Figuring It Out 101: How to Prepare for Motherhood- Get a Cat

The thought of having children used to make me cringe.

I wasn't good with babies or little kids, but I was pretty good at working with teenagers. I used to joke that if I were to become a parent someday, I was just going to adopt teenagers. Who knows, maybe some day, I will.

Sightings

Right after my husband proposed to me, babies were sprouting up everywhere. I lived on a college campus, so baby spotting shouldn't have happened so much, right? It happened anyways. Families would bring their children to college games or whenever we would venture off campus, babies would be in the restaurants we were in or crying in the store. My heart softened towards kids and whenever I saw one, I looked to my husband/fiancé and chanted, "Soooooooon".

It started to become a joke and whenever he would see a baby, he'd hold his hand up and say, "Not yet."

When we finally got married, the question was asked all of the time, "So, when are you two going to have a baby?" We'd respond that we were waiting until we were financially stable and after we finished college.

However, no matter how ready we thought were, there was no way that I could be prepared to have one, especially as a college student.

But Ella certainly helped.

Preparing for Sleepless Nights

One day, I remember taking my sister out to PetSmart to get a fish for her dorm room. My husband and I were married and were attending our senior year in college. What was supposed to be a trip for her, ended up being the trip that I met Ella. She was a tabby kitten with part of her tail missing. She had those Puss in Boots eyes, the ones that begged you to pet her.

I convinced my husband to let me bring her home and she quickly filled up the spot in my heart that made my womb call out for children. That itch had been scratched for the moment and the urge to have a baby lessened.

However, I still didn't know what I was getting into. Never having a cat before, I didn't know that a cat that age needs attention. I am a light sleeper and have always been a light sleeper. Ella was a restless and noisy cat. She would crash through our apartment all through the night. I was TIRED ALL OF THE TIME!!!

Hope for Sleep

There was one week when my brother-in-law came to visit. He had just gotten a new kitten and we encouraged him to bring her over so she could play with Ella. That was the first night that I was able to sleep well in months. She was so busy with this other cat that she actually slept and left me alone during the night. So, I convinced my husband to let us get another cat.

So now we had Ella and Char. It took them a while to get used to each other, but for the most part, they got along spectacularly. I thought that I was off the hook, that I was going to sleep again- until that night happened... Ella's food bowl was out. She climbed onto our bed and laid on my chest. For every second that I ignored her, she would tickle my nose with her whiskers. I eventually had to get up to see what she wanted and noticed the empty food bowl.

That became the new ritual. The same time in the middle of the night, she would come wake me. If the food bowl was empty, she wanted me to fill it. If the water had kitty litter in it because one of them was messy, I had to empty it, clean it, and refill it. I was constantly woken up throughout the night because my cats needed me. They wouldn't even bother my husband.

Eventually, we locked our door so they would leave me alone.

It was probably about the same month that we got Char that I found out that I was pregnant. I was already getting used to the cat's high demands. I almost knew what it would feel like to have a baby crying throughout the night for food or a diaper change.

If you want to prepare for motherhood and get your body used to what it would be like once your baby is born, get a cat.... or borrow a friends.

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