I’ve had quite a few friends become first-time Mama’s recently, and a few who are just beginning their journey into this season of life.
I was recently texting with a friend of mine who’s due here in the next couple of weeks. A Christmas-time baby, just like my Gracelyn was! She had a couple of questions about packing for the hospital, and I shared my advice. And then I went a step further and gave her advice she hadn’t really even asked for (go figure, haha!).
After texting it all to her, I realized that’s just what I would have wanted to hear from someone who’d “been there, done that”. Just some honest-to-goodness, real-life, practical advice for how you should spend your time waiting on the impending birth of your baby.
Dear Mama-to-be…
Okay, so you’ve got allthethings taken care of. Bags are packed, the car seat is installed, the husband is packed, the nursery is set-up and organized (alphabetically and by color, of course). Seriously, everything is checked and rechecked, prepped and re-prepped.
What do you do now? You may be tempted to find something else to clean or organize, and I get that. But here’s what I really think you should do instead…
Enjoy your home – the quiet, the organized, the clean, the well-decorated.
Get some extra cuddles in with your fur babies.
Go out to eat and enjoy the luxury of being served a few more times. Put your phones away, look at each other (you and your spouse/partner), and have actual conversations with one another.
Write about your pregnancy and how you’ve felt in these last days before the arrival of your little one. Trust me, you’ll forget everything sooner than you think.
Dream about your life after baby, talk about your next life goals. Discuss all the typical, mundane topics of marriage.
Binge-watch shows together (that’s one thing we miss the most, I’d say).
Go on walks together. Go do your favorite thing/s together a few more times.
Enjoy your last days as a couple. Really think about that.
There will never again be a time when it’s just the two of you in this world. From here on out (after baby arrives), there will always be a piece of you roaming this Earth, and that evolution will only ever end when the world ends. That’s wild to me.
Whenever I stop to contemplate parenthood, I’m always in awe of the fact that our children are the only things in this entire universe that are made of the two of us. If you let yourself go that deep, you’ll realize it’s really such a miraculous thing. It almost makes me want to cry. Think about that in your last few days/weeks before baby comes.
Let yourself feel the weight of what’s about to happen in your life.
I encourage you to really appreciate your life before baby.
Go get a pedicure. Do something by yourself that you enjoy. Go shopping. Take a hike. Take the time to reflect on who you are as an individual and as a woman.
I’d even encourage you to recognize and appreciate the ease with which you are able to get things accomplished. You may not realize it right now, but the simple task of getting out and about to run errands is truly a luxury.
I’m being a bit sarcastic here, but mostly, I’m serious as a heart attack.
The amount of steps and effort (both mentally and physically) it takes to get children out of the house, into the car, out of the car, into the store, into a cart, through the store, out of the cart, out of the store, back into the car, and back into the house, should literally be considered an Olympic sport.
And that’s just the physical acts, that’s not even considering the mental prep work to get out of the house – the things you have to remember each step of the way is remarkable. Please don’t take these everyday activities for granted.
The mental load of motherhood is a very real thing. Very. Real.
Reality check
It’s all a truly amazing experience once the baby is here, but I’m not one to sugar coat things. It is a hard season of life. I think it’s important to *try* to get a grasp of what the realities of your life (after baby arrives) will be. For me, I don’t like not knowing what to expect. I guess you can call it the fear of the unknown. The thing is, it’s hard to prepare someone 100% because we’re all unique individuals. We all process change differently, and everyone’s experience is their own.
You’ll never, ever be completely prepared. No matter how many blogs you read or how many doctors you talk to. All I can tell you is that you need to slow down and really enjoy your life at this moment because it is going to get challenging.
Everyone always says “it’s so worth it”. And it is. I really believe that it is worth it. There are so many precious, funny, and beautiful moments. But it is also a hard and exhausting season of life. Please don’t take for granted your life before baby, no matter how eager and anxious you are to enter this new phase of life.
there’s no going back now…
And finally, when you find yourself in the midst of your labor in the very near future (that labor you’ve been begging for, remember?), I want you to remember that you can absolutely, totally do it!
You were made to have a baby. This baby!
I also hope you’ll begin to understand my perspective from this blog post and appreciate the ease and simplicity of your life before you arrived at the hospital (or wherever you’ve decided to have your little nugget).
Because you, my friend, are about to enter parenthood – we welcome you with open arms and tired eyes, lots of caffeine and snacks, and baby wipes in bulk (they’re the duct-tape of the parenthood toolbox – you’ll use them for juuuuust about everything. haha!).
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