If I were say, 12 weeks pregnant right now for the first time, here’s what I would do:
I would NOT worry about registering for gifts, or what gender the baby is, or picking out nursery furniture and making sure I have a year’s worth of diapers and clothing stockpiled for the due date.
I would NOT obsess over every little detail of planning for the baby’s arrival.
I would:
Make sure I was in good cardiovascular shape. Labor and delivery are like a long-distance athletic event.
Do my Kegel exercises. Good muscle tone in the nether regions is crucial to not peeing when you sneeze after giving birth to a baby.
Take extra time to prepare healthy food. The energy that I spent surfing message boards and nursery theme websites would have been better devoted to chopping fresh vegetables for salads and healthy sauteed dishes. If I were pregnant now I’d have a really good reason to eat better. Small meals several times a day. Nuts and berries and yogurt for snacks. Take my vitamins.
Get my financial act together. Make more money if that’s possible. Eliminate unnecessary bills, and put money away for when I am home with the baby. Every dollar saved is one more dollar that I don’t have to go back to work to earn.
Reverse nesting. Get rid of unnecessary crap in my house. The baby and his/her stuff will fill it up again all too soon.
Try not to worry about my shortcomings as a person that I suspect may make me unworthy to be the mother of such an amazing gift, and focus on my wonderful qualities, like my amazing singing voice that will lull the baby to sleep, my generous and loving heart, my irrepressible spirit that shines like the sun. And my slender body, which I inherited instead of my older sister, which will allow me to bounce back into shape after the baby is born, thereby making other women jealous everywhere I go.
If I was her, that’s what I would do.
Besides, how can she be pregnant, anyway? She’s still just a baby herself.
Aw, a love letter to your sister!
And I STILL have that dress hanging in my closet, which, by the way, you also wore. So here’s my vote for a girl!
That was, by far, the best advice I’ve received since I spilled the beans. And yes, of course I cried! My baby is going to have the COOLEST aunt on the planet.
Congrats, Rola! I would also suggest reading “The Slacker Mom” which other than the Girl Friend’s Guide, I believe are the only two books you actually need to read. The rest just keep around for the index.
Yeah.
Another baby in the family – how exciting! Congrats to you all!
That was so nice. made me cry.
Laura was a cutie wasn’t she (still is..)
Congratulations. I wish I wrote something this nice to my sister. It works for me, too…