Crossin' things off the list.

Do you form mental checklists in your head? The kind that swarm around you, nudging you at every free moment, and only can be silenced by accomplishing something?

I have a terrific mental checklist goin' on right now, spurred on by my impending arrival and the work that I want to get done prior to his arrival. Here are some things that I've been able to cross off the list recently.

1. Baby's Name: Check.
Dan and I have FINALLY chosen a name that we both agree on, after numerous conversations, State-Department type formal meetings, concessions, negotiations, consult with outside sources (most of which were ridiculously non-helpful), FOUR baby name books and lots and lots and lots of patience. I'm pretty sure that if you gave us another 32 weeks, we could solve the whole "who gets custody of the Jackson kids" debacle as well as the Israeli- Palestinian conflict.
We did get lots of help from a wonderful book called The Baby Name Wizard, which has both a reasonable dictionary-type list of names, their origin, popularity, and a small commentary on the feeling of the name (feminine, strong, out of date, etc.). But the most helpful part of each entry includes suggested sibling names, so we looked up the girls' first and middle names and actually found the name we chose from there. The rest of the book lists Style Families of names which was also very helpful. We are apparently "New Classics" type of baby namers. If you know anyone who is pregnant, buy it for them.

2. New OB: Check.
I had my first appointment with my new OB practice yesterday and am happy to report it went very well. People were all friendly, both the nurse and the doctor acknowledged how hard it must be to switch this late in the game, and the appointment was uneventful. At one point I was describing briefly how I had back labor with Michaela, and he said, shaking his head quite ruefully, "Yeah... back labor SUCKS." How can you not love that?
He reassured me that this practice and my old practice have similar philosophies and procedures and that I really shouldn't notice too much of a difference. I did ask what they did in the case of women going past their due date, and told him how I had Michaela 15 days late, and that I was SURE that no one let women go that long past due anymore, right? RIGHT??? RIGHT?? And he answered "Oh, NO....." in the same tone that I honestly couldn't tell if they really didn't or if he was just humoring me. I laughed.
I go back in two weeks and see another doctor in the practice.

3. Baby in position: Check.
Probably the best news I got at the doctor's appointment was that Baby Boy is in a head down- tushie up position, ready for delivery in a few weeks.

4. Toiletries for Baby: Check.
I went to Walmart the other day and purchased all the stuff one needs for welcoming a baby home: diapers (including the newborn kind that have a little cutout for the healing umbilical cord... sooo cute!), A&D Ointment, bath supplies, bottles, Infant Tylenol and Motrin, a few little hats and washcloths, all the kinds of things you stock your diaper bag with.

5. Linens for Baby: Check.
The following day, my mom and I and the girls headed up to Babies R Us and bought the sheets, changing table covers, and bassinet sheets I needed, as well as a Bundle Me carseat cover for the baby in khaki, instead of Jenna's pink one, and a very nice Sit N Stand stroller for carting the kids around. In a pinch all three kids can go on this one, which is great for Michaela's "tired legs" we often hear about. It's waaaay better than my Ghetto Double Stroller, which is a regular travel system stroller with the back pushed flat so both girls can sit in the seat and I can walk faster than .0006 miles per hour through a mall store.

Still on the list: finishing up Michaela and Jenna's baby photo albums, sewing the rest of the baby blankets, sewing a pillow for the nursery, scrapbooking Michaela's baptism pictures in an album, getting stuff down from the attic, picking out paint color for the room...