Photo courtesy of Crista Ballard Photography
Originally published in the July 2015 edition of 605 Magazine
At the time of this writing, I am a mere seven days away from meeting our new baby boy. This will be our second child, our first boy, and our first baby we were able to carry to full term. To say we are wildly excited would be a gross understatement, but as we have reached these last several days of waiting we also find ourselves … wildly bored out of our minds and beyond ready to look upon the face of our baby boy.
While I consider myself Procrastinator Extraordinaire — to the point I should probably list it on my resume under “Skills” -- preparing for this baby I have been body snatched and transformed into Patty Prepared. The nursery was done weeks ago. I planted my garden. Blankets have been folded and refolded. All baby gear has been purchased and stored and to top it off, I even started sewing. People, that’s how real it is: I’m so bored that I am sewing. I’ve sewn curtains, baby things, baby blankets, and I was just looking at a Youtube tutorial on how to make a tie for my dog.
I know what you’re thinking. And I know. I don’t even know myself anymore either.
Then, of course there is the cleaning. I feel like I have been reduced to a cleaning robot. In efforts to provide a sterile environment for a newborn, I feel like almost every moment of my day involves some sort of tidying. But, I have to to tell you, it’s the damndest thing: While I keep cleaning, these people I live with! They just keep eating. They keep wearing clothes. They keep dropping stuff on the floor. And with a gigantic baby subsiding directly in my abdominal cavity, at this point if it’s on the floor, it might as well be in Cuba because this pregnant gal can’t pick anything up. It’s almost as if nesting has become futile because the nesting efforts are constantly being undermined by a toddler, a dog, and a grown man.
Thus, in these last days, I’ve given up on the cleaning aspect. My mother arrives tomorrow and I will more than appreciate the extra hands and able body as my body in this state of pregnancy — well, it is just not able. So instead of cleaning, sewing, and all the other insane things I have found myself doing to pass the time these last few weeks, I have taken to just soaking up these precious moments with my daughter.
We only have seven days left together just her and I during the day so I want to truly make the most of our time. We have spent long days at the park and pool and yesterday we spent a long rainy day inside baking. Foolishly thinking baking is a good idea with a fervently independent toddler, I had grand notions of several dozen cookies and a fresh baked cake awaiting my mother when she arrived. Instead, I found my kitchen looking like a scene out of Twister with only one dozen edible cookies, a broken bowl on the floor, a scared dog cowering in the corner because of the commotion, and a half eaten cake. Sorry, Mom.
But in the end, there was my daughter: Standing on her stool wearing an apron, silly happy with chocolate smeared all over her face and extremities shouting “I can’t wait to show Daddy cookies!” This is it, I thought to myself. These are the moments I’m going to remember forever.
Much like my toddler, I don’t do very well with boredom. But, I could not be more thankful for these 40 weeks of grueling high-risk pregnancy. For what feels like eternity, I have prayed, hoped, and begged for a full term pregnancy and now to be so close to the finish line and to still have time to sneak in priceless memories is more than I could have ever asked for.
As long as it feels, it is obvious God knew what he was doing when he made pregnancy 40 weeks long (don’t stone me for saying so). Not only is it the perfect amount of time for a baby to be perfectly grown, but it’s also the ideal timeframe for all of us to get our heads wrapped around the fact that we are physically bringing a baby into the world. Wild.
So, while you’re reading this and you’re making your Fourth of July plans or scheming your epic road trip to some epic adventure, think of me dear friend and any other expectant mother. Drop us a line. Because we’ll just be here; holding it down on the prairie trying to stave off anxious boredom while doing our part to populate the earth. Now, back to waiting … Seven more days …
Originally published in the July 2015 edition of 605 Magazine
At the time of this writing, I am a mere seven days away from meeting our new baby boy. This will be our second child, our first boy, and our first baby we were able to carry to full term. To say we are wildly excited would be a gross understatement, but as we have reached these last several days of waiting we also find ourselves … wildly bored out of our minds and beyond ready to look upon the face of our baby boy.
While I consider myself Procrastinator Extraordinaire — to the point I should probably list it on my resume under “Skills” -- preparing for this baby I have been body snatched and transformed into Patty Prepared. The nursery was done weeks ago. I planted my garden. Blankets have been folded and refolded. All baby gear has been purchased and stored and to top it off, I even started sewing. People, that’s how real it is: I’m so bored that I am sewing. I’ve sewn curtains, baby things, baby blankets, and I was just looking at a Youtube tutorial on how to make a tie for my dog.
I know what you’re thinking. And I know. I don’t even know myself anymore either.
Then, of course there is the cleaning. I feel like I have been reduced to a cleaning robot. In efforts to provide a sterile environment for a newborn, I feel like almost every moment of my day involves some sort of tidying. But, I have to to tell you, it’s the damndest thing: While I keep cleaning, these people I live with! They just keep eating. They keep wearing clothes. They keep dropping stuff on the floor. And with a gigantic baby subsiding directly in my abdominal cavity, at this point if it’s on the floor, it might as well be in Cuba because this pregnant gal can’t pick anything up. It’s almost as if nesting has become futile because the nesting efforts are constantly being undermined by a toddler, a dog, and a grown man.
Thus, in these last days, I’ve given up on the cleaning aspect. My mother arrives tomorrow and I will more than appreciate the extra hands and able body as my body in this state of pregnancy — well, it is just not able. So instead of cleaning, sewing, and all the other insane things I have found myself doing to pass the time these last few weeks, I have taken to just soaking up these precious moments with my daughter.
We only have seven days left together just her and I during the day so I want to truly make the most of our time. We have spent long days at the park and pool and yesterday we spent a long rainy day inside baking. Foolishly thinking baking is a good idea with a fervently independent toddler, I had grand notions of several dozen cookies and a fresh baked cake awaiting my mother when she arrived. Instead, I found my kitchen looking like a scene out of Twister with only one dozen edible cookies, a broken bowl on the floor, a scared dog cowering in the corner because of the commotion, and a half eaten cake. Sorry, Mom.
But in the end, there was my daughter: Standing on her stool wearing an apron, silly happy with chocolate smeared all over her face and extremities shouting “I can’t wait to show Daddy cookies!” This is it, I thought to myself. These are the moments I’m going to remember forever.
Much like my toddler, I don’t do very well with boredom. But, I could not be more thankful for these 40 weeks of grueling high-risk pregnancy. For what feels like eternity, I have prayed, hoped, and begged for a full term pregnancy and now to be so close to the finish line and to still have time to sneak in priceless memories is more than I could have ever asked for.
As long as it feels, it is obvious God knew what he was doing when he made pregnancy 40 weeks long (don’t stone me for saying so). Not only is it the perfect amount of time for a baby to be perfectly grown, but it’s also the ideal timeframe for all of us to get our heads wrapped around the fact that we are physically bringing a baby into the world. Wild.
So, while you’re reading this and you’re making your Fourth of July plans or scheming your epic road trip to some epic adventure, think of me dear friend and any other expectant mother. Drop us a line. Because we’ll just be here; holding it down on the prairie trying to stave off anxious boredom while doing our part to populate the earth. Now, back to waiting … Seven more days …
RSS Feed
