what are you doing to prepare your household for the baby?

[memory maker]

I am trying to get things in order so things run smoothly while Gabi is being born and I am in the hospital (hopefully only a day like last time)

Things I have done to get ready:
1. Almost done with Christmas shopping-didnt want to have to take a small baby to the mall to finish in the middle of flu season

2.making lists of my childrens routines so that my mom will know what they need and on what day they need it

3.washed all the baby stuff and am putting it all away

4.going through our storage and getting rid of extra junk we dont need

What all are you doing that I might need to think about too?

[mellie-lynn]

Something you might want to think about is that if you do most of the cooking, to make about a weeks worth of crock pot meals and freeze them.
That way you or DH can throw it in and not worry about dinner.

I'm like you with the laundry only I'm so backed up I actually did 16 :dropjaw
loads yesterday...and I still have more to go.

[crsta33]

Hehe, would you believe I've taken in a 2 month old baby boy to help prepare my household? :LOL I already keep a toddler my dd's age and the mama of my new little one is a very good friend of mine who didn't have the kind of childcare she wanted lined up for her new baby, so when she went back to work yesterday, he came to stay with me.

Good practice for me, dh, and dd. Both parent's of the kids I keep are teachers (at the same school) so I will be off from Thanksgiving until after New Years (they will only have to scrounge for care for the 3 weeks between T'giving holidays and Christmas holidays). Then I'll be caring for 2 infants and 2 toddlers, oh my! :nut

Really though, I'm doing the normal nesting, gathering stuff for the birth, washing things, making cloths/blankets for baby, etc. I want to clean everything in sight but don't really have the time (or the energy) and the bigger tasks (carpet cleaning, door painting) will have to be delegated. Which means that nagging my dh to get them done like he promised will continue at a fever pitch.

Christa

[Gunter]

-Set up cloth diapering supplies/stations like wet bags or pails, dipes, wipes, wipe solution, etc...

-Put carseat in car.

-Grocery shop and make meals to freeze.

-Make a phone list of dog-walking neighbors for our dog to get attention and exercise while we are oogling over babe. Remind them all they promised to help walk him. =)

-Get carpets steam cleaned.

-Get my newborn dipes back from a friend who had baby beginning of August.

-Freeze some sort of mama pad soaked in witch hazel or something. Buy cohosh for tincture for after-pains.

-Order new contacts before my stash runs out next month.

-Research Pediatrician care in my area.

Sure there is more and I won't be completely prepared (how can one be, really?) but those are things I would like to have in place when the babe arives. I made a list of our fave foods from local restaraunts that I will e-mail to well-meaning neighbors who want to help us.

Dh is taking the full twelve week NC Family Leave Act time off, only one month of it with pay and no work. He will telecommute two days a week or so after the first month. We don't really do the Christmas thing by gifting people but we will have a decorated tree. I love the food of the holidays that people drop off with us and am especially looking forward to that this year! Christmas as celebrated by most Americans really bothers me but I do like a decoarated tree in my house for a season! We'll do that whenever we feel up for it around first of December.

[RainCoastMama]

Hmmm...not as much as I should be... :bag:

DD and DH's birthdays are planned a month in advance - DD's 2nd bday party is this Sat, but her actual birth date is Nov 25th.

Most of my immediate family Xmas shopping is done.

I planned to freeze food, etc. but that doesn't seem to be happening for some reason...I did research personal chef services in the area tho :blush: Just to get us through the initial haul, esp. as my mom's away at a conference in India in the first few weeks.

I guess...since we survived the first time around, I'm not stressing as much in advance this time :LOL

[MrsMoe]

Here is what we have done so far:

We have purchased nearly everything for baby (talk about bite out of our wallet!)

All baby clothes are washed and folded. Caught up on laundry (we were out of a washer/dryer since the move-bought pair last month - so laundry was behind.)

Cleaning organizing house top to bottom, closets and all, making it extra spotless and trying to keep it that way. *stares at husband* Cleaner houses are easier to keep clean.



Need to do:

Make meals in advance and freeze

Show husband how to use washer/dryer

Create daily/weekly to-do-list for husband :LOL

Prepare school worksheets in advance (Emma is homeschooled) and come up with a creative project(s) to occupy her time while I am busy with baby the first few weeks.

