This weekend, I did a lot of cooking. On Saturday, I made a pot of Cheddar Broccoli soup, which turned out awesome. Mike and I loved it. Hank couldn't get past the broccoli (sigh) but for the two of us, it was great. Yesterday, we went over some friends' house for dinner (Halftime Chili, wonderful for a winter day), but after we returned home, I was hard at work in the kitchen, making sauce and meatballs that we could feast on today.
Mike wanders in, and I'm frantically kneading ground beef and other assorted meatball fixins'.
Mike: "Oh wow. You're nesting, aren't you?"
Yes, I totally am. Not that I plan on saving any of this food for when the baby comes in, you know, MAY. But when I nest, I just really want to do things around the house and home. I also weeded Hank's toy collection in preparation for Christmas.
Someday soon I need to tackle our small storage area. All of the baby stuff and clothes are in the *back*, so this will be a major late winter/early spring nesting project. This time though, I have to admit, our attitude toward the new addition is a lot more practical and cavalier.
Adorable baby bedding? Zilch. All you need is about 3-4 solidly constructed crib sheets. Since, you know, the baby will spit up on them, pee on them, and have poo explosions (coined term: "poosplosions") on them pretty frequently. They get washed a lot.
Nursery? Don't need one. :) The baby will be sleeping with us for a couple of months. We'll need a changing table, and I would like the crib set up for naps. But we're using that room for an office right now, and don't plan to paint it and get it organized until late spring.
Dainty baby clothes? We'll use whatever is left over from Hank, even if the baby is a girl. She can wear blue!
Multitude of baby equipment? Using a weeded down version of what we have left from Hank. Pack n' play? Only for sleep when traveling. Will the baby actually play in there? HA! That would be no. We tried putting Hank in there once and he acted like we had just put him in a cell and thrown away the key. My mom claims that we used to play in our play pens "for hours" but I think she's suffering from yet another instance of the diagnosed syndrome "Grandmother Brain." I am doubting that this actually happened the way she's remembering it. :)
Swing? This is a necessity, and the only piece of baby equipment I'll consent to set up in our downstairs living space. Once the baby outgrows the swing, I'll swap it out for the Exersaucer, because that thing is also a life saver. I was dubious when I first had Hank, but I was wrong. You want to take a shower and the baby is awake with no other hands to hold baby? Swing/Exersaucer. For 10-15 minute increments, these things saved my bacon.
Bouncy seat? Nah. High chair, yes we have one. I do love it, despite it's sheer ugliness. Even for small babies, if you need your hands freed up in the kitchen, ours reclines, and baby can lounge in there while you cook. It's nice, because you can wheel it around with you if need be.
I am going to try a sling this time, and we do need a new diaper pail. We also need a new stroller, since ours from Hank is completely worn out. Definitely got our moneys worth out of that guy.
I really feel like I don't need to prepare that much. But this is now. April will be another story.
Totally agree about the lack of baby stuff. It seems all new parents (except me) get into the decor and stuff. I'm waiting until HB gets old enough to let me know what he likes in his room before decorating it. For now, he sheets are green.
ReplyDeleteAlthough HB never liked the swing, so I wouldn't buy one again. The bouncy seat allowed us to put him next to the shower/bath tub so that we could take one if needed. Don't have an exersaucer or a stroller. I use the wrap/sling instead or the shopping cart since he can sit up. I suppose if I want to go walking with him I should at least get a simple umbrella type, but I haven't. I've been looking at strollers but haven't found one yet. I may go the consignment route since I doubt that we'll use it except for taking walks for exercise.
And if we have a girl totally agree that girls can wear blue. I figure to make it obvious that she's a girl I'll buy some skirts and some baby head bands. That way it's not so big a deal that she's wearing her big bro's shirts. I've seen girls wearing boys clothes and don't know their a girl until the name (or the shoes). I figure a couple of skirts for going out in public and people won't get as confused.
That's pretty much what we used our stroller for; we love taking evening walks for exercise. :) It's tougher now with Hank "loose," sigh. Once the baby comes, it may actually be easier to pop them in the sling for walks, now that I think about it. Easier to also keep tabs on Henry.
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