To do lists (preparing for baby) « Back to Group Discussions

[timesway]

I stole this from feb ddc.. but it seems like a really good idea seeming as we are all entering the 3rd trimester now!! (3 months til babys get here)  and i guess my scare has made me even more aware that i need to get moving (especially with the fact that my stamina has become almost zero).. so here we write our to do lists for the next 3 months.. and perhaps we can remember some of the things we have forgotton by looking at other peoples lists andswipe them off as we go along (does anyone know how to put a line through text on here?)

i will post mine in a day or 2 but i thought i'd get the thread started :)

[Jessicka]

I was reminding my DH of this just last night, because I have a gut feeling that this bun will come out of the oven "early".  I felt that my DD would arrive past her due date, and she did, so who knows.  My 38-week mark is on April 23rd, so I'd prefer to have everything as prepared as possible by the end of March.

To get:

Car seat

Diapers

Several onesies

Nursing pads

A nursing pillow (unless I can find my old one)

A sling or wrap

At least two more bras

To do:

Pack a hospital bag

Install car seat

Organize the kids' shared closet

Organize the outside storage room

Start a baby book

Prep some simple meals

[TwilightJoy]

Read Sears' Birth Book
Read Gaskin's Childbirth Book
Buy a rug for baby's room
Buy a mattress
Hang all of the baby decorations on the wall
Pack hospital birth bag
Buy birth gown
Buy breastfeeding bras/tanks
Create birth playlist
Pay for doula
Pay hospital pre-bill
Have baby shower
Purchase everything else on registry that wasn't given as gifts
Wash baby clothes, blankets, cloth diapers
Schedule maternity photos

I'm sure there's a million more things, looking forward to reading your lists!

[sweetlowmom]

great idea timesway!! thanks so much, i look forward to reading the responses.

for now i want to do lots of personal work thinking about and writing about DS's birth, to try to analyze that experience and my fears for this coming birth.

birth preparation classes.

umm ...i´m sure we should buy a bunch of stuff but just feeling really lazy about all of that, for some reason. i have DS's old baby clothes (I  guess i should wash them,etc, but still early for that ...), i should get some kind of furniture to store new baby's clothes and use as a changing table, etc. weirdly i feell ike i'm going to just end up buying like one pack of diapers before the birth and then deal with it all after. so not a good idea! but after two miscarriages i can't get up the gumption to buy anything else ahead of time ... psychological block.

that said i DO want to make up a good list of what to bring to the hospital, and find out more about the hospital where i will be giving birth - what i will be facing there. DS was born in the US and we now live in Spain and i´m on the public healthcare system, so there's no picking where you'll give birth, unless you can afford a homebirth midwife (which we can't, and plus, what with the diabetes i do feel safer in the hospital ... just hoping i won't be induced this time and am looking forward to late feb and march where i will have more frequent appointments and hopefully establish a relationship with the OBs/midwives at the hospital.

anyway that's lots of rambling to say i've done nothing but i think the most important work for me is going to be personal soul searching, about DSs birth as i mentioned before, about having another child and that impact, on about my relationship with DH and how i want to keep it going well as we go forward - how to perhaps navigate some things in a more positive way than I did after DSs birth.

oh and i want to buy an ergo!!!

can't wait to read everyone's lists!
 

[CoBabyMaker]

This kind of scares me.  I was feeling all chill about things but now I feel like there is a bit of a list.  I think it's all reasonable but my energy is starting to wain already.  We'll see.  We'd survive if they weren't done and lots of them are house projects that will just be easier to do before throwing a third kid into the mix!

Figure out what cloth diapers I am going with and get them/sell our pocket diapers

Get a carseat- probably in April

Make some nursing pads

Paint, decorate and organize baby's room

Install baseboards (ok, well this is mostly DH)

Tear apart bathroom and redo it almost entirely (this is the one that scares me but it needs to be done so we can actually use our shower and have a properly functioning toilet and not have gross carpet in the bathroom.)