Purchase a few PC educational games for Emma for homeschooling to fill in spots where I simply won't have time to spend with her.

Get Emma's Halloween costume now so we won't have to do it around the time I am due. I may make her costume.

Get Halloween/Autumn decorations set-up.

[zjande]

Well, I'm looking around at this house & realizing how totally impossible it will be to childproof certain areas (we have this 20 foot hearth along the living room wall made of the most uneven & sharp ROCKS, exactly at cruising level. And no way to cover the front of the fire place that I can figure out- again, it's all these way uneven sharp rocks...UG). The back yard area are hills full of deer & raccoon poop. We have 6 stairs inside with no wall on one side so they're impossible to gate. Plus the 44 stairs from the carport to the front door that we'll be lugging baby up & down. Um, we weren't thinking procreation when we picked this house. :rolleyes

Besides that, my washer is full of baby clothes right now!
My Maya wrap came in the mail this weekend!
We're bidding on diaper bags, a Hotsling & a bath tub on Ebay!
I have an appt. to meet & interview the pediatrician Friday morning!
I have seriously increased my vaccine research lately; we need to make some decisions in that area!
I am going to the book store today hoping to find Taking Charge of your Fertility , another area (birth control) that I need to do some serious research & decision making.
I am going to my 1st LLL meeting on the 19th!
We toured the hospital- it was awesome. I'm so happy with it (Alta Bates in Berkeley).
My "maternity leave" from babysitting the 15 month old neighbor baby begins on Nov. 1st. :thumb


I still need to:
Do a "practice labor" & education/planning session with my kidlets.
Perfect my birth plan.
Rewrite & post my phone numbers needed during labor, & my "emergency homebirth" instructions.
Research birth announcements (what kind?? from where?? eeek!)
Ask my midwife if she will allow all 6 people I had planned to have with me at my birth sneak in with us (I discovered the hospital normally only allows 4).
And discuss middle name options for this kid with DP!!!

Yaaaay! I like reading this thread, it gets me all excited like the "SO EXCITED" thread. :D

[BensMom]

I want to cook, but its so FREAKING HOT HERE STILL!! I even researched it on weather.com and the normal temp for the end of Sept is 78-79 and it has been 88-89. Add 10 degrees to that for being a walking oven and you have misery! My kitchen is the hottest room of the house anyway....whine whine whine. That is the one thing I really wanted to get done. :wink

Let's see, what have I done? Pulled out all the gender neutral newborn clothes and have them hanging and in drawers for the babe. I organized my wipes, burp clothes, bibs, diapers (still need more) etc. I am reclaiming my breast pumps and slings from a friend who borrowed them this summer. I organized my bedroom to make room for the birth pool.

Things to do:

Finish newborn diaper stash.
Make some mama pads and breast pads.
Get carseat from friend.
Steam clean carpets.
Declutter laundry room and two closets.
Find box with other breast pump and bottles and other feeding stuff.

MAKE FOOD! :LOL

[AmyGirl28]

This thread is quite amusing. You all seem far better prepared than me. My list is like a mile long and I doubt I will get it done before baby arrives. DD's 2nd Birthday is this weekend. So, I am focusing on cleaning the house and preparing for that. I do have most of the baby stuff set up and ready to go.

I need to...
*Freeze Meals
*Finish Christmas Shopping & Wrapping- or atleast get most of it done. I want to make sure that I have time to sleep after the baby comes.
*Put car seat in car.
*Buy more Pregnancy Tea & Mother's Milk Tea and some other supplies for the birth.
*Finish packing my hospital bag.

And that is just what I can think of off the top of my head. Good luck to all of you.

[MelW]

The house is pretty clean, all but some boxes of papers are unpacked, and I own so few clothes that I can't get behind on laundry :LOL

Still to do:
* After our shower on the 8th, frantically buy the rest of the baby supplies we don't get, sort and organize them
* Finish phone list for birth, people to call afterwards, postpartum resources
* Possibly re-arrange our bedroom furniture- not sure how I want it set-up
* Maybe buy a small dresser or something for dining room to store linens (and free up closet space in my bedroom cupboard for my clothes/baby's clothes)
* Freeze some more meals (two down, ?? to go)
* Book and go for the pregnancy massage that I have a gift certificate for
* "Harvest" and restart my compost (indoor worm compost)
* Get paperwork from work and submit everything for my employment insurance benefits

That's the stuff on the must do list- I have some "if I get totally bored and impatient waiting for baby" stuff to do, and also some fantasy stuff to do...

