It's the little things

Sometimes (okay, almost every night) when I’m falling (trying to) asleep at night I try to imagine what our lives will be like in two short months. I imagine all of the ups and downs we’ll endure. I try to imagine what it’ll be like to be a mom. And I picture all of the things that I’ve been dreaming about since I was little, since I met my husband, and since I first peed on that stick.

Here are some of the things I’m most excited about in the first couple months.

1. Baby smell. I can’t wait for that first deep breath where I just take-in L Bean’s smell. Have you ever smelled a newborn? It’s amazing. And I can’t fathom how amazing it will be to smell MY newborn.

2. The first picture of Josh and L Bean napping together. You’ve seen the picture – Dad is asleep on the couch with baby lying across his chest. Heart meltage.

3. Changing my cell phone background picture to the latest L Bean picture. I can’t wait to have baby featured on that screen. I have a phone upgrade coming in October, and I plan to load-up on L Bean pictures to get me through my days when I’m back at work.

4. Seeing my husband hold his son for the first time. I don’t even need to explain this one. My heart flutters just thinking about it.

5. Baby pictures. Not fancy baby pictures, just pictures of our baby. I can’t wait to fill-up our external hard drives with hundreds of baby pictures (many of which will get posted to the blog, of course!).

6. The 2010 holidays. The main holiday season this year is going to be a doozy. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and our birthdays all fall with in less than three months of each other. I can’t wait for cute outfits, our Christmas card this year, and birthday celebrations as a family of three.

7. Seeing my dad hold L Bean for the first. I’m not sure why, but I’m the most excited to see my dad with L Bean. He’s so ready and so excited to be a grandpa. I predict tears. And I know he and L Bean are going to be best buddies.

8. Late night feedings. Say WHAT?!?!  Notice that this is something that I look forward to in the first couple months. Meaning, at this point I’ll be home all day every day (read: not waking-up for work each morning). I know I’ll be tired, and I know it’ll be tough. But I’m willing to bet that there is something really special about those middle-of-the-night feedings, when the rest of the world is turned-off and it’s literally just the two of us.

9. Watching my husband become a father. He has the biggest heart of any man that I know, and he’s going to be the best dad. I can’t wait to watch it happen.

10. Picking L Bean’s outfits every day. He’ll be like a doll, only better.

11. Packing/organizing for the first few trips out of the house. I can’t wait for that chaos! Oh, the planning that is to come. I can’t wait to pack the diaper for the first time. And to pull-out the stroller at our very first destination. I can’t wait to walk around (wherever we are) next to my husband pushing a baby stroller that has OUR kid in it. I’m sure we’ll pack WAY too much and over think EVERYTHING those first few trips, but it’ll be so much fun to learn together.

12. Baby wearing. I can’t wait to strap L Bean to me with a Moby wrap. And too see Josh with L Bean strapped to his chest – SWOON.

13. Watching our pets adjust to L Bean’s presence. I can’t wait to see how our pets react to L Bean. We have a few predictions. Fiona will be curious and enamored from day one. She’ll want to lick him and have constant access to him. Henrik will be cautious and unsure for a few days, and then he’ll gradually come around. Eventually, he’ll love L Bean more than any of the other pets, being his protector and best bud. Both dogs will be jealous at first. Rooney won’t give a rip. She’ll sniff him a few times and go about her business. But who knows – she could surprise us and be his biggest fan. Beasley will be curious, curious, curious. He’ll hide from the noise at first, and then he’ll venture out for sniff sessions. Eventually, he’ll want to curl-up where ever L Bean is sleeping.

14. The first time in the hospital when there are no nurses or family around, it’s totally quiet, and it’s just the three of us. We’ll both be thinking, “This is our life now,” and “Is this really happening?”