Preparations

A lot of people have told me I will be a great mom. I like to think they aren't saying that just to be nice and I really hope they are right. In the past few weeks, we have been setting up the nursery, getting some of the last major purchases and figuring out what still needs to be done. And it has been a bit overwhelming. I discovered I didn't know how to hang up baby clothes which is probably much easier than putting clothes on a living, moving baby. I can't even put together Ikea furniture without pinching my finger and having to bandage it up before proceeding. Thankfully, Ben is better than I am at assembling furniture. Somehow I don't think that skill transfers to changing poopy diapers, but I have my fingers crossed. In the end, getting everything ready for baby's arrival has just shown me how unprepared I really am.
At almost 8 months pregnant, a lot of people ask me if I'm ready for the baby to get here. That is a very loaded question with a complicated answer. I usually reply, "Just about but we still have a few small things to take care of." Technically that is true, but I am going to have another human being totally dependent on me for survival. Am I ready for that? Is anyone ever ready for that? Does everyone else freak out about that as much as I do? I just can't really wrap my head around the fact that I'm going to be so responsible for someone else in just a month.
On the other hand, I am so ready to get this baby out of me. From the outside, I still look very small, but  I have something the size of a coconut and about 5 pounds in there. The amount of toilet paper I have gone through in the past month is astronomical. After walking slowly up the stairs to get to the bathroom, I often stop to catch my breath as though I've just sprinted 100m. My dessert each night consists of two Tums, maybe a third right before bed. I'm glad she is getting nice and plump and ready for the world in there, but I cannot wait to have my body back.
Anyway, If you were wondering if we are ready for our baby's arrival, there's the real answer. But the nursery is really starting to come together, I'm knitting lots of hats and booties, and (thanks to friends and family) we have almost everything we need and plenty of cute clothes. I've decided to get as much as I can ready and then baby Schwanda will get here when she gets here and we will figure it out from there. It seems that's what parents have been doing for generations and the world population is increasing so it has to work. Just be prepared and raise our daughter the best way we know how... and pray... a lot. That's the plan at least, but I am still freaking out a little bit.