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.

We woke to dark skies and pouring rain on Saturday morning, and my nesting instinct kicked in. Full force. Check out my projects from this past weekend, and share what kinds of nesting activities you've been up to!

I’m doing some organizing—I’m in a back-to-school mode, despite the fact that I haven’t been in school in almost 10 years—and that means trashing a lot of stuff I don’t need. I have a huge bulletin board above my desk and it’s littered with old invites, expired library program calendars and…baby announcements. That means there are also a ton of those little two-inch-by two-inch photos of teeny, tiny babies floating around.

I’m going to a baby shower for a friend tomorrow and I need your help. Along with the super cute invite came a little insert that reads:

Baby wipes, teething rings, diapers galore,
Onesies, bibs, books, blankets, binkies and more.
If each guest would bring just one of these,
Our new mommy and baby would surely be pleased.
No need to wrap it, your name don’t tell,
she’ll find the essentials in her Wishing Well.

I already got her a nice present but I have to pick something up for the Wishing Well today and, well, I obsess way too much about this stuff and want it to be good.

Does anyone ever feel prepared for the baby to arrive? No matter what I do to get things ready (classes, reading, research, organizing frenzies, trips to Buy Buy Baby, etc.), I cannot seem to relax and feel ready. The other night I couldn't sleep again so I finally gave up on the idea of shuteye at 5 a.m., and instead organized my hospital bag and cleared out the hand-me-down maternity clothes I never wore that were cluttering up the nursery closet. Did I feel any sense of relief after having checked those things off my list? Strangely, no. Despite repeated attempts like these to get things done, everything still feels so unsettled and overwhelming.

Granted, I have just under four weeks to go before my due date, so I'm supposed to have a little more time to prepare, but I'm very aware of the fact that my baby will technically be full term (37 weeks) in less than ONE week and it's not beyond the realm of possibilities that she could decide to arrive then -- or sooner!