There is much to be done before baby arrives (07/03/06)

The baby is coming! The baby is coming! Quick, we need supplies. Find a pack-n-play. Who has a stroller we can borrow? We need a baby bed and a bed for the baby’s mommy and a high chair and diapers, and wipey things, and baby food, and bottles, and … and … and … Don’t just stand there. Call somebody and borrow something. Get on the phone and arrange family visits and family pictures. Start putting latches on the cupboards. Hurry, we have to baby-proof everything right now! Oh, and baby food. We need baby food. And formula. We must have formula. C’mon. Let’s go! Go! Go! Go!

Stop.

Take a breath.

Wait a minute … what is a pack-n-play anyway?

Somebody said it is a fold-up playpen. So why don’t they call it a fold-up playpen so people who aren’t around babies every day know what in the world it is? They aren’t even here yet and already I’m feeling out of date. Plus I looked in the mirror this morning and discovered I have … gasp … grandma arms! When did this happen? Did somebody rub aging serum on my arms while I was asleep? They weren’t like this yesterday!

My daughter and granddaughter are flying in from Houston to stay for an entire week at the end of this month. I am looking forward to it more than you can imagine. The baby is starting to crawl and will be a pro by the time they arrive which is why we have major baby-proofing to do. We can install cupboard latches but we will have to watch her to keep her out of the cat food as Gracie, the calico cat, has her dining room on the floor.

When my daughter was just starting to crawl she decided to try out the dog food one day. Unfortunately she was allergic to it and the dog had to eat in the garage after that. Well, it didn’t always eat in the garage. I did catch my daughter shoving a box of Sugar Crisp up the dog’s nose one afternoon, much to the delight of the dog.

I doubt if Gracie will be so accommodating with Emma, the baby in question. Emma is used to having animals around and in fact has a gray kitten that believes Emma is her own personal infant. Maybe I should warn Gracie that her world is about to be upset for a week? Then again, maybe not. Let her find out the hard way.

It seems like three weeks is such a long time to wait to see the two most precious girls in my life. However, I know the time will fly by and I will be hard-pressed to get everything cleaned and arranged before they get here. There is so much to do and luckily we do have tomorrow off which will give us an extra day to get things situated.

They live such a long distance away that we don’t get together that often, and it is a big event when we get to see each other. Phone calls are wonderful, but they really aren’t the same as being able to give a sweet baby and her mommy a hug whenever I choose.

I worry about how Emma will do on a three-hour flight. We will have to let her get down and crawl a bit in the airport while we wait on the suitcases to appear. Babies aren’t meant to sit still for any length of time. They are always wiggling and squirming about. The world is too new to them, and they don’t want to miss a second of it by sleeping away the boring parts.

I have too much to do before they get here to worry about getting bored. I have a house to clean, supplies to amass, family get-togethers to plan and any number of other arrangements to make. There is so much we want to cram into the short week that they will be here. I almost feel like Chicken Little who thought the sky was falling, only I have a more joyous reason to panic.

The baby is coming! The baby is coming! We must be prepared because the baby is coming.[[In-content Ad]]