Get some new nursing bras or tanks.

[BaileyB]

I was afraid to read this thread because I didn't want it to remind me of anything extra that I hadn't thought of yet but I think I am still pretty covered. I feel kind of bad because I really don't have much to do or get for the baby but DD and I have like ZERO clothes for this Spring and summer so those are on the top of the to-get list. Other than that I am wanting to get 3 sets of baby legs and I have an Urban Baby Bonnet bonnet picked out, those are all wants though of course and could be bought after she comes. Other than that I have just been planning on making quadruple batches of suppers and freezing them. I have a big list of what I want to make and am just starting to get through the list and get things in the freezer. Oh, and I have a double stroller on the list to get but we could get away with the single stroller we have until I absolutely needed to have both kids in the stroller for something, and then just run down to Target and get it.

[nstewart]

Gosh, this thread is frightening!  I am scared to think about what needs to happen.  Oddly, I am more worried about forgetting stuff than I was with DS because with DS, I knew I just needed EVERYTHING! lol.  This time, I have to figure out what I have (and where it is!!!) and what I need.  Plus I feel stressed thinking about what I need to do but knowing it's too early to do most of it.  So far I've thought of these things:

- hang shelving in playroom

- get window coverings for playroom

- move toys into playroom 

- get light fixture for playroom

- organize toys and books in playroom

- get new bed for DS

- get bedding for DSs new bed

- organize DSs closet to be a shared closet

- organize DS's dresser to be a shared dresser

- convert DS's bed back into a crib

- buy sound and movement monitor

- go through bins and bins of baby stuff and take out the stuff I need/want for babe

- wash clothes/blankets/diapers/covers etc from the bins

- install car seat

- set up co-sleeper

- set up monitor

- make nb size fitted dipes (if I have time) - renting nb size instead, have already reserved them

- figure out what I don't have and buy it (why this part has me so stressed I don't know)

- go through all the benefits/pension etc. stuff for my leave with HR

- write post-dated cheque to ER for pension/savings plan during leave year, send in final forms

- check/clean pump and buy any required replacement parts, bottles, etc.

- meet with doula again

- read "Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering" again

- buy home birth supplies

- prepare birth plan

- figure out what to do with DS during labor

- set up for homebirth (I don't know how early to do some of the stuff, another thing to investigate)

- plan snacks and meals for the week(s) following baby's arrival (problem is that I don't have much room in my freezer right now as we bought a quarter of beef recently)

- do a pre-baby cleaning/organizing of the house so I'm not so stressed about letting it slip for a few weeks after babe is born

- warn neighbours that if they hear moaning or screaming coming from our house sometime in April/May not to call the cops 

- get a hair cut, and maybe indulge in a pedicure

Edited by nstewart - 2/5/13 at 8:58pm

[CoBabyMaker]

Thanks for reminding me Bailey, meals to freeze!  Yes, I really need to do this.  DD's have food allergies so I can't just count on people from church bringing us food.

NS, That is a big list!  Just go straight for the pedicure!

[Quinalla]

Oh, thanks timesway, good timing on this thread! I've been sort of using my amazon.com lists to keep track of what I still need to get

To buy:
Need to get done prior to babies arriving:

Done by end of April:

• New stage 1 nipples (probably ~10)
• 1 Box breastmilk storage bags
• 1 bouncy seat (I have 1)
• 2 small gifts for DD, one from each baby

Done:

• 1 Night Light
• 1 Jumbo pack of wipes
• 1 Jumbo pack of N diapers
• 2 Coming home outfits
• Jumbo pack of Size 1 Diapers & 1-2 more packs of N diapers
• 1 Digital Thermometer
• 2 Cribs
• 1 Crib Matress
• Curtains for nursery
• Breast Pump (insurance will cover, need to get prescription from OB - have form filled out, send back in 1-2 months before I'm due and call when I give birth
• Assorted extra breast pump accessories (membranes, tubing, etc.)
• 4 pacifiers: 2 green, 2 blue
• 1 tube of Lansinoh
• 2 Nasal Aspirators
• 1 New baby monitor set with two parent units (the batteries are shot on DD's monitors)
• 1 Twin stroller that will take infant car seats
• 1 Bottle Infant Acetaminophen
• Bins/drawers for underneath the cribs
• Drawer liners for the dresser (it's really rough)

