Baby Waiting

Its that time filled with anticipation, that last few weeks before our baby decides to arrive; I call it baby waiting.  While trying not to read too much into each little event, at the same time I want to, and so does my wife.  The baby dropping down allowing my wife to breathe a little more easily, the discomfort that she feels, the gut instincts that the baby might be here really soon.  After nine months we both are ready, ready to welcome our baby into this world and begin a new adventure as a little bit larger family.   Even the weekly doctor's visits are beginning to seem pointless at this time.  Every week its the same thing, my wife gets examined and is told, "Well, baby's healthy, everything is good, you could have the baby by breakfast or it could be another week or two."  Sometimes it would be nice to get a definitive answer, but I guess that it is simply preparation for what will come, the unknowing of events to unfold.  For a week or so there, it seemed like the baby was definitely going to be here any day.  Alas, the baby is not ready yet, not quite ready to make that next enormous step of kicking off labor.  So we wait, I with my phone on standby at all times, ready to clean up at work and head home to be with my wife.  My wife is simply walking as much as possible, eating spicy foods, and simply waiting for that first sign that labor has begun, either water breaking or the first noticeable contraction. 

It seems that baby time has taken hold and nothing else really matters at this point.  I spend most of my days waiting for that call to come if I'm not with my wife, and regardless of how much work I have to do, it will be there when I get back.  For someone like myself that likes to plan things out for the week and prepare for what is going to happen at work, I have ended up taking work one day at a time, sometimes one hour at a time just in case.  Perhaps the biggest choice I made in regards to work is to take a week off after the baby is born just to spend time at home with my wife and our newborn, bonding if you will and settling in to our new life.  If it was feasible and I could get paid to take more time off, I would, but being self employed, if the work doesn't get done, I don't get paid so a week will have to suffice.   I can't wait to hold our baby at this point, a small little human, totally dependent on us for everything.  Life will change, but I know it will be for the better.  It seems in preparation for the baby, I have done more research than I ever did for a college paper.  I have spent hours online, reading about all the different aspects of raising a healthy child.  I have read books on bringing a healthy child into this world and now that the baby is almost here, I want to read more about what I can do to ensure that it remains healthy, vibrant, and growing. 

Baby time has taken over real time.  Nothing else truly seems as important at this point as being ready for our baby.  I know some people may say that you can't put everything on hold, and I haven't, time just seems different when you are constantly waiting for a new birthday to celebrate.  I don't know if time seems to go quicker now or if it just that my mind is more pre-occupied than it ever has been before, but time disappears.  Our bags our still packed, waiting in the car, the car seat waiting to be occupied.  What else can I do to prepare?  I think everything is done.  I just vacuumed the baby's room again yesterday, brought out some of our stuffed animals from when we were younger. Looking at the baby's room, you would think a baby already lived in our house.  All I can do now is wait, wait, and wait some more.  According to the doctors, the official due date is still a week away, but we all know that the baby could come at any moment.  Its just a matter of time.  Through this waiting, my wife and I have gotten closer already, spent more quality time together, enjoying our last moments of peace a quiet (as some people put it for the next 18 years).  But whatever happens, will happen regardless of what we do to intervene.  There should be no intervention, just the birth of a baby when it is ready.  So maybe I will be a father come Monday, then again, maybe I won't.  I will just continue baby waiting for now, my phone glued to my side.