Before Baby's Arrival Checklist « Back to Group Discussions

[dovemama]

I saw this on another due date club and thought it was a great idea. 

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1338006/giant-before-baby-comes-checklist-remix

Total accountability! Anybody wanna join me??

[dovemama]

Still have like 4 months until we get to meet this kiddo.
But being the planner I am, haha, I already have a list.

I want to paint the one room the kiddos will share.
Declutter our 800 sq ft home.
Get a 2nd car seat.
Figure out logistics for Dh 's leave.
Pick up some nursing clothes and bras.
Make some mama cloth for postpartum.
Figure out what we need for our first homebirth.
Save for a new wrap. I want a pretty woven one so bad!
Get an assortment of diapers for a new baby.

I would say name the baby, but since we don't know the sex, it probably won't happen until baby is born.

What do you have going on?

[Sol_y_Paz]

Declutter house

Household projects inside and out

Clear a room for baby

Get baby furniture

Build a cloth diaper stash

Get car seat

Get stroller

Figure out what baby items are essential to have/must haves

Get basic baby supplies

Get baby clothes and have them washed and hanging in closet

Have medical bag ready

Stock freezer

Get nursing bras

Find ped/family doctor for baby

Finish pregnancy journal for baby

Reconfigure our room for baby

Pick out a name

Take an infant care/CPR class

[lakeruby]

YES!

So much to do:

Declutter house (start now and go room-by-room)

Paint nursery

Hire house-cleaner for deep cleaning (wipe walls, dust fans, de-mold bathroom, etc)

Clean back porch

Clean out carport

Figure out nursery furniture situation

Get birthing supplies, find a tub

Hopefully buy a new car for DH (we're NOT putting the baby in that POS that he currently drives:)

Pay off student loan ($1K to go!!)

Clean out fridge & freezer & pantry (deep clean)

Make labor drinks and food & freeze them

Wash all baby clothes & diapers collected so far, assess what we still need

Find a dentist for DH and get him to go

Get DH to go to the dermatologist for a skin check (he's never been and we grew up in FL!)

Take CPR/infant care class

Find pediatrician

Read breastfeeding book

Continue drinking nettle/RRL tea most days (1 cup, increase closer to birth)

Continue regular walking and stretching every day

Practice relaxation daily
List of possible names (so far we only have 1 of each, I'd like to have more to choose from)

Whew!  I'm sure there are things I'm leaving off...

[DesertSunsets]

I feel like we should be more prepared since we had foster kids, but we want a fresh start with the nursery, and our car seats went with our last foster kiddos. This list scares me since I feel like we should have already accomplished a lot of it.

-Finish cleaning out closet of nursery, paint and set up new furniture

-Finish cleaning and re-arranging our room

-Clean out our office and make it a guest room as well

-Steam clean carpets

-Freezer food

-Write birth plan

-Set up a registry and figure out when the shower is going to happen

-Nursing bras, slings, and wraps

-Breast pump

-New car seats

-Baby crafts (blanket, hats, embroidered onsies, baby book etc)

-Set up powers of attorney and parenting agreement since our state doesn't recognize our marriage

I'm really annoyed with the last one and have been putting it off, the plan was to do it before I got pregnant.  I don't want to have to go to a lawyer to have a baby!

[dovemama]

Originally Posted by DesertSunsets 

-Set up powers of attorney and parenting agreement since our state doesn't recognize our marriage

I'm really annoyed with the last one and have been putting it off, the plan was to do it before I got pregnant.  I don't want to have to go to a lawyer to have a baby!

Darn it, that really bothers me. So sorry you have to deal with that DesertSunsets

Originally Posted by lakeruby 

YES!

So much to do:

Declutter house (start now and go room-by-room)

Paint nursery

Hire house-cleaner for deep cleaning (wipe walls, dust fans, de-mold bathroom, etc)

Clean back porch

Clean out carport

Figure out nursery furniture situation

Get birthing supplies, find a tub

Hopefully buy a new car for DH (we're NOT putting the baby in that POS that he currently drives:)

Pay off student loan ($1K to go!!)

Clean out fridge & freezer & pantry (deep clean)

Make labor drinks and food & freeze them

Wash all baby clothes & diapers collected so far, assess what we still need

Find a dentist for DH and get him to go

Get DH to go to the dermatologist for a skin check (he's never been and we grew up in FL!)

