Anticipating the Arrival of Another

The arrival of the first baby in a home is one of those moments you never forget. I think back to all the time I spent planning my daughter’s nursery, making the registry, making sure every item was “the safest”, and determining to make every last detail just perfect. While there was anxiousness for how a baby would change our life, we were overwhelmed with excited joy and anticipation, feeling as though the days crept by. In its own way, it slightly mirrored the anticipation built up in getting married to the one you love.

Fast-forward to today, and we’re on a fast boat to Baby #3 joining the family in just three short months. Had this been my first baby, it probably would have felt like three long months, but with a nearly 4 year old and 21-month-old running around the house, there is minimal energy and time spent on preparing for another member of the family. I have to practically force myself to take the time! Terrible, I know, but things look different from the 1st to the 3rd.

I’ve sure had more feelings of being overwhelmed at the thought of this little one arriving. My son will be turning 2 just 2 weeks before my due date. Let’s just say he’s a bit more emotional than my daughter, much more physical, ornery, and into EVERYTHING he can get his hands on. It’s a full-time job just keeping up with him some days!

With all that there is to think about in preparation for baby, not to mention all the time I give to anxious thoughts about what life will look like once the baby does arrive, it’s easy to lose some of the joy in simply another gift of life. My Type A personality lends itself easily to this. I like to plan and be organized, and probably even try and control things that I can’t and shouldn’t. Kids have a way of sabotaging all of that….or maybe it’s that God sends us children so that we can loosen our grip and trust Him more for the details. Life with young children is not the magazine cover we’re all hoping for. It’s messy, there are tears (sometimes from big people and little people), and every day is unique. But our lives are changed for the better when another little one becomes part of the family.