Art for the Baby

One thing about adopting a baby is that you don't look or feel like you are obviously expecting one. There aren't empathetic stories from anyone who's experienced pregnancy before, questions from strangers or colleagues about how far along, prenatal classes with other expecting parents, an actual due date to circle on the calendar... I'm pondering this quiet, almost invisible, expectation time right now as we wait to bring our baby home - in two months, four months, seven months? How much should I prepare? How high - and at what pace - shall I allow my hopes to climb? We don't know how long we'll wait for that day, but we have a pretty confident feeling that it will be this year.

'Save the Polar Bear' / Kristiana Parn

With this expectation in mind we do what feels right for now - getting finances in order, a living will, organizing the house, getting healthier, taking one last vacation as a childfree couple... There is much activity happening here, yet none of it has been directly baby-specific (even though it's all baby-specific in a way). I think I don't miss it, though, the baby clothes and the baby toys piling up, waiting, still, for a baby to animate them. I like this way of doing it - it seems thoughtful and realistic - more private in a way. And oh yes, I should officially announce that we are indeed planning to adopt our first child from within Alaska and we couldn't be happier about this decision.

There's another reason why we don't amass too much baby stuff in advance - there's this terrible chance that there will be what the agency calls a "change of heart" when the baby who comes home with you goes back to the birth mother who decides to parent after all. Adoptive parents who've experienced this equate it with a death. But, there's always a chance of something, isn't there, whether adding to a family through adoption or biologically. Man, life is tough and beautiful!

'Bring You the North Star' / Kristiana Parn

That said, I bought something for the nursery. The two above prints from a lovely artist I found while poking around the internet - Kristiana Parn has many more prints and originals at her Etsy store, check them out. I think they're perfect for an Alaskan infant - not kitschy, very sweet art appropriate for a peaceful baby's room - but really they could go anywhere. I'll have them framed and hang them up. I'm making curtains, too, and Jim is building shelves.