I can’t tell you how many times I have heard this since we’ve been pregnant! A lot of people have “warned” me of the changes to come. I think of it often myself as well. Will I be able to do this with a baby? Will I no longer be able to…shower? What will car trips be like? Grocery shopping? Cooking dinner? Sleeping in?!? I’m not totally sure what to expect about just how much my life will change.
Thankfully, and I say this with true thankfulness, Kyle and I have gotten to experience a great part of our life together before starting a family. We always thought we would have kids sooner than this (we used to say “three years” and kept saying that every year). But since both of us are such super-planners and super-analyzers, we decided to wait until the “perfect” time.
Our due date happens to be exactly one week after our five-year wedding anniversary. In these years, we have had the time to accomplish many of our goals together. I started a business, Kyle got his master’s degree, we’ve lead the Young Marrieds ministry at our church, we’ve lived in another country, and we’ve seen much of the world. We have really enjoyed the life that God has given us as a married couple.
We are now ready for the next stage. We’re ready to teach someone else what we’ve learned, show someone else where we’ve been, and most importantly, teach someone else about the great God who has saved us.
Of course you can ask me again when I’m totally sleep deprived, when even running to Target is almost impossible, and I might give you a different answer! But I am welcoming of the huge changes that are to come.
This leads me to my question for you readers. What would you recommend that we do in the last months before our baby gets here? What did you do, or wish you would have done, or plan to do yourself? Any comments are appreciated!
Sep 7, 2008
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6 comments:
TRAVEL!! Take a big trip! I know you have one planned already...so go and enjoy yourselves. :) Though life will change when baby Lanzen arrives, you won't regret becoming a parent for one single minute. Yes, it's a lot harder to do things like get groceries, go to Target, or on a vacation or out on a date, but (and I know you already know this,) you are going to have so much fun getting to know your baby girl you won't really have much time to lament your missing 'freedom.' Especially since you guys waited until you were really ready. One silly thing we did pre-baby was to go to a movie almost every night the week before Audrey was born. Every night we looked at each other and said, "this could be our last chance to see a movie for awhile..." And SLEEP IN. As much as you can. Trust me.
I had a client once that loved to travel, often drove from Iowa to Jersey to visit family and when i asked if they'd continue to do that once their had their first baby, she answered "Of course" without hesitation and continued to explain to me that anything can be done as it was before once a baby is added to the mix, just with a few extra stops and a little more packed and a little more planning! I'm sure you'll be able to do everything you've done prior to having your little girl, after she's "added to the mix"!
I would say just to get out and do as much as you can! But I also have to say that once you get the hang of it, going out to run errands is not too hard with one baby. Even when they are little, if you plan it well with their sleeping, you can go out to eat and let them sleep in the car seat next to you and still enjoy yourselves. I don't know about you, but I sleep really poorly when I'm pregnant, so I felt more energized with a newborn because you get so exhausted that when you do sleep, it's quality! There is a lot of opportunities for little cat naps when they're young too since they sleep so much at first. I'm sure everyone is different, but even though Henry was a horrible sleeper until 6 months, I felt good with sneaking in naps here and there and sleeping so hard when I had the chance.
You just have to be prepared to have your plans changed at any second when you have your baby with, but you'll love it!
I love her first pictures! I can't wait to see photos of her nursery.
Like you guys, we waiting longer to have kids and I do not regret that one second. You are right, you will have all the great couple memories to look back on when you have a little less freedom in the next few years. Christy had mentioned that you won't miss your freedome at all, and for some people that may be true, but I just want to say that it is okay to miss your freedom. I love Micah more than I could ever even express, and think that he is so fun now that he is a little older, but I miss my freedom. I don't think it is wrong to not have your whole world be your kids, and to miss the spontaneity that you had before your had kids.
But back to what to do: taking your trip will be really fun, sleep in (if you can), organize ("nest"), enjoy little things together like even eating at meal together at home uninterrupted. That still happens after baby, but not nearly as often. It can be a hard adjustment, but it is a totally worth it adjustment, which I know you both already know.
I wish that Peter and I would have traveled more but we did something similar to Christy and Tim. We went to A LOT of movies the month before Abbie was born (my due date with her was January 24th.) It was the middle of winter and there wasn't a whole lot else for a very pregnant lady to do. The last movie we saw before she was born was the James Bond movie and the sound effects were so loud that she moved almost the entire time. We are glad we saw a lot of movies then because now we hardly ever get to a movie together (I can't tell you the last one we saw in the movie theatre.) Anyway, whatever you decide, just spend as much one on one time together as you can. And like Christy said, your lives will totally change but it will be 100% worth it!
Sleep, although when I was pregnant I didn't sleep well towards the end. Enjoy eating a meal without interruptions, going to a movie is a big deal after the baby, spending time completely alone and enjoy the quiet. Stay in bed until 10, you don't have to sleep but just relaxing in bed.
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