(Un)Preparation

My sister-in-law Shannon asked the other day if I've bought much for the baby yet. I called some of the things I've purchased to mind.  This really cute elephant bank, a onesie that says "Tougher than I look", and some grey and yellow fabrics for the baby's curtains - you know - all of the essentials.  Shannon, mother of three, listened to my acquisitions then said, "Oh, actually I was thinking of things like a good thermometer or a humidifier."  R-i-g-h-t. 

Cute and practical.  What?  It teaches the value of a dollar!

She also had a hot tip as to how to keep the healthcare and vaccination cards organized.  Each child has their cards in a ziploc bag in the same drawer (for her it's the change table drawer) so that if a child needs to be rushed off to the medi-centre or hospital in the night, their info is all together.  The fact that they're in a ziploc means that you don't even have to take them out of the bag to show them to the nurse or doctor, meaning less chance of misplacing them.  This is great advice given my recent tendency to lose everything I touch.
Not only that, but when I was visiting a friend and her six month old the other day, topics such as the schedule for routine doctor's check ups and vaccinations, the introduction of cereals and fruits, and milestones like rolling over and crawling were of course discussed.  And at some point during this discussion I started to panic.  
Ohmygosh I am so unprepared!  And clearly not as obsessively organized as I thought!  The birth?  No problem!  I've been reading everything and anything on the topic and have been attending classes and practicing the breathing techniques and visualizations at home.  But how on God's green earth am I supposed to know all of the other stuff?  There's a lot of focus on preparing for the birth, but let's get real! Labour will be one day, or two if I'm cursed like my mom.  But I'm going to be responsible for a tiny person everyday for the next 18 years.  Where are the Parenting 101 classes?  
I suppose I'll do what I always do when faced with a problem to solve - research. Reading up on the topic will at least give me a false confidence not to be shattered until the baby arrives and all of the things I read about work 25% of the time or less.
Amazon.com and library website, here I come.  If you've got any good recommendations or useful tips, I'd love to hear them!