The Lull (a-bye-bye)

Baby Perla and I have completed a major milestone – we have passed the ½ way mark of this pregnancy! I am 24 weeks along so far, which means only 16 weeks to go. While it feels great to be over ½ way finished with this phase, I feel this is just the calm before the storm.

I consider this time to be the ‘tweener stage. I am in between phases. I am in the second trimester right now and there isn’t much we can do in preparation for the baby. We will reach the start of the third trimester in a few weeks. For right now, things are pretty quiet. Once we hit the third trimester things will start moving along quickly.

I am guessing the third trimester is a busy one when it is your first baby. At first I thought that it is total crap that they make the third trimester the longest of the three – 14 weeks. But, there may be some logic to that because there is a lot to do. There are the usual and customary things like decorating the nursery and attending Baby Showers. Then there are the other things that life throws at us. We are coming up on the holidays in my third trimester so that will be interesting. I will have all my Christmas shopping done by the beginning of December (wishful thinking). Work related duties will need to be farmed out to my co-workers before I go on Maternity Leave. To add to the gamut, I have signed up for Pre-Natal Water Aerobics two times a week. Not only do I have to physically prepare for the baby to arrive, I need to mentally prepare. Maybe rookie moms are never completely mentally prepared for what is about to hit them once the baby is home. Experienced moms have gone to great lengths to warn me of the lack of sleep and lack of “me” time that I will endure. They tell me how frustrating and painful breast-feeding can be until we get the hang of it. They have advised me on how much our life is going to change. But, I can’t help but think that no matter how much I try to prepare myself for this arrival, as a new mom, I will never be completely mentally ready. No matter how many books I read I will not be ready. Me? Not ready for something that I know is coming? To top it off, there is nothing I can do it about it!

So here we are again, Baby Perla already reiterating one of life’s lessons. I am learning (again) that no matter how much I try to plan our way down life’s winding path that I should always remember to plan for surprises.

For now, I will enjoy this quiet time while Baby Perla continues to cook in my oven. I am looking forward to all the surprises that will come with the next trimester, no matter how busy and crazy it may be. I will read up on as much information as possible. I will continue to listen to the knowledgeable words of all the veteran moms that I know out there. And, somehow I will still be completely surprised at how much our life will change when this baby arrives.