Psalm 139:13-16     For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it well.  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, before even one of them came to be.

I’m writing this on my youngest’s (Fixergirl’s!) eighth birthday.  Guess it’s got me feeling a bit nostalgic!  Take these tips with a grain of salt, as some are meant to be humorous, some are more serious but all of them may be useful in the right context. 😉

When I was expecting our first baby, it was such an exciting time.  We were young, idealistic and extremely naïve.  We had had our little doggie for the past five years, and he’d been kept happy and relatively healthy, (corn & flea allergies!) but how much harder could a baby be?  (Yes, that was something we actually said back then…)

Our first pregnancy was relatively uneventful.  I loved being pregnant.  I gained 47 pounds because I took advantage of the whole “eating for two” thing.  When else do you ever have that excuse?

• Soon-to-be-New-Mom Tip #1: Don’t ACTUALLY eat for two! 😀

We were happy.  I’d done all the reading and research I could on natural childbirth and the “Bradley Method” (without actually going to those classes because I thought they were a little on the hippy-dippy side.)   Everything was going great.  We actually chose Rocketboy’s name at his ultrasound appointment. ComputerGuy saw Rocketboy on the screen after we found out he was a boy and said, “He looks like a …”  not knowing that the name he’d mentioned was the same one that was on the top of my boy list.   (Of course, you realize we didn’t actually name him Rocketboy… though he might actually like it these days…)

We did have a little scare at 20 weeks when I was forced to leave work in the middle of the day with lower side back pain.  Thankfully, the baby was never in any trouble.  Several doctor’s offices argued about whether or not I had a kidney stone.  It was finally determined that it wasn’t, and the problem was fixed with a quick overnight hospital stay.  Thankfully that was the only blip on the pregnancy radar.

I had had a doctor’s appointment on my due date, and everything had checked out fine.  Although at a 6, she sent me home because I hadn’t had any noticeable contractions at that point.  The one thing I remember her telling me was that this was “anything but textbook.”  Story of my life.  I was glad though, thinking that since I was already at a 6 without a single contraction, the last few cms should be a piece of cake!

• Soon-to-be-New-Mom Tip #2: If the Doctor says “anything but textbook,” or something similar, it probably does not bode well…  (and a freebie… nothing about having a baby is ever “a piece of cake.” 😉

When we finally checked into the hospital a couple of days later, the desk clerks didn’t believe I was having contractions because I was helping Computer Guy carry in our bags.  Funny the things that one remembers all these years later.  We were settled in our room.  I was assigned a brand new nurse to help this brand-new-to-this mom-to-be… which wasn’t a great combination.

• Soon-to-be-New Mom Tip #3: If the L&D nurse tells you she’s new, ask for someone else! (Sorry new nurses, I know you have to learn somewhere, but pick a mom who’s already been through it!) 😉 

It took her 7 attempts to get the IV in.  That was fun.  Next, we discovered that Rocketboy’s hand was sitting right on top of his head. “Aww, that’s cute!” (Yes, I actually said that too…along with asking which hand it was, because yeah, apparently that mattered to me at the time.) Oh boy.  Needless to say, that little hand caused lots of panic from this new-nurse about a “probably won’t happen but still possible” cord prolapse and to make a long story short, my sweet 9 pounds 8.4-ounce boy was born a few hours later via C-section.  Surprise, Mom!

• Soon-to-be-Mom Tip #4: Read the C-section portion of your pregnancy books, even if you’re absolutely sure you won’t “need” that info!  It can’t hurt to be *too* prepared! 

And I’ll end this one here… more lovely “Soon-to-be-Mom” tips to come in the next post.  What advice do you have from your experiences?  I’d love to hear your stories!