Working behind the scenes at a maternity activewear company, my days revolve around mothers, especially those that are pregnant! Many of my friends have welcomed babies into their lives or are about to, and while it’s always been very exciting for our friendship, I’d been told that it’s not quite the same as becoming an Aunt. I recently became an Aunt for the first time (as of 4-12-10 to be exact) and now that I “get it,” I thought it would be fun to share the joys – and trials – of my sister’s pregnancy from my perspective. If you’ve never really considered your friends or family’s feelings during the most magical months of your life, then now’s the time. Prepare to laugh, cry, and rejoice in the realization that you’re not the only one going through a big change!  

Let’s start at the beginning…..

I’ll never forget the moment my younger sister told me she was pregnant. I was in the middle of a massive Slurpee craving at a local 7-11, balancing three Big Gulp cups filled with artificially flavored slush and trying to justify purchasing a bag of Swedish Fish since they are, after all, fat free – and yes, I know better.  I realize this may not portray me as the most healthy person, but I do take care of myself and only fall off the wagon every once in a while….cross my heart!

So there I am, standing there looking like I’m buying enough Slurpee slush for a little league team and debating on the Swedish Fish when my cell phone starts buzzing in my purse. Now although this may not be a problem for some people, I happen to possess a “Mary Poppins” purse, meaning the million things that I don’t need to carry in my purse but do anyway tend to disappear into a deep, dark pit, only to be found if I throw said purse on the ground and rummage around in it up to my elbows for approximately ten minutes. You can see how the three Big Gulp cups in my arms created a challenge.

I rushed over to the checkout counter minus the Swedish Fish and miraculously managed to dig out not only my Visa, but also my phone – and in enough time to answer it!

“Hello?”

“Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii,” answered a wavering voice that sounded somewhat like my sister. “What are you doing? Are you alone?”

She asked me these last two questions so suspiciously that guilt immediately kicked in and I looked around to see if I had been caught in the midst of my Slurpee attack. Then I remembered that my sister is 1,000 miles away and can’t possibly know what I’m doing. Credit card swipe!

“Yeah, I’m alone,” I said as I left the store, trying to maneuver the Slurpee’s, my cell phone, and the opening of my car door without sounding out of breath. “Just getting ready to hit the gym. What’s up?”

PAUSE.

WHIMPER.

“I’m pregnannnnnnnt!” she wailed happily, followed by joyful sobs.

“What?!?! What?!?!”  Did I hear her right? I almost dropped a Slurpee, for goodness sake!

“I’m pregnant (sob, sob again), and we’re soooo happy.” This is when I hear her husband in the background awe-ing her, and for one quick moment I contemplate throwing all of the Slurpees away because now I feel like a gross teenager. But then I realize how much I need them, especially in this instant that has thrown me off completely.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my sister very much, and I love her husband. We’re all close and I would never wish anything but the best for both of them. But I felt she rushed the pregnancy – not that it’s my business – and it bothered me for some reason. Maybe because I’m 30 and ready for a baby and still engaged to the guy I’ve been with for almost 7 years  but hey, who’s paying attention to the facts, right?!

“Aren’t you soooo happy for us (big sniff)?”

I snap back to reality and decide that nothing I say will change this and I do really love her and her husband, not just as individual people, but together, as well. And I love babies!

I answer, “I’m super excited! I can’t believe I’m going to be an Aunt!”

“Yes, you’ll be Aunt B!” My sister calls me B. It just so happens that Beyonce sometimes goes by B, so that validates the coolness factor of my nickname.

Blah, blah, blah, a few more minutes of crying (her) and disbelief (me) and we hang up. I immediately called my best friend to share the news and after relaying it out loud to her, I realized that actually, I was excited, after all. My sister and I would become even closer, I would finally have a reason to buy enormous amounts of cute baby clothes, she would be an awesome mom and her husband an awesome dad, and my whole family would have another birthday to celebrate. On a side note, my sister and I share a very low tolerance for pain and needles so I was secretly looking forward to seeing how she would handle everything. Selfish, but practical!

I took a sip of my Slurpee and smiled, thinking about my future niece or nephew. Then I called my sister back with genuine enthusiasm and told her once more how excited I was. And I meant it.

Next Week’s Blog: Confessions of a First Time Aunt – Part II

Related posts:

1. Confessions of a First Time Aunt: Part II
2. Confessions of a First Time Aunt: Part III
3. Confessions of a First Time Aunt: Part V

Tags: activewear, aunt, baby, birth, Fit2Bmom, Maternity, mother, nephew, niece, pregnancy

Tags: activewear, aunt, baby, birth, Fit2Bmom, Maternity, mother, nephew, niece, pregnancy