Why?
Well aside from the usual reasons, I'm in nesting OVERDRIVE...and I still have over 5 weeks to go. But there is a very simple explanation to why I'm putting everything together for this little baby so early.
I didn't get to last time.
During Lily's pregnancy I painted her nursery, folded all of her little clothes, picked out outfits, baby proofed everything-then we got infested with bed bugs [more on that some other time] We had to move in order to get out of the mess and to have a successful homebirth where my birth team wouldn't have to worry about carrying any of the little critters home. So we ended up moving into our last apartment on my due date.
The pretty mural I worked so hard on, all the sticks and spit I had glued together, all my hard work seemed absolutely worthless. And all the time that we were deciding/waiting to move, I couldn't do anything for Lily. It seemed pointless. So after my due date, Eamon let me paint our bedroom, living room, and bathroom [we both kinda hoped all the work would put me in labor, lol] and let me do whatever I needed to in order to be "prepared" for baby. But it still felt weird. It was like cramming for a test instead of spending the whole week [read: 10 months] steadily studying for it.
This time around is different.
Every few days I'm trying to get one thing done so that I'm not overwhelmed and so that I'm in a good habit of doing something exclusively for the baby. Here are some things that are on my list [some accomplished, others not ;]
Baby Burke To Do List
Write Birth Plan - I used this awesome site to help me write mine. I know that my birth team doesn't really need one this detailed, but I really like it in case of transport. I think it's a wonderful resource for any mom who wants to birth their way [regardless of what way that is!]Order Birth Kit - I actually did this last night! We're supposed to have our kits in at the beginning of 36 weeks, and mine is on it's way!
Create a Birth Playlist - This has actually been the tough part. Why? I live in the Metroplex. I've seen every single one of my preggo friends ask for suggestions for their playlist and this what gets recommended, every time, no exceptions. Enya, Dixie Chicks [WTH?!? Sometimes I have to laugh at the fact that I live in Texas] and then there's the praise music [Bible Belt y'all!] Don't get me wrong, but I am just not the type of girl who sings hymms during her contractions. It NEVER fails. Casting Crowns, Keri Jobe, and David Crowder Band. Somehow every other woman says they've had babies to these soundtracks. I have NOTHING against any of these artists, and do listen to them, but I am just not that type of girl... SO I got on Groove Shark and tried putting together a list... I have three songs. Ugh. You know what, I'm going to do another post just for playlist ideas. Last time I had nothing but Coldplay and Norah Jones and loved it, but I'm lookin for something a little different this time :]
Wash Baby's Clothes - DONE! I washed all of our neutral baby clothes as well as all of our little girl clothes 0-3 months that way I won't have to worry about it after the birth if it is a girl. Looking at all of the little dresses REALLY made me want this to be a little Norah ♥
Get out Baby Essentials - Still working on this one. I have our rocker put together, got a bouncy seat from a friend last night, my wraps and slings are washed as well as blankets. I need to wash my new pump and make sure it has all of it's parts. We brought the car seat in to be cleaned...honestly...I don't know what other baby essentials there are!
Meal Plan for a month after Baby is due - Hopefully we'll have some help with the meals/cooking after the birth, but I'm not expecting much. Last time we had a few friends bring groceries, and a few who brought meals, but I was on my own for the cooking after the first week. It was tough. I figure if I can have a meal plan and grocery list ready, Eamon can take care of a lot of that for me :] I'll also try to be putting some freezer meals together so I can just pop em in the freezer.
Plan activities for Lily - Lily's gotten pretty good at playing by herself, but I'm trying to be a little more organized with her playtime, so I'm trying to come up with "special activities" to do while I'm on bed rest. I'm also working with Eamon to put together some special dates for the two of them so that Baby and I can have a quiet house for a few hours to sleep/nurse.
Pray. A Lot - This is being done and will continue to be done. Every night, regardless of how tired we are, or how many times we've talked/prayed about the baby, Eamon lays his hand on my belly and we pray over our little [pfft] baby and Lily.
Have any helpful suggestions for any of this? What did you do to get prepared for a new sibling in the house?
Hope you have a good day! Don't forget to go help me out with my playlist!
Mae
2 comments:
thanks for reminding me of all of the things i need to do too!!! since we've already been through the whole birthing crap once before, we already know what we need to pray for specifically this time around so we've been praying SO much more.
lilys old room looked awesome.
wow girl...you are way more organized than i ever was! my brain was complete mush and i was a total, emotional mess my last few months of my pregnancy with Willow!
best advice i have before number two comes: snuggle your little girl SO MUCH. life is about to get a million times more hectic (a good hectic of course!) and you will miss that time you had to snuggle your numero uno. it's such a bittersweet type of thing.
other than that...my prep was a packed hospital bag in my closet. hahaha...her room was done, of course, but that's about IT!
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