The real final countdown

Well folks, it's starting to get serious around here (and not as in Yahoo Serious...). We're now down to less than four weeks until the arrival of Baby S. This is the time when I thought the hormones would be kicking in, making me all chilled out and relaxed about the thought of pushing over 6 pounds of human out of my nether regions (enjoy that thought the next time you're at the supermarket with a package of ground chuck in your hands). But all those hormones are doing pushing my bladder into over-over-overtime.

Oy. Baby S is already here, of course, right where we put her so many months ago, and yet she is as far away as the moon for me. I can't imagine what life will be like as a mother, responsible for the well-being, education and all-round misforming of a child. All Björn and I can liken it to is when we got our dog Lilly. At first we had no idea what we were doing; now we can't imagine life without her. I just hope the baby sheds less than Lilly does. I can't cope with vacuuming for two.

I've been dutifully drinking my red raspberry leaf tea (which doesn't taste as bad as I thought it would; probably because the Gerrmans have a lot of really nasty-tasting teas for whatever might be ailing you), and I had my first round of acupunture yesterday. I'm hoping all of this truly does what it promises. I'm swinging back and forth between "How bad can labor really be?" and "Maybe I should just have the midwife hit me over the head with a mallet, Looney Tunes style." Or perhaps a dainty handkerchief soaked in good-old chloroform will do ...