Last Monday, we attended our first prenatal class. Most of it was introduction, meeting the instructor and the other eleven couples in the class, and going over what to expect in the next five classes. During one part of the class, we watched a DVD about the third trimester and in it, they mentioned the tendency for pregnant women to “nest” – that is, to sort through and rearrange the house incessantly in preparation for the baby.
T and I chuckled when we watched that segment because that’s what I’ve started to do the last couple weeks or so. For one, I swapped out our beloved set of beautiful black and blue stoneware dishes (that were originally gifts from our wedding registry – *sniff*) for light, practical and durable plain white Corelle dinnerware. I figured once the baby arrives, I’m going to have to learn to do things with one hand and heavy, breakable stoneware just isn’t conducive to that.
I’ve also harvested all the basil, oregano and rosemary that I’d been growing and replaced them with lower-maintenance plants.
And the other night, we went through our bookshelves and weeded out the books and other papers that we don’t want to keep.
At this point, making room for the baby (and all the baby’s stuff) seems of utmost importance to us. As I reflect on this time of “making space,” I am reminded of the line in the Christmas carol Joy to the World that says, “Let every heart prepare Him room.” And I realize that this time of preparation, of clearing the clutter and creating a hospitable place for our baby is akin to the Christian season of Advent, where for four weeks before Christmas, people set aside time to anticipate and welcome the coming of Jesus. So I guess while the traditional Advent is four weeks long, our little “Advent” of sorts is 12 weeks (or maybe it’s more like 40 weeks?).