This is a picture of my son CJ, when he was four years old, holding a decorative pillow I had personalized for him before he was born. ”What a weird word,” you must be thinking. Well, my friends, that is what this story is about. How this “interesting” word found its way onto my beloved son’s nursery pillow.
Some people don’t believe pregnancy brain is real. Let me dispel those people of that notion.
In early 2016, I was proudly putting together CJ’s travel-themed nursery. He is my second child and there I was, admittedly getting to it months later than I did with my first, but pouring my heart and soul into it nonetheless. Someone gifted me a beautiful metal old-timey plane mobile to hang over his crib. I painted an accent wall blue and spent an eternity adhering a huge vinyl world map decal with the words “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” in that unmistakable Dr. Seuss font. I ordered a handmade shelf in the shape of a plane to hang over his blue dresser which was adorned with a globe from my childhood. Friends at the baby shower had written well wishes all over it to a future, literate CJ.
I scoured websites like Etsy to find the finishing touch for his room: a pillow with his name. We knew early on he was going to go by his initials, CJ. And I finally found the right pillow cover. It was going to carry his name and make the room his. I ordered the pillow, filling out all the details – our address, payment info, the size and fabric, and his two initials “CJ.”
The pillow cover took weeks to get to our house. When it arrived I excitedly opened the package. I wish I could have seen my own face when I unfolded it, and saw, in the font I had carefully picked out, “IBITISLS” instead of “CJ.’
I was livid. How could they so terribly screw up my order? I was verging on rage and despair ( thanks, hormones!). Before typing out a forceful diatribe to the seller, I had the presence of mind to check my order.
And there is was. My own message. Somehow I requested: IBITISLS.
I started laughing maniacally until I cried. I have NO idea how I did that. I wonder what the seller thought. I was so frustrated with myself. It was specially made and there was no way I could justify spending more money on another one.
Then I had an image of my future son, taking this ridiculous personalized pillowcase with him to college. I imagined his girlfriend asking him what IBITISLS stood for and I imagined him chuckling as he recounted the tale of his frenzied, hormonal mother ordering his pillowcase by mistake.
Now, this pillow cover is just background imagery in our crazy lives, but sometimes I stop and look at it sitting haphazardly on his unmade bed and think to myself, pregnancy brain is real. And you were a little insane.
For the record, it’s pronounced “IBITIZZLES.”
