Week 35: Becoming 'mommy and daddy'

Last Thursday morning I had what I’ve coined a “life-first.” I woke up early to put on real makeup, made coffee and poured it into a travel mug, and headed out the door to my—wait for it—first ever, pre-scheduled daycare tour. Thirty minutes later, when I pulled up early to the appointment, it dawned on me: I am a real live mom now.
I was greeted at the door by the school director and sat across from her at her desk as she gave me all the information I would need. She told me all about the perks of the program—baby sign language, baby music lessons, baby lunches (included in the price!), strategically rotated toys, and an incredible teacher to baby ratio. This was my first tour, but I was very pleased. Who knew there were so many things to consider when choosing a childcare facility outside of the obvious qualifying factors like safety and how much interaction baby would have?

After we discussed the program, I got to view the infant room where I was asked to take off my shoes. There, in what I decided was the place you go if you are having a crappy day, were at least 15 cooing, crying and sleeping babies, and a small army of smiling teachers. It was a cuteness overload to say the least. The director pointed down to a baby girl with a red jumper and a little comb-over hairdo and said, “This is Rori.” Baby Rori looked up at me with two big blue eyes and smiled a near-toothless grin. As I glanced from her to the other content babies in the circle, I almost lost it.  I myself would have one of those smiling little people in my arms, and very, very soon.
I’ve blogged before about my recent realization that Darrin and I for the first time in our lives would be making decisions for another person outside of us once baby is here. It’s an incredible and scary feeling all at once to have this newfound responsibility, and seeing this realization play out has been the re-occurring theme of my days lately. Outside of childcare, I’ve researched pediatricians, scheduled a breastfeeding class, and called about healthcare plans and benefits to make sure we have chosen the right plan for our little family. We’re trying to hit all the bases to make sure we are prepared for our little girl and that everything is in order—or as much as possible, anyway.
Her nursery is coming along, too—slowly but surely, and Amazon packages with a baby-abundance to fill her room have begun to arrive. Darrin finished painting her dresser light yellow and gave her new stroller a spin around the living room. We are still working to make ends meet and mentally prepare ourselves for the big change headed our way in what is now weeks. I just still can’t believe we’ll be ‘Mommy and Daddy’ soon. And as wild of a thought as it may be, it will undoubtedly be the best thing we have become.