Wednesday - The BIG Day

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I went to the doctor this morning and it turns out our little bundle of joy is WAY too comfy in the womb. Since tomorrow is my due date, it is time to take the bull by the horns and get this show on the road.

So, I report to the hospital at 6am on Wednesday for a date with destiny (and an IV of pitocin).

As Mich & Reuter can surely vouch for, it is so strange to have the date set. And to know your baby's birth date before it happens. "Yes, honey, you were born on May 20th because Wednesday was the doctor's on-call day!"

(Oh well, it's as good a reason as Lee & my wedding anniversary. When we had to move the wedding up 8 months thanks to the Navy, we called our reception hall and they happened to have a cancellation on September 16th.)

On one hand, it is nice to know and be able to plan for it. But, on the other hand, if it were a surprise, I wouldn't have time to overanalyze everything which would be nice too. My last day of work was on Friday, so at this point, all I have to do is obsess. And I'm doing a good job of it.

While prego, almost everyone reads the book "What to Expect When You're Expecting" or some similar ginormous book. (Seriously, it's 616 pages long.) You read about all the crazy things that are going to happen to you thanks to that alien being growing in your stomach and the hormones that come with. And you don't believe it. "There's no way a dark line is going to appear on my stomach." Oh... There it is.

The thing I probably was most skeptical about was the idea of "nesting". When a woman is getting close to the end of the pregnancy, supposedly she starts wanting to get the house in order, clean everything in sight, wash & re-wash the baby clothes, etc etc etc. I did NOT think that sounded like something I would ever do. I usually avoid cleaning as much as possible.

But, as shocking as it sounds, I have totally gotten kind of crazy about things. I want to organize every closet. I am obsessed with baskets and all the things I could store in baskets. I bought bags that go under your bed to store winter clothes during the summer and summer clothes during the winter. I have rearranged our bookshelves. I wrote out directions to whoever might come to our house about how to feed the cats. I've gotten every thank-you note written for the gifts we have received. I have some baby bottles sterilized and ready to be used. The inside of my car has been cleaned. I have created a list of everyone in the family's phone numbers and who is supposed to call who.

And now, things have been stepped up a notch. Knowing that labor is like 40 hours away, suddenly my "clean enough" house is not clean enough for the newborn that will be coming home this weekend. Or for the guests that will be arriving to see the newborn.

So, what is left on my nuerotic list of nesting?
* Wash every blanket & towel in the house.
* Dust everything.
* Clean every un-dustable surface with PineSol.
* Re-pack my hospital bag.
* Make up the beds that my mom & dad will be sleeping in when they visit.
* Make Lee vacuum (I don't like to vacuum, it's loud.)
* Stock the beverage fridge (yes, some celebratory Bud Light will be included)

Ok, time to get back to nesting. (I think Lee is out "man nesting" in the yard.)