Can wait until after babies arrive:

• Bottles (probably ~10)
• 2 Convertible Car Seats
• 1 High Chair, maybe 2 high chairs that attach to a chair instead of reusing DDs and getting another full size one
• 2-3 baby gates
• Assorted Teethers
• 2 more bouncy seats maybe (I think it might be nice to have 2 more on the 2nd floor that can stay there, not sure)
• 2 lovey blankets if pacifiers are refused
• 18m and larger boy clothes, I am good on N-6m, a bit light 6m-12m, but fine

To do:


Done by end of April:

• Take tour of hospital I haven't given birth in
• Set up first floor changing station (and maybe a basement station too as that is DD's playroom)
• Set up Pack-N-Plays (I'm thinking one on 1st floor, one in basement, mini one in our bedroom)
• Get bottles out and sterilized and put away, replace old nipples with new as the nipples are pretty worn from all the dishwashing
• Stock the refrigerator/freezer/pantry with easy to grab and eat items and easy to prepare stuff
• Reread The No Cry Sleep Solution

Done:

• Put together stroller
• Stock up on household essentials (TP, papertowels, etc.) to limit necessary store trips
• Install infant car seats
• Stock changing table
• Finish reading "Mothering Multiples"
• Get preregistered at both potential hospitals - put copies in hospital bag in case they lose it again: Grant (but did not pay estimated $), St Ann's
• Get old breast pump cleaned and ready to go
• Get nursery cleared out
• Get remaining bins in office put away/donated/recycled/trashed and get my desk organized (it isn't bad, but needs some love and probably a desk organizer to hold stuff)
• Reread (from last pregnancy) a natural childbirth book or two
• Visit my parents and the ILs one more time before birth (probably late February or early March) - scheduled for last weekend in February
• Get a massage
• Talk to DH about DD's care while I'm in labor, hospital logistics, etc
• Decide on middle names - think we are good on this.
• Go through DD's baby clothes and get them organized
• Get baby gear organized and put somewhere (swing, bouncer, toys, etc.)
• Get guest room cleared out and junk in there put away/donated/recycled/trashed
• Remodeling Done (2nd floor & stairs carpet, 2nd floor doors & trim, kitchen, bay window)
• Reread Parenting Effectiveness Training
• Talk to DH about circ - hooray easy talk and no circ
• Pack hospital bag (include copy of preregistration form)
• Take my breast pump home (it's still sitting at work, but I did go through it and it is all ready to go)
• Set up nursery furniture (including assembling cribs)
• Get blankets/crib sheets/etc. in bins under the cribs
• Get N & 0-3m washed and put away after drawer liners installed

(ETA: Going to just check things off as I do them here, also added rough timetable of when I want it done)
Edited by Quinalla - 4/15/13 at 9:55am

[BaileyB]

Originally Posted by CoBabyMaker 

Thanks for reminding me Bailey, meals to freeze!  Yes, I really need to do this.  DD's have food allergies so I can't just count on people from church bringing us food.

NS, That is a big list!  Just go straight for the pedicure!

Haha I agree. I need one too!

[Lynann]

Since this is my 3rd baby in as many years I don't have a lot of stuff to actually buy. This is what I can think of from the top of my head though.

