Last night was a milestone for my DH and I. No, we did not fill out any new paper work or get any new agency information. Last night was the first time we intentionally walked through the baby section at Target.

Now before you all scoff at our rather small accomplishment, consider how rarely one actually walks down the baby aisle when one does not have children. Sure, there are times when a person is forced to brave the section to buy a suitable baby shower present. Of course, on-line shopping takes care of that inconvenience. And, yes, there are times you walk past it on the way to somewhere else. Then it just seems like the dark entrance to the forbidden forest: best to be avoided. Or you completely ignore it all together, especially if it shares an aisle with other products. For years, I thought  the shelves behind me as I chose my frozen desserts were empty.

Yesterday, all that changed. We needed to do some grocery shopping anyway, and our calendar opened up due to an unfortunate miscalculation of when church services occurred. (Please note: It is true that I am on the vestry at our church and I do usually know what time services start, but I have been very tired lately and my brain obviously short circuited. It happens.) Since we had time, we decided to take a few moments strolling down the baby section. Sounds fun, right? Getting excited for our child, cooing at all the fun things we get to buy, maybe even picking up a little something to get ready…all good things, right?

Not exactly.

Some parts were fun. The four way cribs seemed reasonable to me, but Tadd wants to shop around now that he has a baseline. But what is with all the swing varieties? And which is better: Baby Bjorn or sling? And is there a good baby bag that we would both feel comfortable carrying or should we just buy two? And what is a good price for diapers?

Then there was the food. We were encouraged to see so many organic options, and we laughed about the different flavors. Then Tadd turned to me and said, “So, how often do you feed a baby, anyway?”

Pop quiz! My jaw dropped and my eyes got wide as I sputtered, “I-I don’t know!” Those that know me know that I am a voracious reader and quite the seeker of knowledge. When we first decided to start a family, I immediately bought some parenting books to study up. It seems I only studied for the first chapter. I know a bunch about cradle cap and breastfeeding, even a bit about swaddling. However, my child will not come home as a brand newborn baby. He or she might be a baby, might be a toddler, might be growing teeth, might have a few teeth already. The truth is, I haven’t studied much about infants to toddlers. I’ve been around them and play with them, but I really haven’t read up on them.

So, now my new mommy list of "Things That Make Me Nervous" consists of the following:

• Find a pediatrician
• Learn some Amharic
• Figure out best carrying device
• Decorate the nursery in a hip, but soothing manner
• Understand how much babies eat, by age and development stage

I have a feeling this list will change dramatically over the next few months.