Keeping (prenatal) time

I'm currently tracking a post-it baby race.

Stay with me here.

That I am aware of, I know seven--

SEVEN!--

couples who are expecting (some of them may no longer be expecting, they may already be diapering and feeding at 2 a.m., I am that absent of a friend recently that I don't exactly know).

I realized during winter break, I believe, just how out of hand this number was getting (it's great that so many babies are coming! It was just getting out of hand for my brain's organizational system), so I devoted a virtual sticky note to the cause on my desktop.

It is titled "babies who are coming to greet us." It is pink. Which I just realized is ironic, because several of these babes are boys. Oh wait, I love to defy gender roles--in that case, the color is appropriate.

The list is of the couples' names, because at first that was all I knew for several of them. Meaning, I didn't know due date months and/or gender of the baby. Following their names is baby gender and due date month (and in once case day--C-section :), if known. My coz is expecting twins, so she and her man have a "B[oy] x 2" next to their names.

Anyway.

So at first the list was in a random order. Then I added months and genders as I found them out, and then I realized that I was still stressed out about this, because I was like,

"Well which one's coming first?!"

I've gotta be ready with my congratulations, and I don't want to look ridiculous seven months after a birth showing up with a card or a huge hug for Mom and kisses for (hopefully chubby) baby, apologizing, "Oh I'm so sorry, my post-it note wasn't organized well enough, so I was so focused on the August baby that I completely missed your April baby."

So then the list became rearranged, soonest arrivals at the top, laters below those, I-still-don't-know's at the very bottom.

I still have some gender question marks (Dee, call me when you've got that info ;), one for sure uncertain due date, one semi-unsure due date.

Today I was doing some facebook research on the "semi-unsure" and concluded from some wall posts that said baby is not quite here, but coming pretty soon. So I posted a comment of excitement, and then,

like habit,

headed to the post-it.

I moved the couple to the top of the list.

And then I realized--this has become a race. A post-it baby race. And I am the official time keeper. Okay, that's really God's job, but I'm monitoring things on the sticky note front.