Preparing for Schwangston 2.0

Sorry for the blog hiatus. I would say we have been occupied with setup or "nesting" for Schwangston the sequel, but well... much like my Senior paper, we're waiting until the last minute.

Rewind 2wks ago. We were about as prepared as the Germans before D-Day. It wasn't that we didn't know the baby was coming, we just used the list of excuses below to delay our planning.

1. We've done this before, and our confidence lulls us into a mental state of "false readiness".

2. We've got all "the stuff," we just need to get it out, and we'll be fine.

3. No rush -- the baby isn't going too need much to start.

4. Ms. Schwangston is too tired from pregnancy & work to crack the planning whip.

5. Mr. Schwangston is too tired from managing Carter, Ms. Schwangston, and the Schwangston world.

6. We've done this before, no rush.

7. There is always next weekend.

For those keeping score at home, the baby is coming Friday -- we've run out of "next weekends."

Flashback: two weeks ago, a co-worker who was due with her 1st around the same time as Ms. Schwangston delivered 3 weeks early. This was a shot across the bow. As happy as I was for her little baby girl, I began waking up sweating that I was going to take Ms. Schwangston to the hospital, rush home, climb into the attic, and prepare for this new addition cramming all night circa UT midterms 1999. This time, no flash cards would be necessary. It could be a little concerning to hospital personnel if we strap the new kid into a 2 year old size car seat.

So in a rare and awkward reversal of roles, I became the panicked driving force to prep for this event. Several trips to the attic later and a total upheaval of an overstuffed closet, we now have achieved moderate level of preparedness.

An update of the scoreboard:

Car seat installed - Check

Bassinet in the master room - Check

Tour of the Hospital - Check
Washed Newbie Clothes - Check

Registered for Daycare - Check

Packed Bag for the Hospital - See excuse #4 & 5

Crib assembled - See #3-6

Name - See all of the above

So as the Schwangston baby threat reaches RED (severe), we have moved our preparedness to BLUE (guarded).

On the positive side, I believe Carter is as prepared mentally as a 2.5 yo kid can be. We talk to the baby, say prayers for the baby, and now simulate the baby riding with us in the car. Unfortunately on the way to church, Carter announced that he would like "to eat the baby...chomp, chomp, chomp" because "the baby tastes like ice cream!" It seems we might need a little more work there as well.

Hopefully things will go better for us than the Germans on June 6th.

Thanks for reading...