[willemsmamma]

Okay, don't mind me :p I'm sort of on the verge of nesting mania here. I'm using this post as an opportunity to actually type up a list of things I need to do. Then like I said in the other thread I'm posting the list all over the house (maybe dh will see how urgently I need to get stuff done :wink ... no, really he's a great help, he's just not the one whose pregnant)
So since I'll be 37 WEEKS IN FIVE DAYS :yikes: :scared :yikes: :jumpers: :yikes: I actually had the brilliant idea that I actually need to get this stuff done NOW :idea

What a novel idea :duh lets just leave stuff to do at the very end when I'm big and sore and cant move around without huffing and puffing and moaning and groaning! :angry

So here it is: (feel free to skip to the next post :D )
-rearrange furniture in the bedroom (room for baby stuff and birth pool)
-wash all baby articles, oxyclean accordingly
-resew seam on my New Native so it fits better
-wash slings and put in basket
-make little lavender sachets out of old panty hose and ribbon so baby stuff smells fresh and room is relaxing
-organize dh&my closet
-organize drawers in our newly refinished dressers ( :throb dh did an awesome job, I'll post pics sometime if I have the time)
-wash linens, vacum mattress (dust mite thing), wash down mattress cover
-nail area rug in bedroom down on the corner that keeps coming up
-get hose for filling birth pool
-get night stands for by our bed
-hang decor in bedroom (yeah, we moved in JUNE and still haven't)
-buy baby toiletries (ebay?) and organic hand soaps
-buy baskets/crates to go on shelves of baby changing table (never used one of these before :LOL )
-get supplies (already have birth kit) for birth together and in one place
-wash and bag sterilized baby clothes
-get 7th generation newborn diapers and sposies for ds for when he goes to the office with dh those first few days (weeks? :D )
-get haircuts for me and ds
-make appointment for family picture in november for Christmas cards
-get grocery list ready for food for me and birth attendants during birth (so dh will know what I want and can run to the grocery store for stuff we've ran out of between now and then without me trying to think up a list on the spot)
-wash and bag up linens for the birth
-get a plastic sheet for the bed, and on the bed next week
-ask family members to keep in mind that the best thing they can do for us is bring us food!!! :love
-get camcorder stuff ready... be sure battery is charged this time!!!
-get extra batteries for digital camera, film for the regular one (esp. black and white) IMO digital shots aren't REAL photograph ;)
-get chocolate and coffee for midwives :thumb
-bake and freeze goodies (this is a yeah, right one)
-trim up the newborn prefolds like Gunter said (it was her, right) so they fit and are more absorbant down the middle (wish I'd of thought of that last time)
-stop by the honey farm and get raw honey
-get smell good candles so the house smells good, and EO candles for the birth
-think of instructions lists that need to be written up for anyone who will help and WRITE them!
-find the fish net for the birth pool, get one if we got rid of the other one
-organize the office!!!!!
-take space bags of clothes into the basement to store,
-bag up maternity clothes that no longer fit to sell on ebay
-find my post preg clothes and get them in the closet
-buy a couple nursing bras
-get my $$ refunded at the post office for the mama pads I bought and never received (good thing I got the insurance!!!)
-buy new mama pads
-request that someone buy a EarthMamaAngelBaby postpartum kit for me... or put one together (alright, bought stuff for myself last night)
-buy helichrysum EO
-get our landlord to pay for the carpet cleaning (they weren't cleaned before we moved in and really need to be... isn't there a law about that... something about sanitation and public health???)
-get phone lists together
-retype birth plan so it's current
-get paper and frames for placenta prints for MWs, our neighbor (who will help with ds during the birth) and my CST. already ordered the birth postcards to go in the corner of the framed prints

yep... I've got a lot to do. :flipped

[Gunter]

I want to cook, but its so FREAKING HOT HERE STILL!! I even researched it on weather.com and the normal temp for the end of Sept is 78-79 and it has been 88-89. Add 10 degrees to that for being a walking oven and you have misery! My kitchen is the hottest room of the house anyway..MAKE FOOD! :LOL

I am so with you on this! I keep saying that when it cools off, I will spend a few days in the kitchen doing a cooking blitz. I'm just a few hours north of you, probably so it's pretty hot here for September. Guess we could get our pantries and freezers stocked with the ingredients, eh?

