Readying for the baby

You know those moments when you’re sitting and trying to think of the last few days of your life, and place what happened on what day?  I am having one of those moments where when I try to think about it, the last several days just all blend together.  But there are significant highlights to mention.   The first, is the beautiful shower my Toronto girls gave me last week and was graciously hosted and gorgeously prepared by my friend Kathleen. It was an evening of cocktails, yummy food, hilarious stories of giving birth (the good, the bad, and the things that haunt my sleep), and wonderful and very useful gifts for our much anticipated arrival.  I am surrounded by wonderful women here in Toronto, and it’s reassuring that I have these incredible women to lean on for a question, or a walk, or a laugh and a cry, should I need it when our little one arrives.  Thank you ladies for a beautiful evening.

My mom was also here this weekend with one MAJOR goal... To get us ready to welcome our little guy.  With this seemingly “small” task, came with it a TO DO LIST as long as my arm. I am SO SO SO happy to tell you that we made it through all the major to dos and I can safely tell you that if this baby comes today, we’re ready.  (as ready as we’re ever going to be).   So what did we get up to??   Well, given when my mom arrived we hadn’t even been in our house for a week, there was the typical organizing and sorting and unpacking to help with.  We made so much progress on Friday night that it looked like a different place when the three of us finally sat down to eat some dinner at 9pm.   So in terms of the baby to dos, we spent the weekend making our way through the following; we bought and installed our car seat (can we talk about how weird it is to have a CAR SEAT in the back of your car for the first time knowing soon there is going to be A BABY, YOUR BABY in it?), we organized, wash and sorted all of the babies clothing, we packed a hospital bag for both me and the baby,  we washed and set up the bedding in the crib and in the basinet , we organized the change table and made sure I had all I needed, we hung pictures in the baby’s room, we shopped for any last necessities, AND we finished painting, staining and antiquing the highboy for the baby’s room! Hooray!!  Whew, what a relief!!  I wouldn’t have gotten 1/4 of that done without my mom’s help.  Thank you mom for being with us this weekend and putting so much love and energy into the final details we needed to feel ready. Knowing you have been here and have placed the baby’s things with such love makes me feel like you’re here all the time.

Sunday (father’s day) my dad arrived into Toronto to pick my mom up (bless his heart for driving all the way here on a Sunday, and father’s day no less).  He helped us sort our some furniture in the basement, make a trip to IKEA and Home Depot and also install a much needed handrail for the wall going up our stairs. Yeah!!

It’s really hard to believe we have only been here for a week. I am proud of the work we have done and have promised myself, Peter, my doctor and now my mom that I will TRY and relax now.  Peter and I need it. What isn’t done will eventually get done, but does not NEED to get done today, or tomorrow or before the weekend.  I will keep repeating it to myself until I believe it. After the last year, not making a mental to do list the moment I sit down is something I actually need to work on. You see, this is why having a baby might just be easy for me.   You can laugh. I know I am delusional.

So welcome to my official slowdown. Just in time for our official count down.  Two or so weeks away (cross your fingers that my blood pressure check today goes well).  We can’t wait to introduce our little man to all of you.

XO