Nesting: Preparing for A New Baby, Part 1
source: mary_thompson
Sometimes I think I live in a permanent state of nesting, always looking for ways to make our run more simply, be more organized and have less clutter. But then the real nesting kicks in, and I start noticing things in a kind of 4D vision that makes me want to clean and organize frantically despite the loud protest of my hips and back, and I realize there’s a difference between nesting and nesting, if you know what I mean.
We are officially counting down to our newest Baby Girl’s arrival. Although my due date is technically nine weeks away, my last two have both been two to three weeks early, and so we’re preparing for this one’s arrival in about six weeks. I figure I might have to wait a little bit longer, but at least I know everything will be ready if she shows up when we think she will!
I’ll wait to tackle most of the items on my to-do list until August (which seems to be approaching at the speed of light), but I also know that time flies these days, and getting things done ahead of time will make us all feel better as her due date approaches.
Here’s the list as it stands today:
1. Make princess hats and wands for the big sisters.
2. Stock freezer and pantry (this is a work in progress!).
3. Research tips and tricks for taking newborn photos.
4. Finish sewing second fleece crib sheet.
5. Move our youngest daughter to an upstairs bedroom.
6. Change the height of the crib back to newborn level.
7. Buy, paint and hang shelf and letters over crib.
8. Find and hang a curtain to serve as the door for the nursery (more on our converted nursery soon!).
9. Clean and set up the cradle, mobile, swing and bouncy seat.
10. Rearrange carseats and install the fourth.
11. Setup a TV in the guest room for my mom.
12. Pack hospital bag.
13. Pack activity bags for the girls for the hospital.
We washed, sorted and put away all of the clothes and blankets while my grandma was visiting more than two months ago, so those are ready to go already.
What does preparing for a new baby look like in your home?
Mandi, I went through a similar *nesting* phase about 3 months before my daughter was born. It was like I had Superman’s X-Ray vision for cutting out clutter! And, now that my daughter is here, I’ve lost that superhuman ability to cut through the clutter and get the house running smoothly. I want it back!
Krys’s last blog post…4 Months
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Mandi Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
LOL! I hear you on that. I’m sure you’ll find a happy medium as she gets older!
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I am so excited for you that you are coming down the back stretch and that you’ll be welcoming someone new very soon! I was always so eager to meet that new little person. For my son, it was a whirlwind of clothing, last minute baby showers, pasting up a wall boarder, and finding the perfect blue curtain rod to finish off his peek-a-pooh decor nursery…..ahhh. For my daughter, we didn’t really have a nesting stage…she came 5 weeks early unexpectedly and we didn’t have anything ready. She did have a short stay in NICU, so we were able to install the car-seat, buy premie clothing, set up the nursery, and do tons of laundry before she came home.
And I agree with the first commenter, I am just coming up for a little breath of organization now that my two are able to hang on for a couple of minutes. It has been a pretty disorganized past few years!
Good luck to you! Abbie
Abbie’s last blog post…Giveaway – Rubbermaid 20-pc Food Saver Set
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I didn’t feel at all prepared! My son came a few days late, and we were moving 2000 miles just a week afterward (I had a 2 week pit stop at my parents’ house before I could move the newborn). My son didn’t have a nursery, a stroller, even a crib for a long time. He has a room now (he’s turning 1 in about a week), but it’s still in disarray.
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I’m sending this post to my sister. She just found out she is having a boy today. She has been doing the nesting thing lately and she is in her 5th month. Right now she is starting to think about what to take to the hospital and getting all of her things together. Great post and congrats on the new baby girl.
Rana’s last blog post…IT’S A BOY!
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My baby girl was born two months ago and I think one of the best things I did was stack the freezer full of meals. Activity bags for your girls for the hospital sound like a great idea. I think it’s also important to rest up and relax as much as you can in the last few weeks before your baby is due (after everything is organized) as once your baby arrives, this become all the more difficult!!
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I love reading all your prep posts. When I found out I was pregnant we were living with my inlaws as we rebuilt our house. So I couldn’t really nest! We moved home about 2 mos before my son was born. In the kitchen we had a fridge, a microwave, a toaster oven, and a slop sink. No counters or cabinets or anything, but we brought our patio table inside. We didn’t even have a couch in the living room. We sat on camping chairs! I did make sure his room was as done as I could get it. That was about the only room in the house that was done! We finally got a couch and eventually things got back together but it was a long process. I don’t really know what the nesting feeling is like since I was trying to put everything together as it was.
We’ll probably have another baby one day, so I’m saving all these posts as reference for when I get this instinct pop up!
Good luck!
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Mandi Reply:
July 17th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Dude, we’re TWINS! We moved 4 weeks before our last daughter was born into an unfinished home. I hear ya all the way! Her nursery was THE only thing done!
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[...] that I’m in full nesting mode and seem to be hypersensitive to anything that is out of order or unfinished, I have noticed that [...]