Take CPR/infant care class

Find pediatrician

Read breastfeeding book

Continue drinking nettle/RRL tea most days (1 cup, increase closer to birth)

Continue regular walking and stretching every day

Practice relaxation daily
List of possible names (so far we only have 1 of each, I'd like to have more to choose from)

Whew!  I'm sure there are things I'm leaving off...

Woah, great idea about the deep cleaning. I should do that too!

Also, LOL!

and good job with student loan pay off! wish that was us!!!

Sol Y Paz, medical bag? What is going in yours?

[LilyTiger]

Oh my gosh!  So much to do. 

Clean and declutter house

Move linen closet out of nursery and upstairs

Install shelves in upstairs closet to accommodate linens

Paint nursery and living room (painter friend of ours is doing this)

Install hardwood floors in downstairs (DH)

Install cubby system in front hall and tile mud room area (DH)

Install brick driveway (DH)

Finish registry

Find stroller and car seat

Wash baby clothes when they arrive

Organize baby clothes by size

Buy nursery furniture, etc.

Go to Bradley classes

Get tour of hospital

Finish last chapter of book

Finish copyediting chapters

Fix citations throughout (ugh)

Work out legal stuff - will, health proxy forms, care of child in case of emergency, etc.

I'm sure there's a ton I'm forgetting, but this is the essentials.  I'll probably be adding to this as I remember ridiculous things I left off.

[rebecca10]

Originally Posted by lakeruby 

Find a dentist for DH and get him to go

This so should be on my list too.  My husband hasn't been since we moved to California 3 1/2 years ago!  It drives me crazy, but I also get sick of bugging him about it.

Desert Sunsets, sorry about the legal issues. That is just so annoying and unfair.

As for my list, right now it is "come up with a list"  . . . Gotta work on that.

[Sol_y_Paz]

Originally Posted by dovemama 

Sol Y Paz, medical bag? What is going in yours?

Not sure what is going in it yet, but I need to figure it out. I don't even know if that is the right term for it.

Work out legal stuff is a good one for the baby.  We do have someone in the family who would be a great guardian in case of our death and really need to get some papers drawn up probably.  I don't even know where to start on that.  

[ithappened]

I feel like such a slacker now when I read everyones list-

- move 2 drawers of winter clothes to garage and collect hand me down offers from our friends for baby gear/clothes to put in drawers
- move stuff from attic to garage (sleds, skis etc)

- stock up on dry and canned foods for summer/fall

- decide if we can afford to buy a car
- order changing pad and try to find a table we can install on the wall 'drop down' style

- hire someone to come make a drywall  'room' in our studio apartment so that at least dh/ds can sleep well

- hope to win the lottery so we can buy a car and also get an apartment that's not a shoebox

[LilyTiger]

ithappened, I found a folding changing table on Ikea and it might be something you can look at when you're in Pittsburgh.  It folds up so you can move it out of the way when you're done with it!  http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40147335/

Edit: You probably have closer Ikeas in Europe.  Heh.

Edited by LilyTiger - 4/2/12 at 3:27pm

[Ninetales]

It's weird, I don't really feel like there is much for me to do.  I literally have everything I need for the baby - clothes, diapers, place to sleep, milk, carseat.  And then some.

I would like to get a new ring sling, and make his Zodiac cross stitch before he comes (except the name and date part, of course).  We're meeting with a doula on Saturday, and I'm working out a private childbirth class because the one I want to go to is only available during my work hours.

Then there are the logistical things like arranging for Elsa during the labor and birth, and getting my aftercare stuff together.  But even then I don't feel like that's much to do.  Maybe pick up some witch hazel, get my pads and such out and ready, and make up some freezer meals.

I'm not generally ahead of the game so this feels very odd to feel like there's really nothing to do.

[KristyDi]

My DH was offered a job that comes darn close to being his dream job about a month ago and last week was his first week.  The only downside is that it's an almost 2 hour commute.  We've decided to move so my "to do before baby comes" list recently increased exponentially.  As much as I dread moving while pregnant, I think I dread moving with a newborn even more.

Pack and de-clutter house (I've made a decent start, but have a long way to go)

Go through DD's baby stuff so I know what we have and what we need and what we need to give away

find a house to rent

fix several smallish things around the house (water damaged sheet-rock, broken fence gate, replace handles on kitchen cabinets etc)

hire someone to sand and paint the front porch

sell house or if getting a decent price is too unlikely, find a management company so we can rent it (this makes me very nervous)

go through diapers and decide what I need to buy so we can use cloth from the beginning

look for new MW or OB on the north side of town and check out which hospital I want to birth at up there.

