Getting Ready For Baby

Brian and I have always said that our cats are preparing us for having children -- they get us used to wiping up poo, they wake us up for 5 AM feedings, and they occasionally cry and whine for no discernible reason whatsoever, causing a massive hunt throughout the house for the cause of the crying -- does Riley want the bathroom faucet turned on for a drink or is he mad that his litter box is too full? Is Tucker looking for his feather-on-a-stick or does he want the window open to watch the birds? We've also, as you will see, been diligent about taking the cats' pictures, training us to always have a camera nearby for when the cats (or, soon, the baby) do anything cute.

This week, however, the cats have been extra helpful in preparing us for parenthood:

We received the baby's peanut shell sling in the mail and wanted to try it out. Normally, we've been using the stuffed elephant that my mom and dad bought for Jackson last fall as our stand-in baby because the elephant is roughly the same size and shape (except, we hope, for the ears, trunk, and tail). However, the elephant just didn't weigh enough for the baby sling. So we recruited Tucker as our practice-baby. (Don't worry, folks, we washed the sling afterward.) Surprisingly, Tucker seemed to like the sling and seemed quite relaxed as we carried him around the house. Hopefully Jackson takes to the sling as well as Tucker did.

Riley, in the meantime, is being helpful with packing the hospital bag. I have the suitcase out on the floor of our bedroom so that I can put things I think we'll need for the hospital in there as I think of them. Riley, however, has decided that he will be an absolute essential for postpartum care and keeps trying to fit himself into the suitcase. It's pretty precious.

Riley also seems to enjoy being rocked in the glider. Last week, as I was working in the nursery, I got tired and sat in the glider to catch my breath. Riley wandered in (normally, they boys are locked out of the nursery if we're not in there, so having the door open was a special treat for them), and he climbed onto my lap and started purring. Pretty soon, as I continued to rock and pet him, he rolled onto his back and stared up at me, in typical baby position. Riley isn't normally a kitty who enjoys spending time on his back (he always bites Brian if he picks him up in a cradle hold), so I was shocked that he seemed to enjoy it so much in the glider. It looks like Jackson may have some competition for cuddle time in the glider -- maybe we'll have to invest in two gliders, one for one of us to hold the baby and one for the other to hold the cats!