Pull out NB & 0-3 clothes etc and wash and put in baskets ready to use. (early April)

Move changing table & bassinet back into master bedroom (mid April)

Finish making 8-15lb NB fitted diapers (ASAP)

Re-lanolize wool soakers (mid April)

Make some extra wipes (if there is time)

Make 2 cotton liners for the Pram (if there is time)

Crochet new blanket for this baby (whenever I get around to it)

Clean misc baby stuff (probably March)

Buy birth supplies (early April)

Buy birth pool kit (early April)

Make meals for the freezer (all 3rd Trimester, I'll just double everything I make & freeze 2nd portion)

Make treats & snacks for the freezer (good job we have a large extra freezer in the garage )

Get mini-van so we can actually leave the house (May/June, as I don't plan to leave the house for the first 4-6 weeks.)

I'm due Mother's Day weekend, but honestly don't expect to actually have the baby for at least another week after that. Like last time I'll probably do most of my prep in the last 6 weeks before my EDD, and then spend that final week or two impatiently waiting for labor to start properly (I usually get several weeks of prodomal labor.)

[aHikaru]

well, we already have everything, clothes washed, cloth diapers washed. just need a nursing bra and pads, which are on sale at target this week, so that'll be taken care of. ohh! and the carseat :( gotta wait till my baby shower in early march for that, hoping  my dad will go halfway on that.  

I know the baby can come at any time during the third trimester, so I will def be packing up our bags in the next couple weeks. 

[nstewart]

This IS helpful!

I've already had to edit my list to add a few important things (like picking names, ugh!!!) and some less critical ones (finding a photographer for newborn photos).

[OtherMother]

Oh, I hear (some of) you on the anxiety. This is my second babe, and it's been four and a half years since I've done the whole newborn thing. I know we don't need as much- it's mainly cleaning/organizing/packing/cooking that needs to be done, but I'm anxious about getting it all done in time. In time being by the beginning of May- I'm due at the end of May. I'm hoping to go slow and not have to have a mad rush at the end, but I've got a full plate with college and DD, so we'll see how it goes.

I need to ...

get ready

1. switch closets with hubby

2. make new closet into combination diaper changing station

3. put away baby's clothes and diapers in a system that will work

4. set up co-sleeper (not til 34-36 weeks)

5. load Ipod with awesome birth list

buy or acquire:

1. an Ergo wrap

2. an infant carseat

3. an awesome Big Sister gift for DD

4. a changing pad

5. about 14 more diapers, plus soapnuts to wash, diaper pail, and wetbag

6. a new camera (will be taking lots of pictures!)

7. first aid/ baby care materials

8. breastpump and bottles, milk storage bags

cook and stock:

1. plenty of frozen backup meals

2. stock pantry w/ whole grains, beans, dried fruit, energy squares, nuts and seeds, etc. (month before birth)

3. stock fridge w/ fresh fruits and veggies, soymilk, etc. (weeks before birth)

plan

1. who is going to be at birth?

2. who is coming to help in the days/weeks after birth?

3. try to find postpartum doula

4. decide if we'll use birth doula

5. how will I keep on top of washing diapers?

6. when will we bring DD2 to her new pedi?

7. will my insurance cover home postpartum visits?

8. when do I need to put DD2 on our insurance by?

clean

1. whole house in month before birth (especially DD's room, kitchen, and bathroom)

2. THE CAR

pack

1. birth bag for DD, DH, and I- have in the trunk by 34/36 weeks

2. emergency essentials for possible home or car birth

Phew. I think that's it! It's kind of a lot, eh?

Edited by OtherMother - 2/15/13 at 8:17am

[eepeepee]

Oh my god, just the title of this thread sends me into first-time-mama panic.

[timesway]

Haha same.. It's so scary tho we could literally go into labour any minute from now ( I mean less likely soon but still give it a month and the likelihood increases) scares the hell outve me and my lack of preparedness!!

[eepeepee]

GAH.  Yeah.  That's terrifying.  Poor kiddo would have to sleep in an empty box or something.

[CoBabyMaker]

My Dad actually slept in a dresser drawer (I think/hope they removed it from the dresser first). He's a little weird but I don't think you could attribute it to the dresser drawer. ;)

[kimble]

Originally Posted by eepeepee 

Oh my god, just the title of this thread sends me into first-time-mama panic.

me too. Maybe this is a good way for the universe to give me the kick in the pants I need to get going.

