This is the week that Fi found out quite how little Hannah knows about growing a baby. We were about to go on stage for a gig and Hannah was distracted. She said her tummy button was feeling a bit weird - “I guess it’s just cos that’s where the baby’s attached to me”.
There is a lot to learn about and read up on when you’re with child, and so far Hannah has done nothing. Well, to be fair, she has spent a lot of time carefully researching and buying the best books to help her through - she just hasn’t scheduled in any time to read them yet. And now over two thirds of each book is irrelevant because she’s already made it through six months of her pregnancy in a haze of cluelessness. Given that the baby is due this summer, it feels like being behind with exam revision all over again.
Fi, on the other hand, doesn’t need to read any books because she can just Whatsapp her sister, who has three children and is a fountain of knowledge about all things baby. Fi’s found it a lovely way to strengthen their sisterly bond. Although Cathy has stopped replying to her almost daily questions with the enthusiasm she used to. Outsourcing all learning has left Fi with plenty of spare time to do the fun prep for having a child - thinking about what to dress it in! She’s just bought the one item so far for her summer baby: a white wool winter cardigan (hand-wash only). As her sister messaged when Fi excitedly sent her a picture: “you may regret that”. But hopefully not as much as Hannah regrets checking in front of everyone at her group prenatal appointment that the baby can definitely hear when she listens to Mozart through headphones.
We’re hoping that when it comes to giving birth, instinct takes over...because there’s no chance Hannah will have had time to get through her hypnobirth/active birth/ecstatic birth reading list by then. And Fi’s sister has already made it very clear she won’t be available to Whatsapp day and night throughout her labour.