Hurry up and Wait

Stephen tells me that "hurry up and wait" is pretty much the army's running motto, and I feel like it's pretty accurate when having a baby too. There's a lot of things that you want to have prepared before the baby comes, and at the same time, there's a lot of things that you can't know until the baby comes. Like for instance, can someone tell me how long my baby is going to be wearing her newborn clothes? And can I get an approximation on how many diapers I'm going to need in each size? How long is that bottle of soap or tube of diaper ointment going to last?

And for me, I have just as many questions. There's a well-priced pair of shorts I really want here at work for this summer, but what size will I be this summer? What kind of bathing suit is going to be appropriate for me in the coming months? Did that woman I talked to at the park really start working out that soon after giving birth? And if not, how in the world did she look that good?

People sometimes ask me if I'm eager for the baby to be born, and I have to try and not get too sarcastic with them because OF COURSE I am eager to meet Sophia. Instead of "No, I'd rather go on being pregnant forever!" I usually say something like "Oh yeah, I'm looking forward to being a mom instead of a pregnant woman!" I'm so lucky that my manager just had a baby 4 months ago and she knows what it's like. She saves my sanity on a regular basis! I'm looking forward to my maternity leave a lot though. I know that having a baby will be hectic at times, but not driving to and from work every day sounds really nice. And relaxing at home, and not having my days crammed full of things that need to get done, too. I can't wait to put little Sophia in her bathing suit and sun hat and just go sit in the shallow end of one of the pools on post and let her splash her little feet in the water while I just relax a bit.  Stephen and I are talking about taking a little mini vacation down to San Antonio to see the River Walk and the Alamo towards the end of my maternity leave too. We probably won't plan it out a lot, and just take it easy and walk around to see the sights. I really like the idea and as long as we have the stroller I think it'll work nicely.