Now that all the “big stuff” is set and ready for Baby Sister, like most of the nursery, the hospital bags, the name (!!), and getting far enough in pregnancy that she is allowed to come out, I find my mind freed up to look at the little things.

This is a very exciting phase, and it is one I had forgotten from my pregnancy with Lewis. I really enjoy feeling “ready”, but still tweaking and getting things in order without all the pressure and anxiety.

The little things I’ve been doing this week include washing the infant car seat cover (absolutely vital? no. felt good to do? yes!), dusting the bassinet and putting on the sheet, ordering a breast pump, putting batteries in the clock for the nursery, setting up the baby monitors (video and audio), scheduling bill payments through the end of August so I don’t have to worry about that, etc.

We even did a “test run” at work where my colleagues pretended I wasn’t there and tried to work without me. It was a good dip in the shallow end, because it was a slightly less busy day than normal, with our biggest client out all day at meetings. The team did awesome, and just needed me to step in to answer a few questions here and there. I hope it boosted their confidence, because I thought they did great (even though they were stressed and busy and had too much to do. They handled it like champs!). Next week we’ll try again when the big client is back, and they’ll go into the deep end with another test run on my (usually) busiest day of the week.

Pretty exciting times. We’re cruising towards 36 weeks, and the anticipation is building. Every contraction I have now is analyzed with big hopes that maybe we’re seeing signs of it being “time”. Wishful thinking on my part so far, which is really for the best, since each day Baby Sister stays in is good for her. But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for my water to break and get this party started. I’m so eager to meet our sweet girl! We all are!