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Anyone trying to do things now to make life easier after the baby arrives?

post #1 of 20
10/13/10 at 9:17pm
Thread Starter 
I've started freezing meals -- I think I have about ten right now. My goal is, well, as many as possible. So I've been cooking dinners more and freezing the leftovers right away.

I'm also planning on buying stamps and printing out address labels for the baby announcements. I'll do the ordering online and have them sent to me, so this way I can take care of everything from home.

I've started buying some Christmas presents and hope to have those all wrapped and tucked away soon.

I got my hair cut and colored it last weekend.

And of course I've been decluttering and nesting since last spring...

Am I just a super-organized anal-retentive freak? Tell me I'm not the only one!

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post #2 of 20
10/13/10 at 9:41pm
I do not think you are being a super-organized freak - I think you are being very practical. It's so much harder to get things done with a little one attached to your chest for 12 hours a day, lol.

Honestly, I haven't been making many meals for my freezer because I have a very small freezer. However, I've been buying stuff that I can throw together for slow cooker meals.

My mother has been preparing some meals for me and storing them in her freezers so that she can bring them over after the baby is born.

We really don't have anything beyond meals to deal with besides getting our son's therapies all sorted out. That's something I can't speed up, although I wanted to have everything organized before the baby comes.
post #3 of 20
10/13/10 at 9:46pm
You're more organized than I am! But you're not an anal-retentive freak, just organized.

I'm more of a procrastinator with these things...
post #4 of 20
10/13/10 at 10:41pm
Well, I've accomplished quite a bit of the Christmas shopping, however I ate one of my freezer meals tonight because life became chaotic. But it was tasty .
post #5 of 20
10/13/10 at 10:51pm
I'd wanted to get a bunch of freezer meals done by now...so far just a batch of spaghetti sauce, about 9 meals worth. I'm hoping I have the energy to do some more, because it really does make life easier. Last time I made a ton of lasagna and stuff like that. Also trying to keep on top of the housework so the house is clean when baby comes and therefore easier to keep it that way!

I totally dropped the ball on Christmas shopping though. Thank goodness for internet shopping!
post #6 of 20
10/14/10 at 12:52am
I have a fairly full freezer but it's really disorganized. I need a cool day (it was 97 here today) to unload, inventory, and organize. Hubs will never be able to find anything in it's current state.

About 75% of the Christmas shopping is done. It helps that we don't buy for anyone except our kids and the grandparents.

Before you start to think I"m on top of things.....I can't find ANY diaper covers, my house is a disaster, and neither of my kids have Halloween costumes. Oh well.
post #7 of 20
10/14/10 at 1:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by AZgirl2207 View Post
neither of my kids have Halloween costumes. Oh well.
Halloween? Oh boy, I've TOTALLY neglected that one!

I have ALL our Christmas shopping AND wrapping done. I have a bunch of meals done (although I'd like to do more). My house could use a good scrub-down (and hopefully it will get it) although really, my house is old and could ALWAYS use a good scrub down, so that is one I will not stress about too much!
post #8 of 20
10/14/10 at 2:01am
I've been in full-on decluttering and cleaning mode lately, but I still feel like I have a lot to do to get ready.
post #9 of 20
10/14/10 at 2:13am
WOW! Way to go! I usually get a good freezer stash, but for some reason that hasn't happened yet. It's a goal I have this weekend. Hopefully the baby hasn't been born yet!
post #10 of 20
10/14/10 at 9:40am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by AZgirl2207 View Post
About 75% of the Christmas shopping is done. It helps that we don't buy for anyone except our kids and the grandparents.
We don't either, though we have DH's three kids from his first marriage (almost 22, 20 and 17) to buy for. The youngest has Down syndrome and she's happy with just about anything (particularly if it relates to popular TV or music things) so she's easy, and the two older boys we usually gift money and a few small things, which I can always let DH pick out later, since he talks to them more (they live in apartments in their college town now).

It's SO much easier not having to buy a ton of people!
post #11 of 20
10/14/10 at 10:32am
I don't have any of my freezer stash done! This week my goal is to get some soup, bread, muffins, and cookie dough frozen up at the very least.

I've also been trying to clean and declutter to make cleaning easy after birth. I am trying to get ahold of someone for a haircut and have been organizing all the baby stuff to make it easily accessible.

I have most of my Christmas list compiled on amazon to do the shopping quickly. But only have a couple things bought so far.
post #12 of 20
10/14/10 at 11:07am
Hi! I am mostly a lurker, but this thread really caught my attention. I too have been crazy cleaning, preparing my baby/xmas mailing list and de-cluttering. I have been selling things we don't need on ebay too just to get rid of extra stuff and have a little more spending money for baby stuff. My wonderful husband has been so compliant. He has vacation this week and has spent most of it doing nesting projects for me. Yesterday he spent the day hanging shelves so I can be more organized. He also told me not to worry about freezing meals because he will cook for us. He is great.
post #13 of 20
10/14/10 at 11:58am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by runkin View Post
He also told me not to worry about freezing meals because he will cook for us. He is great.
That's so great! My husband doesn't really cook, except for making pancakes and grilling chicken & brats (which only happens in the summer). He's really sensitive to the smell of onion & garlic, too (though he can eat it in things like curries in stews, once they're cooked in), so he can't make any of the things we eat on a regular basis. After my older DS was born we lived on take-out for a long time, but 1) that's too expensive now and 2) we've since found out that we're all gluten-intolerant and DS is corn-intolerant, so our choices are pretty darn limited.
post #14 of 20
10/14/10 at 1:34pm
i have had so many friends bringing me food since i have been sick, i hope that some of it is going into the freezer for after the baby is born..and im sure there will be a meal train for the first week as well (im so lucky to live in such a great place with so many wonderful people!)
but otherwise i was trying to get things sorted out and organized better before baby comes. some of it i got to before i got too sick.. and now im just having to let it be and know that it will all be okay. i have managed with new babies before in imperfect houses and it was fine. i can do it again.

