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Family life

My kid? Late? Seriously?

Katie's baby is late and that is so not like her

By Katie Dupuis
My kid? Late? Seriously?
I've never been very good at waiting. Of the four kids in my family, I was the only one born early (four days) and fast (only a couple of hours, I'm told). My mom's joke? "She was in a hurry to get here and she hasn't stopped moving since." It's a good analogy for my life, if I really think about it. Patience is not a virtue I claim. EVER.
 
So, imagine my surprise when my magical due date (11/11/11!) came and went and still no baby. "OK," I thought, "it'll be tomorrow. Fashionably late." And then Saturday dissolved into Sunday, which turned into Monday, and so on. And I'm still waiting. "Hey kid," I keep thinking, "you're past fashionable and on to just plain rude." But you cannot boss around the unborn. Lesson #1. See? I'm learning things already.
 
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My irritation is mounting with every hour that passes and with every "Is there a baby yet?" phone call. No, no baby. Still waiting. I've made my husband Blaine start taking the calls, for fear I may bite the head off of some poor, unsuspecting family member or friend who just wants to be supportive. I figure since this kid clearly takes after his or her easy-going dad, Blaine can field the questions while I watch back-to-back seasons of Grey's Anatomy and scowl. I told you, I'm not going to win any patience competitions. I. Do. Not. Wait. (And Grey's Anatomy isn't even that great a distraction.)
 
But, the fact of the matter is — and this is Lesson #2, I think — that waiting will be a part of this next adventure and I'd better get used to it. Waiting to go into labour is one thing, but I imagine patience is paramount to being a parent. I'm Type A, I admit that. But maybe this baby is Type B or L or R, and time and again, I'll have to slow down and adjust my pace. I understand that. I'm just scared. And let's be honest, I'm not off to a great start.
 
Back to the Big Wait. Stay tuned.
This article was originally published on Nov 16, 2011

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