little bits...

We are eight days away from our due date. Time has gone relatively fast these past nine months, but now it seems to be creeping along at the pace of falling snow. Every morning I get up, drink my allotted single cup of coffee, and look forward to the sun going down again so that another day will have passed and we’ll be that much closer to our baby’s arrival. I am trying to be patient, knowing that once he’s here he’ll be here for good. A few more days of peace and quiet should not be taken for granted.

The thing that has surprised me the most about the end of pregnancy is how very real the “nesting” instinct is. What I expected was a strong desire to organize my closet and maybe bake some stuff. What has happened in reality (along with a sparkling clean refrigerator and three new throw rugs) is the very real notion that I am sitting on a “nest.” It is quite strange and animal-feeling, this urge to hunker down between the comfortable walls of my house and not be bothered until the baby emerges from his shell...to the point that I don't even like it when the mailman approaches our front porch to drop the letters in the box. It's just a little too close.

Speaking of nests, we have finally finished the nursery and I painted a blue tree with three perching birds to overlook the crib. The room is a combination of gifts from parents and leftover furniture that we’ve refurbished, along with the changing table (old wash-stand) we found at the flea market. At first the nursery’s green walls felt a bit too Kermit-the-Frog to me, but now I love the bright cheerfulness of the room and how everything came together. What started out as fabric scraps, swatches of paint, and random bits of artwork (actually wrapping paper and greeting cards) has become a cozy room. Another nest on which to perch. For the few friends who have asked to see a peek at the nursery, here’s a link to photos.

The next time I blog, I am guessing it will be with some sort of announcement that a new little life has entered the earth, most likely followed by a plea for advice on how to change a diaper. But surely I can Google that, right?