The first step is admitting you have a problem, so I have to admit it:

I have baby fever.

I, like many people out there, love kids. I like working with kids, teaching them, interacting with them, and I probably want children of my own someday. Baby fever is all of that, multiplied by, like, a thousand. It’s like, “I want a child of my own and I want that child now.” Urban Dictionary says it is "when a girl starts feeling a strong desire to have a baby, possibly to the point of obsession," which is 100% accurate.

For personal reasons, I decided to take this spring semester off, and I am currently working at a nursery school. Besides enjoying the work environment and loving the children I work with, it has also been fuel for the fire. In the past week or so, I’ve begun to realize how extra I am. Just ask Doug, he’ll tell you how annoying I can get.

It’s equal parts hilarious and ridiculous. So, if you’re as obsessed with having babies as I am, here are 7 things you know to be true.

1. You always have to stop by the baby section at the store.

Here’s the scene: Doug and I are at Target because why not. We walk by the baby section. I hold up the tiniest pair of baby pink Chuck Taylors you’ve ever seen and I squeal. “They’re so TINYYYYY!” Doug smiles and laughs in response, and then gently pulls me away to the electronics.

2. Getting emotional when you see a cute baby anywhere.

I was out at a restaurant with Doug and two of my best friends. An adorable family with a toddler and an infant got seated beside us. Naturally, I welled up with tears at the sight of the precious little bundle of joy. And my friend Anna snapped a picture at the perfect moment. To be fair, I cry at pretty much everything. As my friend Ray would say: “I’m just a bag of water!”

3. Already having baby names picked out

It can be difficult sometimes, though. There have been plenty of names ruined for me by not so nice people, and I would never want my offspring to share their name. I have spent many insomnia-driven nights mulling over names I like that are also names that sound good. If I had any choice in the matter, I want two boys and a girl. I don’t have a preference for order. Their names will be Brayden Matthew, Ian James, and Charlotte Rose.

4. You've already picked out possible themes for your first baby’s nursery.

I started doing this pretty recently. I love safari and jungle animals, and I’ve been slowly accumulating my own collection of stuffed animals. I have a giant elephant, a lion, a toucan, and a monkey. I was organizing them the other day and it gave me the idea to do a cute animal-themed nursery. Does that make me too crazy?

6. You've talked about it at length with your significant other

So there is a baby at the school I work at that looks like he could be my boyfriend’s child. (Don’t worry, he’s not actually Doug’s child.) I call him Baby Doug, and I’m constantly bothering Doug about him. How cute Baby Doug is, how great a baby he is, and how excited I would be if we had our own Baby Doug. My excitement is quite apparent in the texts above. But he tells me we can’t have a Baby Doug yet. Sad face.

7. You take/use birth control like a champ

If you’re as obsessed as I am, you should know full well what an undertaking it is to raise a child. And you take all the necessary precautions to prevent pregnancy until you’re fully ready for a baby. I know I can’t take care of a baby at this point in my life, and so I make sure I’m as safe as possible. But that doesn’t mean I can’t look to the future and start planning ahead!