RCM- My babe could be born on your DDs b-day! Fun.

This is a great thread. I have a Word document called "Birth To Do List", started from a few months ago that I add to when reading this thread! In addition to the restaraunt list of foods we like, I made a short grocery list with the brands of food we buy in case MIL or anyone needs to know that.

[memory maker]

thanks for posting your lists. It has reminded me of so much more that I need to get done that I didnt remember :thumb

[snugglebutter]

I have a TON to do, but our top priorities are.....

- get some maintenance work done on the Honda (where carseat will be)
- garage sale this weekend, then donating some other stuff
- more freezer cooking - MIL is going to come help me (yes, I love her! )


Will post more later......

[zjande]

-organize dh&my closet

yep... I've got a lot to do. :flipped

Heehee, this made me giggle out loud. So you've got plans to organize your dh & then your closet? :p Good luck with the dh organizing, they can be really messy! :LOL ;)

[willemsmamma]

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

zjande, I hadn't even thought of it that way!!! I meant I have to organize the closet we share...
but now that I'm thinking about it, organizing dh before the baby comes is a good idea :LOL I wonder about him sometimes....

[DreamsInDigital]

I haven't done anything except buy diapers. We're supposed to be moving the first week of November so I don't know if anything else is going to get done. You guys make me feel like such a slacker.

[MamaFern]

ive...


* set up the diaper changing station.. i have a change table with wipes and cloths and diapers and recieving blankets.. a mobile over it and pictures on the wall for baby to look at.. :diaper :cd:

*folded and washed and put away all the NB sized clothes i have..organised all of the other clothes i have as well into bins so i can find sizes easily. got rid of a bunch of stuff as well, because i had way too much. :laundry :hang

*organised all of the kids toys and put all of the wooden and cloth baby toys into a basket..and went through all of elwynns toys and got rid of anything that wont be okay for a little person ( bits and pieces of stuff.. how to 2 year olds collect so much junk!)..he still has some things with small pieces, but they will be played with under supervision when the time comes.. :flower

*we have a carseat already from when elwynn was a babe.. i need to take it all apart and wash it though because its been lent out and i got it back covered in grime and spit up.. :p :laundry

*elwynn is sleeping most of the time in his bed now, in preparation for the new baby sharing my bed.. :fambeds1 then :fambeds2 ( but we still share a bed quite a lot..)

*knit lots of nice warm stuff.. still need to do more though! :knit :-wool :knit :-wool :knit



i still NEED to do a lot..
ack! but im only 33 weeks so im not freaking out yet.

there are always more...:dishes BUt my sister is getting us a diswasher today!! YAY!

[flyingspaghettimama]

Um, I'm a chronic underachiever...I'm quitting caffeine this week. That's about it for preparing my household. The headaches...and I was only drinking one cup of white tea...caffeine is the devil...I look at your lists and I'm thinking about going back on it for at least a good three days so I can catch up.

(Back to my bed, hiding my head under the pillow)

[spiritmomma]

Last weekend I did most of the major nesting. I told DH not to make ANY plans for the whole weekend as I would need his assistance lifting things and getting on ladders.... (to which he replied, "getting on ladders!?!? what kind of nesting are we doing?) :LOL The ladders, as he found out, were for cleaning out closets including top shelves of closets. Oh yes, we cleaned the whole house including deep storage!
I also bought a new vacuum cleaner and cleaned the inches of dust (!) in our carpeted bedroom, cleaned all hardwoods, and used the new vacuum for baseboards...
DH scrubbed out the bath tub while I laundered 4 dozen diapers and put them away in our new baby dresser :love with all the clothes I've been collecting.

