While Waiting on a Baby

While waiting on a baby, you want to keep your house clean. No one wants to come home from the hospital with a brand new baby to dusty furniture, floors that need to be scrubbed, bathrooms that need a good disinfecting, or counters full of crumbs. If you're like us and a babysitter is going to be at your house while you're in the hospital, then you don't want to leave things in a state of disaster for that person either. So for a good three weeks or so when you're in that window of "the baby could be here any time" you spend every day making sure dust isn't accumulating, the stove top is sparkling, bathrooms are freshly cleaned and smell of lavender, and there's not a stray speck of lint lurking on the floor. 

While waiting on a baby, you want to keep your refrigerator and pantry stocked at all times. You may need to leave the house any day now and someone else will be there trying to care for your toddler, so you probably shouldn't be out of milk, eggs, or any of her favorite foods. So you buy those things and then try not to use them, because after all- tomorrow could be the day. While you're at it, you'll probably want to make sure there are things to eat for the very sweet people who volunteered to take care of your toddler... you know, at the ready at all times, for three weeks. Don't forget to keep other necessities like toilet paper, clean towels, and hand soap stocked in each of your three bathrooms at all times. You probably also wouldn't want to leave a sink full of dishes, so make sure you wash every one you use immediately. Just in case.

While waiting on a baby, you want to keep your legs shaved. Not only is someone about to be up close and personal with your whole lower half, but you're going to be in the hospital for a little bit. I don't know about other people who have given birth, but I was lucky to stand up long enough to shower much less shave my legs immediately after delivery. So if you're not shaved going in, you're going to be pretty fuzzy when you leave. You'll probably want to shave your legs every day, just in case.

While waiting on a baby, you don't want to make any serious plans. Since labor is pretty unpredictable, unless yours is scheduled for one reason or another, you hesitate to make any real plans in the days and weeks right around your due date. You don't want to schedule anything that you have to be present for, or commit to attending a big event like a wedding because who knows if you'll be able to make it. Casual social plans are one thing, but anything beyond that probably isn't a good idea. Plan to spend those weeks/weekends cleaning your house, keeping your fridge and pantry stocked, and shaving your legs.

That's what I've been doing for the past 3 weeks... and will continue to do for the foreseeable future. Waiting on a baby is possibly more exhausting than taking care of one. Looking forward to {ok, praying for} the day I can ignore the dust while cuddling a sweet tiny baby.... :)