Getting Ready For Baby

For me, getting ready for baby means getting ready at home and at work. I’ll be taking my leave during a busy time at work so I’ve been trying to get as much done as possible ahead of time. I feel like I’m barely keeping my head above water these days. I’m sure you’ve all been there…you work on getting 20 or so things accomplished during the day and in the mean time 50 new emails roll in and 30 new tasks crop up. One step forward, three steps back. I’m getting there, just slowly.

Being busy at work has a tendency to carryover at home for me too. Usually, as a typical work day begins to wind down, I can spare a few minutes to at least contemplate what I want to make for dinner and if I need to run by the grocery store on the way home. No time for that lately, so instead I find myself arriving at home, opening the fridge, and staring blankly while I ponder what I can throw together in 15 minutes with cottage cheese, leftover hotdogs, and pomegranates.

Thankfully, Jon has stepped up to the plate big time. He’s made dinner far more than I have lately and there have been several occasions where I’ve come home to a thoroughly cleaned house, dinner ready, and laundry going. Basically, I’m married to a superman.

The flip side to this coin is that, while I've been busy preparing for this baby's arrival at work, I’ve hardly done anything to prepare for the baby at home. We’ve been busy, don’t get me wrong…cleaning out closets, rearranging the attic to make more room, getting Sydney’s big girl room ready to free up the nursery, and so on, but I’ve really done next to nothing to actually get ready for the baby specifically.

Before we had Sydney, I had HUGE lists of things to buy, to do, and to get ready before the baby arrived. The only purchase I’ve really made for the baby so far is an awesome double stroller that I found on craigslist. (It was my first craigslist purchase by the way and I didn’t even get mugged or murdered. Total bonus!)

Here's a list of the few things that are done:

• We are good on car seats for now (going to use Sydney’s old travel system).
• Got the sweet craigslist double stroller!
• Nursery is ready and waiting now that Sydney is out.
• Sorted through Sydney’s old clothes and pulled out the ones that will work.

Here's a list of the few things that we still need to do:

• Buy diapers, bottles, nursing supplies, and a few other small things.
• I’m going to attempt to do my own newborn photos this time, so there are still a few things I need to get ready for that.
• Get someone lined up to watch Sydney when we go to the hospital. (Mom and dad are you reading this? Expect a phone call from me soon!)
• Pack my hospital bags

That’s it! I feel like, short of popping prenatal vitamins, I’m not doing much of anything to get ready for this baby! Second time mom and dad’s out there…what am I forgetting?!