What's left? Well, I think just some time to sit and contemplate this pregnancy. I think I still need to write some journal entries, spend some quiet moments in meditation, and really savor my last month... Carrying this child has been such a blessing and I've kept myself SO busy I'm afraid I've missed it. I'd like to start my maternity leave on November 1 (I'm a self-employed hairdresser) and spend a few weeks just focusing on my baby's movements while he or she is still inside me... I'm due on 11/19 and will be staying home during the day with my baby even after maternity leave. I'm switching to working nights and only about 25- 30 hours a week.

So I guess besides enjoy my pregnancy, I need to make some subtle changes in business hours to my website and set up my email to send an auto reply while I'm on maternity leave. And this weekend is my Mother Blessing :balloons so I'm sure I'll have some things to put away after that. Other than that, I'm taking it easy!!!

[crsta33]

*elwynn is sleeping most of the time in his bed now, in preparation for the new baby sharing my bed.. :fambeds1 then :fambeds2 ( but we still share a bed quite a lot..)


I'm trying to encourage Kenna to sleep in her bed in our bedroom, but I'm worse than she is! She's in my bed tonight b/c dh won't be home until late and I just feel more secure with her next to me. She requests "Kenna's bed" quite often and usually falls asleep there, though she crawls in with me during the night most nights. :love A few times she's stayed in her bed until morning.

I really don't know how things are going to work when the baby gets here. And dh really wants to move back into our bed (I banished him for snoring and keeping me up too much).

[flapjack]

Okay, I'm nearly there.
Another 3 baskets waiting to be done of dirty laundry. More sodding ironing.
Fix new ladder to get into loft, send husband into loft, find out if anything "good" is up there.
Make lots of money selling my children's clothes at the Nearly New sale next week. Buy new clothes for said children.
Make more cake. Freeze cake before eating cake.
Make more quiche. Freeze quiche before eating quiche.
Clean and tidy children's toy boxes, preferably without supervision. Sort baby toys from everything else, get rid of the battery operated crap (again, NNS).
Paint kitchen. Build new cupboard and some shelving
Paint utility/play room. Move remaining 1500 books to charity shops. Freecycle large bookcase.
Put toyboxes on remaining bookcase, so children have a playroom as well as their bedroom.
Christmas. Halloween
Organise joint birthday party for two children. (Alex's b'day is 10 days after my due date- 6 days after my d-date by scan. Isaac's is in the middle of the summer holidays. For some ungodly reason, I thought late October would be a good time to do a party for both of them.)
Buy birthday presents for Alex
Finish reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire before going into labour (a chapter a night before they go to bed.)
Re-henna my belly
Belly cast.
And I THINK that might be it. It's not actually that much, it just looks a lot when you write it down like that. Still, at least I won't get bored :)

[Queen of Cups]

I didn't read all the responses because I'm short on time at the moment, but here's what I've already done:
-bought and washed all newborn diapers
-finished the baby's quilt (okay, I'm 45 minutes from finishing it - that's why I can't spend long on the computer tonight!)
-washed and organized all baby clothes (in boxes labeld "Boys 0-6m" "Girls 0-6m" "Gender Neutral 0-12m" etc)
-frozen about a dozen meals so far
-have plans for MIL to arrive to spend the last month helping out at our house and to be there for DS during my labor/birth if he doesn't want to stay through it, though I'm hoping he will!

If I go into labor before 36 weeks, my midwife/ob-gyn/L&D at the hospital do everything possible to prevent it, so I'm aiming for 36 weeks to be my ready-for-baby mark. By then I will have:

-packed bag for hospital stay and store in garage
-made treat/goodie basket for midwives/nurses at hospital and store in garage
-gotten out cradle to set up in master bedroom for the first few weeks
-washed sheets for cradle and crib
-get some baskets to have to hold sleepers and gowns for the first couple weeks when you have to change baby's clothes sooo often, I want one for the master bedroom and one for the nursery (I'm running out of room in the dresser drawers)
-install carseat
-buy carseat bad weather cover
-put another few meals in freezer
-get the house totally spic-n-span so all we'll have to do is bare minimum maintenance as far as housework goes (I'm almost there already!)
-DH and I are making a train table for DS - its going to be a present from the baby and will hopefully help keep him occupied the first few weeks the baby is here

[birthjunkie27]

I'll overwhelm myself if I write out my entire list, so I'll just write my goals for today.