I'm gonna stop now because I'm scaring myself.  I know there's more.

[keuriweo]

Good idea!

I think it would be much less time-consuming to list what I have done rather than what I need to do.

Here goes:

Nothing.

Actually, my to-do list is pretty short, too:

Everything.

[Veritas Vitae]

Haha, the original thread was started by my twin!  

Originally Posted by lakeruby 

Pay off student loan ($1K to go!!)

LakeRuby, I am so jealous of your student loan debt, between B and I, we will be paying for a looong time.

Originally Posted by DesertSunsets 

-Set up powers of attorney and parenting agreement since our state doesn't recognize our marriage

I'm really annoyed with the last one and have been putting it off, the plan was to do it before I got pregnant.  I don't want to have to go to a lawyer to have a baby!

Grrr, this frustrates me. Sorry you, or anyone, has to deal with this.  So ridiculous. 

Originally Posted by KristyDi 

My DH was offered a job that comes darn close to being his dream job about a month ago and last week was his first week.  The only downside is that it's an almost 2 hour commute.  We've decided to move so my "to do before baby comes" list recently increased exponentially.  As much as I dread moving while pregnant, I think I dread moving with a newborn even more.

Pack and de-clutter house (I've made a decent start, but have a long way to go)

Go through DD's baby stuff so I know what we have and what we need and what we need to give away

find a house to rent

fix several smallish things around the house (water damaged sheet-rock, broken fence gate, replace handles on kitchen cabinets etc)

hire someone to sand and paint the front porch

sell house or if getting a decent price is too unlikely, find a management company so we can rent it (this makes me very nervous)

go through diapers and decide what I need to buy so we can use cloth from the beginning

look for new MW or OB on the north side of town and check out which hospital I want to birth at up there.

I'm gonna stop now because I'm scaring myself.  I know there's more.

I feel you on the moving bit.  It is hard to know what I'm even going to need to do, although B has been working on some projects at the new house since he went up before me.  So are you going to be moving before or after the baby is born?  It would be so tough to move with a newborn.

Originally Posted by keuriweo 

Good idea!

I think it would be much less time-consuming to list what I have done rather than what I need to do.

Here goes:

Nothing.

Actually, my to-do list is pretty short, too:

Everything.

Great list, Keuriweo.

Ithappened, I hope you win the lottery. 

To Do:

Finish baby registry

Follow up about baby furniture

See new house

Furnish our now almost completely empty house

Meet with birth center/midwives in NC and pick one

Research Bradley method and Hypnobabies, decide which class to take

Find a swimming suit (not bathing suit) that will fit me

Buy any must haves from the registry that don't get purchased (-1 months from EDD)

Finalize maternity leave with work (-2 months before maternity leave)

Research work lactation program and subsidies for breast pumps

Find LLL meetings in new town

Find natural parenting groups in new town

Find/buy fabrics and patterns so my sis can make me baby bedding (she's so great)

[ithappened]

I do live in Podunk lilytiger  but Ikea is sort of like Walmart in the US- every town I think has one now without a few miles.. If I can borrow a car I will swing in and check that one out. thanks!!

[KristyDi]

Originally Posted by Veritas Vitae 

I feel you on the moving bit.  It is hard to know what I'm even going to need to do, although B has been working on some projects at the new house since he went up before me.  So are you going to be moving before or after the baby is born?  It would be so tough to move with a newborn.

The plan is to move before the baby is born, but really it depends on how soon we can get out of our house and when we find somewhere else to live. This job was so out of the blue and happened so quickly that we're not prepared at all.  

I'm really hoping we can get it done before the birth.  With DD I remember spending most of the first few months on the couch nursing.  I can't imagine trying to move during that time.  Several times since I've become a mom I've wondered how my mom did it.  Right now I'm amazed that she managed a move from NC to GA with a 6 week old, 3 older kids 7 and under, and a flatulent dog in a station wagon with no AC in mid summer.  The woman has never ending patience.

[Veritas Vitae]

Good luck, Kristy, I hope everything falls into place with the move.

[dovemama]

I agree, good luck on the move K.
I have done both, moved at 36 wks pg, and then when babe was 3 months. Without out a doubt the latter was worse. At least while I was waiting for baby I didn't have to do any heaving lifting, and I was in nesting mode.

[ithappened]

i agree with dovemama Ive moved pregnant and with a 4mo and by far the pregnant move was easier plus no one lets you do much which is also really nice