Jennifer Kummer has 11 weeks to go before the due date of her first baby.
But she’s already feeling the protective twinges and emotions that come with becoming a mom.
“I feel mommish. The motherly instinct at work has kicked in a little more. That’s what everyone is telling me,” she said.
Kummer, who lives just south of Edinburgh, is 29 weeks along in her pregnancy. She and her husband, Jason, are having a baby girl and have named her Julianna Faye, as a tribute to Jennifer Kummer’s grandmother.
They had been planning their pregnancy, but that didn’t lessen the feeling when it was confirmed that they were having a baby.
“We were beyond excited,” Jennifer Kummer said.
Immediately, that rush was shared with her mother. Jennifer Kummer took a photo of the positive pregnancy test and texted it to her with a message: “I think this means you’re going to be a grandma.”
When she told her father during a lunch outing, presenting him with a onesie and card informing him he was going to be a grandpa, he broke down crying in the middle of the restaurant.
Jennifer Kummer is due to deliver on July 21. From friends and family they’ve been collecting used clothes and attending baby shows for gently used bassinets, toys and other supplies.
They just received a crib from a friend and are redoing a room in their home for a nursery. The project to repaint that room has grown to include the whole house.
“We thought, if we have the paint out for one room, why not do all of the rooms,” Jennifer Kummer said.
She also is preparing as much as she can for when the baby comes. She has lined up her maternity leave, has tried to gather items that she’ll need in the hospital and is making sure she knows exactly where to go when it’s time to deliver.
Jennifer Kummer is still making her birth plan and researching whether she wants to have an epidural during labor. She sees advantages to getting the painkilling medication and to delivering naturally but wants to make the decision that’s best for her and for her baby.
But she’s trying not to let too much bother her and take her away from the moment.
“Women have been having babies for thousands of years, so I’m assuming these are the kinds of things that everybody else worries about,” she said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”The Kummer File” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Who: Jennifer Kummer
Age: 30
Home: Columbus
Husband: Jason
Expecting: A girl, Julianna Faye
Due: July 21
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