Cousin on the Way

Holy moley, my sister is less than a month away from delivering her first baby. She's younger by seven years, so it wasn't likely that we'd have kids together making it a special bonus that her little sweet pea will be only nine months younger than mine. It wasn't long ago that I was the one showing up for weekend dinners with my swelling belly or waddling along on a family walk, but now she's the one growing a little human in there. She called tonight with a status update--she's on a twice weekly routine to the doctors, and between a thin uterus and a breech baby, she could potentially deliver next week.

I remember sitting in the backseat of the car with my brother after church one Sunday when my parents announced that we'd have a baby brother or sister soon. Months later, we visited my mom in the hospital to meet my baby sister. I was dressed in overalls and crooked pigtails that my dad had given me; I got to hold the bunch of balloons. My mom let me hold her as I sat next to her on the hospital bed, her warm arm around me as I held the tiny infant in my arms. Now, she asks me questions about birth, sleep, and breastfeeding. She holds my baby over her round belly, getting in some solid practice while she can.

My own cutie has grown to eight months in what seems like overnight. He sits, he climbs, he even stands, but I can still remember the moment less than a year ago when my husband held our baby's wet little face right next to mine for the first time. This will be her reality in a matter of weeks. I'm looking forward to holding my niece.