Tomorrow is 27 Weeks

Megan is at work today and Oscar, our orange, adopted son from the Milwaukee Human Society, and I are cleaning the house, creating a to-do list for my complex application for professional counselor licensure, and updating our pregnancy blog.  Tomorrow will be the completion of our 27th week of pregnancy which, if my calculations are correct, means "oh my gosh, I'm going to be a father to a baby girl: feed her, love her, and keep her safe!"  It has baffled me for the past few weeks why I have been so nervous about bringing Lilly into this world, but I think I have it figured out.  My current job has me working with parents and their children from ages five to 17 helping them establish structure in their homes and relationships and creating a safe, loving environment in which their children can flourish (well that's our goal, anyway).  In the past seven month, this work has given me access to a wealth of knowledge of how to accomplish these goals: child development, social skill building, behavior modification, etc.  Like all humans were knowledge and experience is the kryptonite to fear, I feel comfortable and competent to raise a child in a safe and loving environment.  One problem though, my knowledge has been focused towards my client population, which basically excludes children below the age of four.  I'm guessing this is were my fear kicks in, I still know so little about raising a young child, specifically an infant.  Sure, I know a bit about babies, but my experience and knowledge is limited.  

Gratefully, I am surrounded by people who have a wealth of information and experience in raising babies (my moms and dads, aunts and uncles, grandparents, siblings, etc.) and a partner who has done nothing the past several months but read books about raising and caring for an infant.  Megan has probably done as much research regarding pregnancy and child-rearing as I have in later child development for my work.  Looking forward towards the next 13 weeks (give or take a couple), I guess my job should be tapping into these supports as well as picking up a few of the books Megan has been reading.  

Bottom line: there's not much time left for me to let these fears get the best of me.  If past experience has taught me anything, setting time aside to learn and ask for help is the way to conquer these fears.  This is one of the many lessons the families are work with have taught me and it's time to put it into practice.  For family and friends, including my lovely wife, Megan, prepare to receive inquiries.