Counting Down

Today I was told that my nephew and his wife -- my niece-in-love -- are going to have a baby!  With that wonderful news came a certain realization for my husband and I.  I quickly texted the expectant parents saying,"When the baby arrives we will be a Great-Aunt and a Great-Uncle!"

When my wise 14yo, Catz, heard what I posted, she asked a pertinent question. "Since my cousin is pregnant, aren't you already a Great-Aunt?"

Hmmm.  Good question.  I had to quickly think about that one.

When do a couple actually become parents? When the baby is born?  When they feel the baby's first kick from inside the mother's womb?  Or when the pregnancy test stick shows the outcome to be positive?

I think that in our culture we are so used to referring to a young baby in utero as an embryo, and then an older baby in utero as a fetus, that we miss the boat entirely.  With terms like that I can see how some women are mistakenly convinced that what's in them is not actually a baby, but some kind of mistake to dispose of.  How heartbreaking for them.

While a sweet baby grows in the womb, the couple is not actually "parenting" anyone at that time. I mean, there's no "Eat your peas," or "Please take out the garbage...now."  But wouldn't you consider them to be parents?

As parents, my husband and I take our kids to the doctor for checkups.  An expectant mom and dad do the same, though mom has a much more convenient way of carrying her child.  As a parent, I make sure my kids are eating healthy...with the occasional candy bar.  A pregnant mom eats carefully, making sure she's getting the right nutrition for her baby... with the occasional pint of Ben & Jerry's. ;)

But in reality, we parent as soon as we know we are blessed with new life.  There's no confusion as to what may arrive after 9 months.  It's not like the doctor is going to say "Oh look, you had a puppy. I guess you're not going to be parents after all."

So tomorrow I'll be calling my nephew and niece-in-love to make sure I state the obvious: I am a Great-Aunt!  And, as I will also say to them, I'm excited to be the youngest and best-lookin' Great-Aunt their baby has!