Bake-tastic: time to get cookin'

Sunday. Wakey, wakey. It's time to get baking.  And not just in the kitchen, either.    Time to get cookin' on baby preparations.

I was given a stack of pregnancy and motherhood magazines a few weeks ago by my sister in law.  Mothers-to-be everywhere need information, comfort, entertaining.  Plus I plonk 'em in the bathroom so Thom can learn all about birth, labour and everything mama-tactic while he 'sits on his throne' in the morning.

What can you find in almost any womens' magazine?  Quizzes.  How are you measuring up compared to other women, is the general question.  Is rating ourselves like this really a nice way to spend our free time?  In any case, they are a little irresistible and I took one on 'what kind of pregnant woman are you?'. Turns out I am too laid back.  Uh-oh.  I was pretty pleased at managing my anxieties and not turning a baby into a substitute for my own identity and self esteem.  But have a gone too far in the direction of the slacker?

So I got crackin'.  I organised the house, streamlining and creating storage space.  I baked, baked and baked some more.  It made me feel all motherly and stuff, with the double benefit of keeping Thom happy in the midst of my whirlwind of organising.  He even took some bits up to the loft at my request. 

And I engaged in the primary activity of mothers in western society: shopping.  Got down to finally committing to a few baby essentials.  Although I have not yet kitted out the nursery, I had not been a total loser.  I've shopped around, picking out the bits I wanted and sifting wisely through the massive gravitational pull of marketing directed at mothers to figure out what we would actually need.  So my first mama-shop was really a simple case of clicking a couple bits preselected on the Internet.

How do I feel?  Truthfully, a bit more sorted and more relaxed for it.  The bits I've ordered are on their way and the soon-to-be nursery is slowly developing a wall insulated by bales of diapers.  Not sure I completely share the magazine's perspective of the ideal mother, but this feels good enough.  Plus, best of all, with freshly knitted hats from the mother-in-law here and ready to go, how could I feel uptight?  I feel like I can relax, but I'll make sure not to relax too much.