chicks

Do you guys remember when we were trying to get, and stay, pregnant with Piper there was a bird making a nest in the hanging planter on our front porch? For months the momma bird was making her nest, then laying her egg, then sitting on the egg, keeping it warm till one day we heard the tell-tale sounds of little chirping. All the while I was taking Clomid, hoping/praying/holding on to anything I could see as signs that THIS month was it. One of those signs was the baby bird on the porch. I really saw the whole nest/momma bird/hatched baby bird as a sign from the universe that my baby bird was on her way.

Okay, I'll admit that I got a bit too into the baby birds. I checked on them daily and went a bit loopy when I came home one day and the nest was all scattered on our porch. I guess another bird had gotten into the hanging planter when the momma bird was out looking for food. There were feathers and bits of sticks and spanish moss all over the porch, but the baby bird was still up in her nest sorta wondering what the eff was going on. So I scooped up the baby bird and her little nest and rushed inside the house and started grabbing towels and a heating blanket and a cardboard box. I set up a little mini bird incubator and freaked out over the bird because holy hell if this bird didn't make it that was a sign that I was headed for Loss #4 and well, you guys know that I wasn't exactly in the most Zen time of my life and desperation makes you do funny things - like trying to incubate a little baby bird that you are holding on to as a major life metaphor. I think it was Wan who gently told me to put the bird, and her nest, back in the planter because the momma bird was probably watching and will smell my scent all over the nest. So I reluctantly placed the nest and baby bird back in her original home (read as a metaphor for letting go of trying to control the pregnancy and whatever course nature would take) and, low and behold, she continued to grow and thrive. We never caught sight of Momma Bird again, but apparently she was feeding the bird because she grew and sprouted feathers and a few weeks later flew the nest. About that time my belly started to pop out and little Pipsqueak started making her presence known.

No, I'm not pregnant (nor am I planning to be for a bit), but as I'm sitting here another Momma Bird is outside in the same planter happily making her nest on our front porch. Maybe she is a sign that the cycle (no pun intended) is starting again for someone (Christa, Lisa, Julie) new?