Been There, Done That!

Comparing how I have prepared for Charlotte's birth with how I prepared for Hunter's, there is a big difference. One is that I am so much less stressed! Not that I was fretting about his, I was way more excited, but I got more of the 'wrong' things ready. I just had to have his room ready, and he didn't even sleep in there for 4 months. This time, our crib is on backorder until weeks before her due date, and while I am annoyed, I know that it doesn't really matter.

Some things that I plan to do differently or just focus before Charlotte's birth:

Freezer Stash: This will take on a whole new meaning after my milk comes in, but for now I am talking food. For a week or two co workers brought meals to the house and it was absolutely amazing to NOT have to think about dinner for that night. Then, it was back to dinner reality and while Tim was super understanding and would grab something on his way home, it wasn't ideal or very economical. This time around, I have started (3 months out) and when I cook at home I buy enough ingredients for 3 to 4 times that what meal needs. We prepare it all together, then separate it out and then are able to freeze 2-3 meals. We already were going to prepare dinner anyway, why not

Nursery: I already wrote a little about this, but I am NOT fretting nursery decor. Sure, I would love to have pictures of her nursery all done and cute and amazing, but if it's not done? No. Big. Deal. I WILL say that if you manage to get it done, then it is one less thing that you have to worry about when baby is here. Don't kid yourself if you think that you will want them to sleep in there. When you're up every three hours, you're going to look to find spare minutes any place you can get them even if saving the one minute it takes to walk to and from their room is how you get that. Not only that, you will find that you would rather have them awake for thirty seconds rather than a minute and thirty second is better, because it takes less time to get them back to sleep. Again, your night life will revolve around how to get more minutes of sleep for you! That, and you just want them close to you! Sure they grunt and sigh and make all sorts of noises when they sleep, but I felt so much better when Hunter was in the same room as I was. 

Wardrobe: One of the things I was most excited about for Hunter was his closet full of little man clothes. Yes, it is great to be prepared for when they move up a size, newborns do no need button up collared onesies and they certainly are not all that comfy in overalls. They really do sleep almost all day and most babies like I be swaddled, AND they get changed a lot.... Soooooo do you really tutus and overalls are the best choice? You will find that jammies and onesie sets and even those nightgown things are what works best. This time, I am stocking up! This doesn't mean that you won't want to dress them up, but just probably not as often as you originally thought!

Wardrobe: This time I mean being prepared for size move ups. I cried when Hunter moved from newborn to 0-3 month clothing, and I'm sure I will do it when Charlotte does the same thing. Each size move gets more tolerable, but it is a little reminder and a physical show of them getting bigger. I got tons and tons of clothes before Hunter was born, whether it was from me shopping or from our amazing friends and family, but when we hit 9 months, I noticed that I barely had anything, and now that we have hit the 9-12 month sizing we barely have anything! Although it did mean that I got to go shopping with the permission blessing of my husband, it also meant that I was caught off guard! I will definitely have some pajamas and outfit sets in sizes all the way up to 18 months because you never know how fast they will fly through their clothes!

Hospital Stay: I didn't go crazy and over pack last time, so I'm not worried about that. This time, I will fully understand that this is a flipping vacation. The mornings after she is born and I am in the hospital may be the only two mornings I get to sleep in for a loooong time. I haven't slept past 7:30 since Hunter was born. True, I don't feel ready to leave him overnight yet, so I may just be imposing this on myself, but I will relish in those mornings I get to sleep in. There will also be a few necessities that I make absolute sure to bring. Nursing tanks, swaddles, clothing in premie and newborn (just in case), my make up, and of course the obvious iPads, laptop, phone, camera, and video camera. We had all of these last time, but I do NOT want to do with out them this time. The one thing that I will add is the Sleep Sheep/noise machine. We knew we would need one since babies are so used to noise, but we didn't even think to bring it to the hospital. I think little man would have slept much better if he wasn't in silence.

Formula: With Hunter, we had a rough second night. He cried for a few hours. I was adamant on breast feeding, and I tried so hard. The problem was that he was 'eat' for ten or fifteen minutes at a time, and fall asleep and then be awake and crying 20 minutes later. He was barely getting anything from me, but I was bound and determined not to feed him formula. Finally, Tim and I broke down at about 3 in the morning, and gave him the tiniest bit of formula. We still breastfed on each side after that when he seemed hungry, but would follow it up with and ounce of formula. Three days after he was born, my milk came in and we didn't need formula again. I feel bad for fighting it so long, but this time I know that it is not the end of the world to feed a touch of formula. Either that, or I know that the baby will want to eat very often! Luckily, you can do the latter while laying down, haha! 

I am sure there is more, but I am so glad that everything is so fresh in my mind. I feel so much more prepared, even though I know very well that it could all change with this labor and delivery, I feel more comfortable going in.

What are YOU bringing that you just could not live without?

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