The Missing Piece

It hit me yesterday. Week 36 and counting here at Chateau Rotem-Feinberg, and suddenly I felt it. There’s something missing. No, someone. There’s someONE missing. There’s a little person, a unique entity who already has cutie-pie clothes, a stuffed lilac Huffalump, books and even a yellow ducky-covered swing waiting for her – but where is she? Well, she’s a future Tel Avivian, so she must be stuck in a traffic jam.

In the meantime, I’m making preparations – largely in the form of lists – since my pregnancy-fogged brain is as sharp as a tack – shoved into a piece of gum. It’s like the gears just don’t work anymore. (Ask me sometime about how fun it was writing a PhD proposal with this level of clarity) There’s a list of things to put into my bag for the hospital. I’ve started packing it, but nobody seems to mention to you, “Oh, yeah, you’re gonna need all those things in the lead-up to the main event, so it’s not so convenient to have them all packed away.” More than once this week, I’ve rifled through the bag looking for essentials (slippers, pajama pants that actually still fit over my butt, etc.). I’ve got another list going of things that we need to do before the baby comes, including such thrilling tasks as:

1. Clean trunk (no, SHE won’t ride there, but some of her aforementioned paraphernalia will probably need to)
2. Check that car seat fits in back seat (positive, but apparently it doesn’t recline enough for newborn necks – what happened to the days of just strapping babies in a papoose and hoping for the best?)
3. Clean closets (since the dresser/changing table we ordered may arrive AFTER our little bundle of joy and she apparently, in utero, already owns more crap than Nadav and me put together)
4. Clean kitchen cabinets, inside and out (yes, I know, completely unrelated to a baby, but nesting is apparently expressed in a variety of random ways)

So, I’m sure with all these lists, we’re completely prepared for Operation Baby. Except . . . I’m not an idiot, and I know that no matter how prepared you think you are, the moment you actually become a parent, your life changes forever, and the only thing on your list is something along the lines of “Love her, support her, respect her, nurture her, be there for her, whenever she needs you and even when she doesn’t, no matter what, you’re a parent now.”

We’re looking forward to it, to say the least.