the one good thing about me being sick in bed is that my dp is finding his way around the kitchen again. he says that i stole his cooking abilities but whatever the reason he hasn't spent much time in there over the years. now he is cooking a bit again and liking it, so hopefully he will feel like doing some of the meals after im better as well he made me yummy stir fry yesterday for lunch

as for Christmas/birthday shopping ( all of my kids have birthdays between november and january ) im thankful for etsy and ebay! my mom lived in the city so i can also request things that she will bring up or mail. so we should be set. we dont do a huge Christmas anyways. i just like having a few nice things and some great stocking stuffers for everyone. the city near where we live is pretty good too.. im sure by the time mid december comes i will be ready to get out of my town for a day..
I have all of the gifts for my november dd already.. im very glad of that!
post #15 of 20
10/14/10 at 4:44pm
I want to make some freezer meals in the next few weeks (still have a few weeks left, I'm just 33 weeks now). I have almost all the kids Christmas presents bought but just not wrapped. I need to get going on DH's Christmas gifts.
post #16 of 20
10/14/10 at 4:55pm
Making meals to freeze ahead of time with a family of 6 seems SOOOO daunting! (Well, baby won't need them, but I'll eat enough for two people. ) I'm okay with preparing meals for my largish family, but to make something complete to freeze just sounds tough.

I will definitely make some soups to have on hand - they'll have to have plenty of meat in them because meatless soups just don't cut it around here. Other than that, I plan on just having the freezer/pantry stocked with ingredients. It's no so difficult to pull some chicken legs out of the freezer in the morning & throw them in the oven in the late afternoon with some sweet potatoes and serve with some fermented veggies & a salad or sauteed kale or something. I always have a tougher time with breakfast...but Dd1 cooks eggs, so at least I'll have her to fall back on if DP isn't here.

Aside from food, I've been bookmarking craft ideas to keep the kids occupied & gathering supplies. I have a bunch of packages of never-dries-out modeling clay, beeswax to make ornaments or window hangings (makes the house smell so good when the sun hits them!), lots of pretty wool for needle and/or wet felting, star paper for making window stars, scrap-booking paper for making hanging stars and other odds & ends. I *really* don't want them spending hours in front of the television. They'll be really into holiday crafts, so at least we all have the crafty time of year on our sides.

I might try to set up some regular playdates for them or get them signed up for something at the Y or some place nearby. I have a neighborhood friend who would gladly take the younger two (and my oldest, but she'd be bored.) So I'll try to set some dates up with her before baby comes.

I don't know what else to do, really. Suggestions that haven't been posted yet?
post #17 of 20
10/14/10 at 5:46pm
I am 33 weeks, so have some time, but you guys rock... I have absolutely NO freezer meals or stocks of extra food and suplies yet. I am not really the primary cook (DH is) so if I can just get a few things -soups, sauces, etc...and make sure the pantry is stocked, then I am sure we'll manage just fine. We've got a few (maybe 4?) meal drop offs coming our way which will be great too. I am making a big takeout-delivery list for us also

As far as other stuff, I online ordered the halloween outfit for DD this year (and paid too much) because I knew I wouldnt get around to making it. So that is done. I also started stockpiling a small amount of "big sister" gifts for DD, and of course, also starting to Christmas shop for her and DH little by little, mostly Etsy and other small online retailers. I figure that if I do a few small gifts each week, then by the time baby comes around, I'll be pretty well set and I wont freak out or be tempted to go shopping (which I hate at the holidays).

I have also been getting the newborn sized clothes washed. Still have to wash cloth diapers though, and get the rest of our homebirth supply list. I have been trying to work on one small area or baby-related thing each day so I dont burn myself out too much.
post #18 of 20
10/14/10 at 6:43pm
Everyone is so organized!!

Ummmm I did update our Amazon list for Christmas, at the request of family. And I've bought a few presents already-- mostly for relatives who live far away and need to have packages mailed early.

Other than that... I have about 800 things still on my list that need to get done. My dr seems to think I have another 3-4 weeks... I hope she's right!
post #19 of 20
10/14/10 at 9:50pm
since im in bed and cant do a lot of stuff im going to wash/fold/organize all of my baby clothes/blankets ect. ill wrap everything up in clean receiving blankets and store it away in my wardrobe.. but it shouldn't be more than a month before baby comes now
i was looking through a basket of clothes with my sister today and getting all giddy. but i want it sorted out so i have everything on hand for a newborn in one place if i still cant get around much when baby comes. i would hate to have something cute get grown out of before i have a chance to use it because i dont know where it is all of the baby stuff is in my room anyways, so i should be able to manage that. my bed takes up about 3/4 of the space.

anyone else use soap-nuts for baby clothes?
post #20 of 20
10/15/10 at 1:03am
Are those the African nut shells? I've heard of them, but haven't used them.
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