preparing the dogs for the arrival

The baby is not coming for another 5 months but being proactive is better than leaving things at the last minute.
I own a german shepherd, Phoenix that is a little over a year old. He's wonderful around family.. you can literally do everything with him.. but when it comes to strangers he's over-reactive, shy and does not like attention. Once in a while he's ok with people approaching him like a woman with her family from the neighborhood - then again he met them when he was a pup and may be remembering them. Sometimes when my husband goes for a walk with him he says people pet him and he is just fine. Still, going to a vet proves to be a chalange. Some days on walks he can be a doll but sometimes he is "protective" and doesn't like people going our direction. When there's dogs, he's ready to lunge. The only cats he's okay with are my own, otherwise get out of the way and quick! He was raised from a pup, raised at a loving home and baby-sat by two a bit older dogs (belonging to my parents) and yet from the beginning I saw that he is not too fond of affection from strangers but hoped with time and socialization he'd get better... Neadless to say I'm getting a trainer to come to my house on 8/1 to assess the situation and help be less nervous handling him - don't get me wrong he'd never ever hurt me but I am a bit apprehensive when we're out at times and I do need to be calm; I am sure he's feeding off of my feelings!
The two dogs belonging to my parents are Max and Eli - Max is a mix GSD and black lab while Eli is a Louisiana Catahoula Leopard dog. Both are a little over 2 years old. They are great with people of all ages, Max is great with other pets but Eli not so much (except for Max and Phoenix that is).
So this is my strategy - obviously the trainer to help me realize how to train Phoenix and bring the best out in him. I am also about to get a CD for me and my parents called "Preparing Fido" which has sounds that babies make - that way the three dogs can get used to the noise and get desensitized. My next move will be getting a life-like doll (found a great french company called Corolle and contemplating on getting a Lia or Lila doll) - these dolls will coo, laugh and cry and I am hoping after a while the pups will get used to me carrying the "baby-doll", will be okay with the doll making the noise etc.. now I won't start using the doll until some time passes from when they start hearing the cd.. I will also read some tips and books that I already have of how to introduce the baby to the house so I can see the reactions etc.. maybe I'll even do it with the trainer on board (we'll see).. plan to also introduce smells like baby powder, wipes etc..
We'll see how it goes! But it must go good so I'm thinking good thoughts :)