18 Days to Go...

Not that I'm counting or anything. Actually, my husband is hoping our son will arrive a day after the due date, since November 18 is Latvian Independence Day and both his parents are Latvian. Also, November 18 is a Saturday, which means 2 fewer days that he has to take off from work. That is a real benefit, since he does not get any paternity leave and only has 5 days of vacation for the rest of 2006. Meanwhile, I've been off on maternity leave (bless my employer) since Oct. 23. For the first week, I spent so much time running around ticking items off my To-Do list, that I hardly had time to absorb the fact that I am no longer working.. and won't be again for months! But now that I've bought or removed (on a friend's advice) the few remaining items on our baby registry; and picked up those basic items--diapers, rash cream, washcloths, Purell, and wipes--that never made it onto the registry; washed all the baby clothes and bedding with Dreft detergent; bought nursing bras and related paraphernalia; and put together all the baby furniture, there's little left to do to prepare for his arrival. I finally find myself with more free time than I've had in years and fewer obligations. Last night, my husband and I took our last baby prep class: baby CPR and safety. That followed the fifth and final 3-hour child birth class. It still amazes me that we spent twice as long (15 hours!!) learning about childbirth, a process that shouldn't last more than 24 hours, as we did on baby care, which lasts years! For five Monday nights, we went through breathing techniques and what seemed a minute-by-minute reenactment of the stages of labor and every potential problem that could arise during child birth (you don't want to know, really). I think we're pretty well prepared for almost any scenario when it comes to the actual birth of our son. But what we do after we bring our son home.. that's a little less clear. We may have the basics down--diaper changing, burping, bathing--but there seems to be a range of advice on how to handle almost any other situation. Every baby is different, and every parent, it seems, has his/her own opinion on the best way to raise him. I'm sure we'll have our own opinions too soon enough. But I'm glad that my mom will be with us for the first couple weeks, at least. I may be a mommy myself soon, but I can admit, I still need my mommy too.