- Finish washing all baby diapers :laundry

- Bring in changing table from garage, clean

- Bring in baby carseat from garage, wash cover

- If I'm feeling really ambitious and I get all of the above done, make a meal to freeze. Well, one for dinner tonight and one to freeze. Is it too soon to do this? I still have another 8 weeks or so ( I'm anticipating a 37-38 weeker).

[Queen of Cups]

My understanding is that if you have a chest style deep freezer, foods last almost forever. In the freezer section of your fridge they won't last as long because the door is constantly opening/shutting allowing temp changes and its just not as cold to begin with. But, I would think 7-8 weeks would be no problem at all - as long as you wrap meals very tightly. Be sure to put in freezer bags or tupperware with very little empty space in the top - don't just wrap with tinfoil.

[flyingspaghettimama]

Be sure to put in freezer bags or tupperware with very little empty space in the top - don't just wrap with tinfoil.

Why is the tinfoil bad? My freezer book suggests using tinfoil. Is this only for people with the chest-style freezers?

[bucaye]

Man, all you ladies are organized!!! :wink Not me. I still have 8 weeks left . . .
kinda feel, been there done that?!?! I know I got lots to do . . .

- purchased boy clothes, haven't washed them yet
- baby's room is clean, but closet still full of dh stuff
- purchased baby supplies (been doing that for months so as not to hurt the wallet as badly)
- been talking to baby bear to let him know to help me with labor
- hired a housekeeper (thanks Mom!!) to get the house in shape

What I need to do . . . ???
the list is endless . . .


Hugs to all on getting things done :hug

[Queen of Cups]

Its not that foil is bad - its just that you can't get a totally air-tight seal with it. Sometimes I'll put foil over the top of something to make it easier to reheat later, then put it in a big freezer bag.

[spiritmomma]

Add to my prep list that I have just signed up for an Infant CPR class at one of our local hospitals. The class is only $20 and could be the difference between a close call and a tragedy! I'd say this is one of the most important investments one can make if they are having a baby. Just thought I'd share the idea....

[willemsmamma]

My hardcore nesting has paid off!!!
I woke up at 2am today and couldn't sleep so I did 3 loads of laundry, picked up around the room and hall, organized the laundry closet, got stains out of the carpet in the bedroom from when Willem dragged the bathroom trash all over the floor and got my eyeliner pencil shavings into the rug :irked: , I hung two shelves up in the baby part of the bedroom (dh woke up and was like... uh, are you okay? then rolled over and went back to sleep), organized the onesies and baby kimonoes, set up a diapering section on the changing table (which is really acting as the baby dresser), started filling my new (newly refinished, really) dresser with clothes, gathered together some more of the birth supplies from around the house, set the water distiller to "make" more water, and.... here's my favorite :LOL :LOL :LOL at about 4 am I went outside and greased the hinges on my husbands truck :LOL (I remembered how squeaky they were from when I drove his truck last so I got the WD40 out and greased 'em up!!! He was awestruck when he woke up.

I'm freaking out here!!! :bouncy

[BensMom]

OK, now I want to know how on earth you survived a day with a toddler after no sleep and all that work! You are super-woman!

I woke up at 4am and kept my tired butt in bed and told my self "sleep you idiot". :LOL

[spiritmomma]

I LOVE that you greased your dh's truck doors! That is hilarious! You are a power nester! :laugh:

[crsta33]

Why is the tinfoil bad? My freezer book suggests using tinfoil. Is this only for people with the chest-style freezers?

I was wondering that too. I wrap in plastic wrap and then tinfoil...which means I have to remember to take the plastic wrap off *before* it goes in the oven. ;)

Christa

[willemsmamma]

I think just using tinfoil will allow air to contact the food and give it freezer burn. If you wrap it in plastic first, you should get a better seal.

[Gunter]

I started freezing food this week. I am using glass Pyrex dishes...smaller ones. And, for baked goods, I am using Freezer type plastic bags. What should I use to freeze soup?

Flapjack- I totally have been munching on the foods as I make them. Must freeze them and not eat them, but they look so yummy.