I’m a list person. In fact, I have a google doc for pretty much every major event in my life: getting married, buying a car, buying a house, having a baby (make that 2 google docs), finding a school, throwing a birthday bash for a small child (and a 50-year old child), and so on. And don’t think I don’t have my mat leave backup plan in a google doc. I do.

On top of that, I generally have a notebook for “just in time” list-making that won’t require an internet connection, and between me and my wonderful husband, the lists never end. Funny enough, I firmly believe that Zoe arrived 11 days early BECAUSE we ran out of things to do to prepare for her.

I remember the panic that set in on the way to work one day when we had 4 small things left on the list – and I forced my husband to ADD to that list because I simply wasn’t ready for birth. I kid you not, 48 hours later I was in labor (possibly unrelated, but still curious).

So the fact that we are frantically preparing for NOT ONLY the birth of sweet Ella BUT ALSO a 4-year-old birthday party (not to mention the fact that we both have demanding full-time jobs, mind you) has kept us quite busy lately. In fact, last week I had five (yes, 5) doctor appointments on top of everything else.

The bright side? We got the “All Clear” this week from our team of professionals (it really does take a village):

• Susan Minich, Acupuncturist (who happens to be a midwife): “She’s a great size, and her head is right where we want it. Now relax.”
• Jessica Schneider, Baby Doc: “Alright, I’ll see you next Tuesday (my now-weekly visit time), if not earlier.” This one was in response to the joke that Zoe tells anyone who will listen that Ella will be born ON Zoe’s birthday, which is Monday.
• Dr. Platt, Fetal Imaging Doc: “She’d be just fine if she came today – BUT better at 39 weeks (we are at 37).” This after fetal measurements estimate that Ella is 6 pounds and the perfect size for a NON-gestational diabetes baby (the concern with gestational diabetes babies is that they get too big, so Ella is perfect!)

My dietician signed off on me and prepped me for “after-birth” care and expectations. And my physical therapist started talking about postpartum exercises… Don’t these people know that I AM NOT READY?! ;)

Anyway, as luck would have it, I’m swamped with things to do. Between work, Ella and Zoe, my dance card is FULL for the foreseeable future – and given that our due date is September 23, we should have time to get things done.

In the meantime, Zoe is super excited to be a big sister! She can’t stop talking about Ella, and she’s convinced Ella is going to look like her. She loves that picture above of herself where her “cheeks are so big they look like they’re melting”.  For my part, I wouldn’t mind that one bit. Two beautiful, healthy, smart little girls would make for a heck of a family pic!

But for now, we wait. Wish us luck!