Getting your baby’s nursery ready is one of the most joyful things you’ll ever do. Buying all the teeny things is irresistible. Preparing for this mini house guest, folding all those little clothes, imagining what she’ll look like in that tiny crib. It’s permission to dream about your life ‘after’.
There are so many things you need to do when you’re pregnant that you can lose sight of The Baby. You’re preparing your body and thinking about the birth but the real show is The Baby. And getting that nursery ready, filling the bookshelf, folding the little singlets … this is when you let yourself think about holding your child in your arms.
You can already see yourself sitting in that armchair in the corner, feeding your baby at night, tucking her back in her cot. This is going to be your space. Yours and your baby’s. A little club for two.
You’re starting to feel like a mum: picking out the things your baby will wear, the furniture and decor, the nappy supplies and linens. It’s calming, in a way. It makes you feel like maybe you’ll be okay at this; maybe you’re more prepared than you thought.
And then there’s packing your hospital bag. Sorting, and laying it all out on the bed. Ticking off your list and choosing your favourite pieces, folding the clothes you’ll take her home in, placing them with care in your brand-new bag like you’re packing to visit the Queen.
It’s the ritual of anticipation. The big day is almost here.
But first, if you’re lucky and your baby doesn’t arrive before you’re ready, you will enter the Golden Age of Maternity Leave. This is when you simply must slow down. It’s your duty as a soon-to-be-mum to become a spectacularly unproductive member of society before your new job begins. Sit on the couch, watch TV, eat whatever you want, read a book, put your feet up and get ready for the chaos to begin. Never again will you have so few responsibilities. Exploit it, you lucky duck. You deserve it.