Getting Ready

I bought a baby monitor tonight. I know it doesn't exactly rank high on the 'really important and exciting things to do' scale, but it's yet another reminder that it's almost time for Brooklyn to be born. Unless my due date changes when I visit my doctor in another week and a half, I am 34 weeks and 1 day today. That means I have roughly 5 to 5 1/2 weeks of pregnancy left. This is both a thrilling and terrifying thought. Admittedly, lately the thoughts have become less terrifying and more thrilling, but it's still a lot to think about. It's been nearly exactly 1 year since we first decided to bring another child into our home, and here we are almost to complete that goal. It's been a crazy, busy, mostly satisfying year, and I can think of no better capstone than to have our daughter complete the cycle. I suppose in a way I am going to miss carrying this little girl inside my womb. I'm going to miss our daily communions, the kicks and jabs that no one else feels but me. I won't miss the swollen ankles, aching back, or morning sickness, but I will miss feeling her hiccups and her twitches, and hearing her heartbeat when I go to the doctor. At this stage, very little has been prepared for her arrival. I don't have my hospital bag lovingly packed with the essentials, I haven't laundered the first clothing that she will wear and placed in neatly in drawers. I haven't unearthed the car seat, bassinet, baby swing, and flannel receiving blankets. In some ways, being forced into a scheduled c-section by my uncooperative body is a blessing. Although I dread the thought of the actual surgery and ensuing recovery, it is nice to know exactly how much time I have to prepare. I know that barring an emergency, I have plenty of time to launder the frothy pink gowns and blankets that will be indispensable this time in two months. For now, however, I'm going to enjoy the fact that my little one is safe and snug inside my body, for at least a few more weeks.