ready...

I have completely lost track now

of how many people have asked me,

if we're ready for Splodge.

With less than three weeks until due date

and the little wriggler officially full term

it fair to say that Splodge must be pretty close to ready.

We've entered that stage of 'could be any day now'

which seems to have come around so incredibly fast with this pregnancy

that it actually takes my breath away.

So when people ask if we are ready I say yes.

But I could just as easily say no.

Physically I guess we are

or as near as we'll ever be.

The bags are packed,

the baby clothes are washed and put away,

the baby car seat is in the car,

the crib is... well, it's out of storage and will be assembled pretty soon,

the double buggy is ordered,

we have plans in place for when I go into labour,

we know where to go and what to do

and how we might like things to go.

And I feel physically ready.

I feel full term in every sense of the word.

I am full to capacity

and while I am still loving pregnancy,

I am ready to not be pregnant anymore.

So physically we are there.

Mentally...?

Are we mentally prepared for our new arrival?

That I'm not so sure about.

This pregnancy has totally flown by

and it definitely hasn't consumed my entire existence the way my first one did.

I have a beautiful toddler who demands and deserves a good proportion of my time and attention

and even now, as I carry around a huge beach ball belly,

there are still times when I totally forget I'm even expecting.

And as a result I do wonder if I've really had time to get my head around what's happening.

When this little baby arrives I will obviously not be new to this.

I'm not a new mummy anymore

and not only have I done the whole baby thing before,

but it wasn't really that long ago,

so the newborn phase doesn't phase me to much.

It's not an unknown entity this time

and I know we came through unscathed last time

and not only unscathed but wanting to do it all over again,

so I know we can do it.

We can cope with night feeds and those terrible first few nappies.

We can survive the early weeks when you live from one moment to the next

thinking that any form of routine or normality will never be possible.

We have had a baby before and we can do it again.

But at the same time

I am terribly, terribly, nervously and excitedly new.

Because I've never been a mummy of two before.

When we did the newborn thing before

we just went with the flow.

There were three of us to suit

and in reality the bigger two of the three were just happy to do whatever worked for the littlest one.

This time there are four of us to keep happy,

and while I imagine us two big ones will be bending over backwards all over again

it will be to please two little people and not just the one.

I know we'll still be going with the flow like last time,

it'll just be a different kind of flow I guess.

So the truth is

that we are as ready as we can be I suppose.

Physically, definitely.

Mentally, maybe.

Because while we physically know what we're letting ourselves in for

I don't think you can ever really mentally prepare yourself for a baby.

Splodge will just arrive like a whirlwind

and we'll make it work.

We'll all make adjustments

and we'll all go with the flow,

because that's what makes a family.

And ours is about to grow by one

.........Eeek!