Saturday, July 12, 2008

Ready?

Less than one month until my due date, and people keep asking me "are you ready?" This is often followed or preceded by "are you sure its a full month until your due date?" or a sympathetic "this heat must be really uncomfortable." (By the way, the answer to both of these questions is yes).
Asking if you're ready to have a baby is a pretty loaded question - is this a reference to the material sense of having all the baby "stuff", am I packed for the hospital, are we mentally prepared to be parents, do I have a birth plan, did we pick a pediatrician, do we have names picked out, is everything at work wrapped up and under control or any of the other numerous items that one can do to be "ready". While most of the aforementioned is done, it was only a few days ago that I realized that mentally, I'm ready to have the baby. Not that the Bean should come out undercooked by a month, but if the baby came today, I'd be confident in my ability to be a good mother. Of course, I was pretty confident about this when we decided we were ready to give this try, but nine months of pregnancy can lead to second guessing, and a bit of trepidation when things move from theoretical to impending...
I know what kind of parent I want to be and while I don't know all the ins and outs of what "to do", its seems pretty clear that either I'll figure it out, or ask friends and family. Of course, there is still some anxiety about all the newness, and being responsible for the well being of another human (none of which my husband seems to have) but I'm ready for the little one to be on the outside.

2 comments:

Liza's Pages said...

You're going to be a GREAT mother, I can tell.

casemnor said...

It'll be everyting and nothing like you expect it will be. Regardless, at the end of the day, you're the mum and you'll figure it all out as you go. And given the adoration you receive from the audience (the baby), you'll feel like you've just come up with something profound like the solution to ending world hunger.

So excited for you!