The Swaddle

Either this baby is a good actor or this actually works. Check it out:

"ARE YOU READY????"

Our baby ticker says 28 days.

Oh My Stars...I remember when it said 228 days!

And everyone asks "are you ready???"
I have no clue what "ready" means.

If it means that the nursery should be done. Then, yes! it's been done for weeks.
It's packed to the gills with multi-colored onesies for all ages, books, diapers, wipes, night lights, musical mobiles, a crib, a dresser, wooden children's clothes hangers (no wire hangers!!!), formula, bottles, some wonderfully over-the-top items like two of the cutest Neiman Marcus dresses ever, a pair of fabulous pink Stuart Weitzman baby shoes, the list of stuff goes on.

Car seat. Check.

Stroller. Check.

Read the baby book.  OK, I'm halfway done. 

Newborn care classes. Check.

Four baby showers (!!!). Check.

A freezer full of breast milk. Check.

A last-minute, fun-filled, crazy, stay-up-til-all-hours-of-the-night-vacation-with-friends. Check.

Are we ready??  I guess we are.  I mean, we have the stuff! You know, that stuff that everyone says you need?

We got it. Tons of it. 
In fact, we may have to change her outfits hourly for the first few days so she gets some time in each of them.

We also have gift cards just in the rare case that we don't have enough stuff.

Someone gave us a $300 spa certificate.  Think we'll need it in about three months?  Yup, I'm banking on it.

Someone also gave us a dozen baby-sitting coupons.  Think we'll need them? Ummmm, I'd bet my LIFE on it!

Another gift was from my sister-in-law...hundreds of dollars of restaurant gift cards for take-out with a note that said, "When the tough get going, the tough get take-out!"  I laughed.  And then I cried.  Well, I didn't really cry, but I thought, oh SH*T, this is it!  The moment we've been waiting for. It's 28 days away!  Oh no, are we ready??????????

And then it hit me.  We are so not ready.
We are so not ready to hit the jackpot. To win the baby lottery. We are so not ready to experience that never-to-be-forgotten-day, when we meet our little girl, the cute and cuddly one, that poops, and spits up, and keeps us up all hours of the night, but will warm our hearts forever...the one that we've been waiting to hold in our arms for what seems like a lifetime.   WE ARE SO NOT READY FOR THIS.  What was I thinking???

But then I kept thinking (thank God), and it dawned on me -- maybe, just maybe, actually BEING unprepared is the most exciting part that comes at the end of this whole journey toward becoming fathers?

-The surprise of our reactions when that proverbial light is finally reached at the end of the tunnel.

-What will our eyes actually DO when they are upon this beautiful prize?

-Will our hearts burst with so much love for her the moment we meet?

Oh, the anticipation and all of the reactions are too much to ponder as we close in on this big leap in to parenthood.  And while I have been feeling a little uneasy about all the things that have to be done before she arrives, I have to say I am now looking forward to being unprepared for that big day.
In fact, it is likely to be the proudest under-prepared moment of my life.  
I think we're ready.

Swaddling, Feeding, the dos, the don'ts, the doodoo and the diaper change.

Tonight we attended our first newborn care class and it was a bit of a hoot.  The one funny remark that had me laughing for a few minutes was the African American couple who answered the question our instructor asked, "what do you think your baby's color should be????"  I paused a second and the couple immediately said "black!" and the whole room, including mother, exploded with laughter.  I think it was what you call an "ice breaker"...well it broke, and the video started rolling and nipples starting appearing and babies were being delivered vaginally, and the sensory overload began to develop.  Maybe not just sensory overload but the reality of our situation started really settling in.  Our daughter is coming SOON!

Anyway, we ended with a bathing, diapering and swaddling session and Bill was doing a pretty good job, don't you think?  I was the hired photographer.  The class was fun but a little long, and I'm happy that there's only one more before we head out to DC on April 26th!

Bill can roll a baby burrito with the best of them!!!

She's Headed South!!!

Our surro emailed us after her OB appointment this morning and the title of the email was "Happy Dance!!!" because our little girl is officially head down and hopefully staying put for the 4-6 weeks!  To be honest, she is measuring two weeks ahead right now so she's growing and will be a bigger baby than our surro has delivered in the past...so hopefully more like 4 weeks.  Which means we arrive on May 1st and that would be just DAYS after we arrive.  Due date is May 17th.

Getting super, super excited now that everything is in the right order in utero and no more fear of c-sections!!!

I forgot to say a huge congrats to Avey in Delhi who welcomed Hari recently! He's adorable!!!
And sending lots of LOVE and PRAYERS out to Bernadette and Duane and their two little ones. We are all thinking about you guys...