I had a call from my little granddaughter, Ariel, earlier this week. She wanted to tell me that her new baby brother would be coming in a few days. At 5, she’s quite thrilled that she will have this little fellow to cuddle and coo over. She and her brother, Eric, 3, are probably not aware of what this new little bundle will mean to their lives.

Grandpa and Grandma are fairly certain that everything will be topsy turvy for a while for these kiddos. But we let them know they can come visit us anytime they need a little Papa and Gma time.

So this week, every time the phone rings, I jump, hoping that it will be the announcement that Little Elijah has arrived. We won’t have much longer to wait, though, because if all goes as planned, he’ll make his appearance this weekend.

I’ve spent the past couple months collecting lots of little onsies, baby pajamas and other necessities that mom and baby might need. That’s been kind of fun – oohing and ahhing over the teeny little outfits. Then I look over at Daniel and can’t believe he was ever that small.

There are some wonderful resources here for picking up some good quality gently used baby clothes. As most moms realize, infants rarely wear out clothes. They usually outgrow them first. I was fortunate to have a couple of nieces who could pass along a ton of little boy clothes when my son came along. We had stacks and stacks of pjs, gowns and little ensembles. But also with infants, having a good stockpile of clothing is a essential since there are frequent diaper changes and all the spills and spit ups that occur.

This new little baby will be born in Cedar Rapids. His brother was born in Sioux City, but big sister Ariel was born at the old Hamilton Hospital. I remember sitting in the waiting room for several hours, waiting to hear those first tell-tale cries from the birthing room. It was very late in the evening when she finally arrived. We nudged Daniel awake and he was one of the first to hold his new little niece. A picture of that provided a pretty cool show-and-tell moment at school the next day.

Papa and Gma are looking forward to seeing all three of the kiddos and a trip to Cedar Rapids will be in order in the near future. Until then, we’ll just sit by the phone and wait.