Next Thursday I will be hosting my first ever Thanksgiving and I couldn’t be more excited. I absolutely love to cook and entertain (if I didn’t have a job, I’d already be ironing the tablecloths and arranging the centerpieces) and it makes me feel very grown-up--in a good way. I am also, however, nervous. Nervous because I tend to overdo it and I’m almost eight months pregnant and actually starting to feel that way. And it’s a pretty major Thanksgiving….

Did you think it was awfully suspicious how, seemingly moments after conceiving, piles of junk mail from Babies R Us and Wal Mart and every other major retailer arrived at your door? Are the digital pregnancy tests rigged up with GPS trackers now or what? We are going to need to be outfitted with the necessary items to keep our baby clothed, clean, fed, and healthy, but while I’m pretty sure I don’t need a (seriously unattractive) matching glider, ottoman, and crib skirt, I’m not entirely sure of which items I really do need within easy reach.

When I was pregnant with Alex I took childcare classes, breastfeeding classes, read books, logged onto every pregnancy website I could find and had those weekly e-mail updates coming at me from all directions. Needless to say, when he arrived I felt very prepared. This time around I have to remind myself that I’m even having a baby (in two months…yipes!)and I haven’t so much as cracked a pamphlet. Of course I know what I’m doing but I still want to freshen up on some of the rules and techniques—and any tips to help my baby be a better sleeper!

I’ve heard over and over again how you’re not supposed to make any major changes with your first child right before your second one is born. I’m actually using this little gem as my excuse to not potty train Alex in the next two months (we try, he’s done it occasionally but frankly I’m too tired to put in the effort right now). I was also hoping it meant I could keep Alex in a crib for a while. He is a great sleeper, has plenty of room in there, and has never even tried to escape. That is, until this past Saturday. Halloween was a pretty awful day for me, actually. I want to tell you the whole story so bear with me….

Yesterday four separate people alluded to how much my life is going to change when this baby is born. That is, when I go from having one rambunctious two-year-old boy to having one rambunctious two-year-old boy plus a newborn baby.