If it takes a village to raise a child, then I feel like I’m blessed with a pretty great village.

Family friends and my parents hosted a co-ed baby shower for Brian & I last weekend. It was an overwhelming outpouring of support (and fun!) and we left feeling much more prepared than we were the day before. We literally went from having no gear at all for this daughter who will be here any day to having all the essentials. What a relief! What unbelievable generosity!

I also finally posted an announcement on Facebook several weeks ago. I’d been avoiding it because I was overwhelmed enough at being pregnant without that extended network all asking things I wasn’t sure I could answer yet. So I kept it off the social media until I was sure it was going pretty smoothly and to give me time to process it on my own with my husband. But when I did, watching the virtual support was also confidence-building. People I didn’t think would care seemed to, and it felt pretty good. I know online relationships and conversations can be an illusion of intimacy, so I try to be careful about placing too much value on that type of communication, but regardless I felt genuinely uplifted. As if every “Like” was someone that knows me at least as an acquaintance saying “You can do this! Yay!”

We are not always very good at asking for help. Brian & I both have a tendency to make things harder for ourselves than necessary because we get nervous or embarrassed about reaching out, or stubborn about wanting to do things ourselves so we can try it our way. So we are lucky to have friends and family who reach out and offer their hands, wisdom & resources, often without us having to ask.

We are endlessly appreciative of all the love and gifts, both adorable & practical. It is so comforting to know this baby girl will come into the world with a fantastic support system of amazing people.