Questions, Questions, and I'm afraid to Answer!

Two questions I frequently get nowadays are, "How much longer?" and "Are you ready?"... these are to be expected as a pregnant woman's due date quickly approaches.  I don't mind the questions--it's the answers I dread giving.

As of today, I'm roughly 4 weeks away from my due date.  If our little "Maybe" decides to do what Reagan did, that means we have that plus 2 days till she'll be here.  I'd love for her to come on her actual due date, Mother's Day, for sentimental reasons (I was born on Father's Day).  However, I'm pulling for her remaining in-utero for another 9 months!

My feelings about this pregnancy/upcoming birth have been all over the place.  I remember being thrilled beyond belief when we first got the results back that I was expecting... and a few days later, crying because I was terrified and thought we'd made a mistake having kids so close together!  Now, I'm feeling those same things all over again.  While I'm excited that we're having another sweet baby (and a girl at that), I still have these lingering fears that I'm incapable of caring for a newborn and a toddler.

I remember being absolutely exhausted the first few weeks home with Reagan.  My family helped out the first week by rotating whoever came to stay with us, and then Richard went back to work in the middle of the second week.  Those early days on my own with Reagan weren't so bad because if I didn't get enough rest at night, I was able to rest during the day when he napped (and he napped A LOT).  This time, I'll be sleep deprived and in charge of entertaining/disciplining a busy toddler.  That's what I'm mostly worried about.  At least when Richard's home, we'll be able to divide and conquer. 

Looking on the positive side, though, Reagan has matured so much since my initial fears of having kids roughly 22 months apart set in.  He's become much more independent, obedient, can communicate his wishes even better (which helps us avoid a lot of unnecessary frustration), and is still really great at entertaining himself.  This last piece of goodness is what I'll be relying on a great deal at the beginning (until I get the hang of things).  I also think his love for babies will help us out.  The last few times we've been around babies, he's tried holding their hands, playing with their feet, tickling them, and (alas!) pick them up.  I think he's got a sweet, nurturing personality (something I found super attractive in his daddy, who loves kids) and this will also help us through those early months. 

Aside from all of this, I still have a pretty long to-do list.  One of those items has been on our list since we moved in almost 2 years ago--cleaning out the garage.  Richard and I have boxes sitting out there that haven't been unpacked since I moved into his apartment when we married almost 4 years ago!  Obviously, they're super important items we can't live without!  We've also got some cleaning, organizing, and decorating on the list. 

Your prayers would be greatly appreciated over the next few weeks and months.  Specifically, I am requesting prayers for 1) a continued healthy pregnancy, 2) a safe delivery of a healthy baby, 3) our strength as a couple as we go through some sleep deprived days with two kids, and 4) our parenting of these two precious children, that we do what is expected of us to raise faithful followers of Christ.

Also, any tips for those first few days of having two children would be awesome!