My favorite months of the year are as follows, in this order:
- July
- October
- December
These have been my favorite months for as long as I can remember – well before kids. Fast forward to having kids and my oldest just happen to be born in July, my soon-to-be-middle in October. Further reasons to love each month!
December though was NOT a month I wanted to welcome a baby though. Between the chaos and expense of the holidays, and winter germs, December was a month I would have preferred to steer clear of. Especially with two older children, who we do not want to cheat out of a magical holiday due to the arrival of their sister. The time frame in which Christmas is a truly magical experience is so limited, it is important to me that they don’t miss out.
But last April, 2 pink lines appeared. This was our fourth month of fertility treatments, so I already knew the due date – December 2oth. Just five days before the jolly fat guy in a red suite makes an appearance. Of course, my husband and I were elated that I was pregnant and the due date didn’t matter.
However, a Christmas baby presents some unique challenges:
Celebrations
We know my induction date and it won’t be past her due date due to some previous challenges with delivery. So this year, we asked our families to celebrate Christmas early. Our two older kids could still take part in the activities and we wouldn’t have to worry about herding a 4 year old, 2 year old and a newborn out the door to be any place on time. Having been through this twice before, I know it will be an accomplishment just to get a shower for the day in the first few weeks.
Shopping
This year, it was all done by my 36 week mark. My oldest decided to arrive right at 36 weeks, while my second waited until 38. So I’m playing it safe and getting it all done before then. However, I am considering taking all of my gifts to one of those kiosks in the malls to wrap them all!
Traditions
There are a few holiday traditions that my husband and I will have to play by ear. We do have the grandparents on call to help us. For instance, Christmas Eve mass. I am not sure how that will go being newly postpartum and leaking from every part of my body, so my parents have volunteered to take our older two to Christmas Eve mass, should we not be up to it. Another is our annual outing for a Christmas Day movie. That will definitely be a no-go with a newborn and my parents are happy to take our older two out for that afternoon.
School Events
I dodged a bullet on this one. My older two have a holiday concert scheduled for one day after my due date. Thankfully, I will be induced with plenty of time to spare so I can still make it. We didn’t know until recently when the concert would be scheduled for, so our back-up plan was to have my husband FaceTime me in for the event, should I be stuck in the hospital.
Cold & Flu Season
I work in health care, so I am probably hyper-sensitive to all the bad things that can happen to newborns with certain viruses. We will be hunkering down for the winter and greatly limiting who has contact with the baby. It’s hard because my older two will still be bringing home a plethora of germs from daycare and school during this time frame. The good news is, by the time she starts daycare in mid-March, the worst of it all should be wrapping up. Everyone pray for a warm spring!
There are some huge benefits to having a Christmas baby though. I am looking forward to not being forced to leave my house in the freezing cold this winter and can you say “tax deduction”!? While scheduling her future birthday parties might be tricky, she will always celebrate during a truly magical time of the year.
And honestly – what better gift to give her two older brothers, than a baby sister?
My heart is melting already.
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