Early this summer, Q and I got on a big craigslist kick. We would scour the ads for baby gear and then snag as many good bargains as we could. One of my favorite buying-frenzy memories (aside from the house with the somewhat scary woman and the pot-belly pig hiding under the covers in her bed) was the time we went to buy a universal stroller from a woman. She was pretty and young, and also extremely pregnant and grumpy. (When Q tried to negotiate with her on price, she would have none of it. I commented to him when we left, “Q, you do NOT mess with a woman who is 9 months pregnant.”) It turned out that she was VERY pregnant (her due-date was the next day), and she didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic when we heard she was so close and excitedly congratulated her. It was clear that she was ready to get the show on the road: have the baby, stop being pregnant, etc. She looked so miserable I thought she would pop right there!
 
Months later, it’s hard to believe that I’m close to where that woman was that day. I don’t think I’m particularly grumpy, but I am getting a little anxious to get things going. As nervous (still) as I may be about childbirth, the thought of meeting the baby – and not being pregnant anymore – is increasingly appealing to me. (And, as shallow as it may sound, I admit that I’m also excited about losing the belly and starting to wear/shop for “real” clothes again! There are just SO many after-Christmas sales to look forward to!)

I sometimes wonder about that woman we met that day: what she wound up having (I think she was expecting a boy, but I can’t remember) and *when.*  I also wonder, naturally, when our baby will make her appearance. As I commented to a midwife I saw yesterday (during another routine appointment), the person who someday devises a test to determine the exact onset of labor should win a Nobel Prize in Medicine! (To which the midwife replied, “I think if men were the ones who gave birth, there would already be such a test!” I hear her…)

-M

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006 at 10:50 am and is filed under 01.Pre-arrival. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.