Originally Posted by timesway 

Haha same.. It's so scary tho we could literally go into labour any minute from now ( I mean less likely soon but still give it a month and the likelihood increases) scares the hell outve me and my lack of preparedness!!

Originally Posted by eepeepee 

GAH.  Yeah.  That's terrifying.  Poor kiddo would have to sleep in an empty box or something.

At least if we went into labor now (not wishing that on anyone!) the babe/s would be in the NICU for a while since they are so premature. At least if you follow standard medical advice to some extent. That would give us some breathing room but be a whole other type of stress. I can't imagine trying to pump or BF for a babe in the NICU for months.

With this in mind, my top priorities are:

- Finish Birthing from Within and reserve time to practice the labor coping techniques presented, ideally with DH involved. I have some issues with sharing and generally internalize emotions, so feel it is important to let him in on my prep since he will be my major support person for the labor itself.

- Start an exercise program - either ~20 min a day of basic stretching and yoga at home, or get off my butt and go to some prenatal yoga classes. As my body gets bigger, I find I know and understand how it moves less at a time when I will need to be more in tune with it than ever.

- Choose a name or short list. We have a few good options in the grab bag for girls but are finding boys much harder.

- Have the circ talk with DH

- Attend a childbirth preparation class - scheduled for this weekend at our hospital

- Attend a breastfeeding education class (LLL meetings in my area are during weekdays and therefore not a good time for me right now)

- find a pediatrician. I have some options picked out through Mothering and my insurance but need to get DH on board and ideally meet them first

- organize the shower

- finalize the registry (mostly picking out a car seat and waste management strategy for sposies)

- clear out crap from the spare bedroom

- decide on finishing the basement or not - if we do, then the office will likely go downstairs giving us a nursery and guest room to prep.

- write up a rough plan for family coming to visit. My fam is all long distance and we don't want everyone showing up at once.

- get a pump through my insurance (yay free pump!)

- let HR know about my rough plans for maternity leave

[moriahmoonstar]

I'm with the other ladies that expressed fear at this thread, wow. The first time I looked at it I felt anxious and panicky and really behind. But I'm grateful for it too. I'm a chronic procrastinator so I probablly won't feel ready until shortly before labor but I like the idea of saying out loud what is needed. We are also complicating things by being gone for most of March. We couldn't swing a vacation but we both have time off so we are staying by the beach in California, my hometown for 3 or 4 weeks. We won;t be able to work on the house or organizing but we will be able to mentally and emotionally prepare.

So here goes:

-Create and pass out invitations for home town baby shower and the one at our house, registry is finished so give link to that and consider making one at a local store

-Baby room-clear out closet, set up plastic bins and shelving for baby clothes and label drawers, after hardwood floors are placed(two weeks from now) set up furniture, find a dresser that can be a changing table, make roman blind, paint small mural, then decorate with gifts we hopefully get from the registry

-wash all the diapers and baby clothes that I currently have and wash what we receive later in April

-get whatever is left over on registry

-belly cast

-order birth supplies, kit, towels, plastic sheets, extra sheets, tub if I want it

-decide on who will be at birth

-make play list, create birth alter in addition to my pregnancy alter

-by lingerie for birthing(did anyone read sexy birth?)

-make birth affirmation cards and print out positive images for the house of birth

-have herbs and teas for labor and postpartum ready

-freeze meals

-set up visitor schedule

-have back up hospital bag if we need to transfer

-set up guest room and office, organize closet

-clean off porch and organize garage

-plan spring garden and order seeds and bulbs

-watch birth movies with dh

-read birth books

-listen to pregnancy meditations

-at 28 weeks start vit c and alfalfa and spinning baby exercises focus on optimal fetal positioning

-find baby names

Thats what I have so far off the top of my head, I'm sure there will be more.

I can't believe we are getting so close! Babies are coming!