For the most part this entire pregnancy has been surreal. It was just two nights ago that Shelton and I were lying in bed and he said that he still couldn’t believe the IVF worked. I completely agree. To wait for and try for something for six years you just get used to things being a certain way. And then poof one day it works and nine months later (ten, they lie to us!) you get a baby. Seems too easy.
So we’ve been living in this cloud of surrealism for a few, or eight, months with a few moments that have kind of smacked us in the face and forced us to realize that all of this was actually happening.
The first was the crib. Bringing it home and setting it up and having it sit there staring at me from the opposite side of my office. That was a big gulp moment. Not like a run to 7-11 and fill up on a liter of soda, but a knot in my throat I’m dizzy big gulp.
Last night was another. Shelton and I went to the baby store after work and picked up our stroller/car seat set. Gulp. We walked over to the one we had picked out and he goes “$300?!”. To which I replied “Yes, it’s the safest.” He can’t really argue with that. I was sort of reading aloud saying this will get us to 22 pounds. And he looked at me as if he’d been blindsided and said, “Then what?!”. I let him know we’d have to buy a booster seat. So he wandered around to the neighboring aisle and yells back “What? These are $150!”. It was rather entertaining to watch Shelton come to the realization that children are expensive. Who knew?!
With a 20% off one item coupon, some gift cards and exchange credits, plus the purchase of the baby book, we only spent $65. I was pretty happy with that.
As soon as we got home Shelton wrestled the box, that barely fit in his Maxima, into the living room and wasted no time taking it out and starting his first daddy assembly project. A totally cheesed out moment that I reveled in, watching my husband put together the stroller for our baby. It took more than a few glances at the manual and a test run with the dog, but the thing is completely assembled and waiting for the baby to take a stroll around the block. The car seat base we plan to install tonight because things are getting just a little too close for comfort around here.
Which reminds me, I should probably start packing my hospital bag.