own within months of birth, the rest of me will function to serve the needs of the child first, and then myself.
seven. Pregnancy happens how it wants to. There is no way to plan when things happen and how. One cannot schedule morning sickness or heartburn for a convenient time. Babies also have their own little timing, and I’ve learned so far that it probably won’t be in sync with mine. There will be bananas on the floor at the exact moment that the UPS guy comes to the door.

There is one thing that as a first time pregnant lady I know that I don’t yet understand or comprehend, and that is how much I am going to adore this little one. Right now he’s sort of a stranger that has moved into my body, making some serious demands, but shortly he’ll be my sweet little boy and I won’t hardly remember what life was like before I met him. Everyone I know that has kids has told me that it’s the greatest thing in the world- and they’d better be right.

xoxo
elle (& jack)

Tags:   baby · pregnancy3 Comments