Nesting with Nine Weeks Left

Monte always says our babies come out full grown and it seems that this one will be no exception.  At my 28 week appointment, because of babies predicted size, my doctor moved up my due date by a few days and set an induction date for the end of July, nine days earlier than my original due date, which puts me almost two weeks ahead of schedule.  On one hand I am thrilled to have a date and a plan, but it sends me into a tail spin of list making, planning, cooking and cleaning.  Only nine weeks to go until there will be six children to care for, feed, and love living under our roof.  So what does a mother do to prepare for child number six?  

First of all we are skipping the whole nursery racket.  With Baby number one, the nursery was a masterpiece. We worked for months as the entire upstairs was remodeled in anticipation of her arrival. The perfect yellow paint and matching moon wallpaper boarder was purchased and matching bedding was made. Light switch covers in true theme finished off the room. It was perfect. The beauty of it all must have been overwhelming because neither of our first two children ever wanted to sleep in there.  This baby will get a corner bassinet in our room with a comfy rocker nearby to cuddle and nurse with mom in the wee hours of the night.  So washing up a little bedding and cleaning out a little corner of our room will be the extent of nursery prep.

When Gracen was born two years ago, I became obsessed with freezer meals.  I had two months worth (40 meals) between my deep freezer and kitchen freezer.  As a mama it feels like my family is taken care of when they are well fed.  It was so nice to just pull out a home cooked meal to thaw for the evening and spend that time cuddling with the new baby or giving much needed attention to the children instead of cooking.  So again that is the goal.  A couple of extra meals to send over to the grandmas and family helping with the other five kids during the delivery would also be great to help assist them in caring for lots of little people.
Another major task to tackle is a thorough cleaning of the whole house top to bottom.  I loosely follow flylady's zone cleaning and concentrate on one or two areas of the house each week until its done.    Organizing and decluttering each room will be a big part of the process.  This job is my least favorite but it feels so good when it is finally done.  My goal is to have this one done two weeks before the baby is scheduled to come and then just try to maintain and do regular weekly cleaning until the big day arrives.

 

After having five babies in our home you begin to realize what is necessary baby equipment and what becomes clutter.  This time I did purchase a used bassinet and we will use that for a little while instead of a crib.  It will take up less space in our room and give our two year old a few more months to transition to a toddler bed.  My personal baby must haves are a boppy for nursing (they last through 2 babies), a good breast pump, nursing covers, a bouncy seat, an activity gym (the kind that fold flat for storage), a swing (my babies have all loved to swing in the kitchen while I cook), baby sling or carrier, a car seat (duh), and later on, a stander (I love to use this outside to keep my crawling babies up off the ground so I have a cheap garage sale version).  I rarely use my pack and play but love to have it available for naps away from home or for baby safety by the pool during the summer.  These last two items are sort of my baby hoarding obsession.  I am never completely satisfied with what we have in the areas of diaper bags and strollers.  With strollers I need doubles, singles, big heavy duty and small compact fold up and diaper bags are a similar dilemma.  Luckily I have gotten smart and started buying used strollers.  I now have a decent select to choose from depending on the outing and combination of adults/kiddos.  I can

see Monte rolling his eyes now, but I would love just one more for this baby...the kind that is just a frame to clip our carseat on.  I won't buy new but if I see one at a consignment or garage sale surly we could make room in the garage for just one more (making 4...plus the two that still need to be donated).  Another piece of equipment needed for this baby is a new seat for our Yukon.  We have room for just one more if we swap out our captains chairs in the second row for a bench seat.  Monte found a good deal on a seat five hours away and if everything works out, he will be making the trip this weekend to pick it up.  It doesn't quite match our interior but it will do the job without us having to buy another vehicle. 

 

Lastly this baby will need clothes.  I started sorting through my baby boy tubs and am not to impressed by the selection.  ALL of my baby boys, including foster have been May birthdays and this one will be late July so seasons will be a bit off, especially early on when those little outfits only fit for a few months.  Bentley our almost twelve year old, was thrilled to go to Carter's and pick out some adorable newborn necessities.  I will keep my eyes open at consignment and garage sales as well.

So that is it in a nutshell.  The lists and sticky notes are everywhere as I try to get organized and make a plan to get it all done. We figured up that we only have four free saturdays until the baby arrives.   Time slips by so fast and before you know it this little one will be joining us.  I can't wait.  Tiny babies demand a life that slows down and we will all be ready for that after a busy summer.  We are blessed to get to experience this newness of life again. We know how quickly those moments are gone and we will intentionally take the time to breathe it all in.

Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him.
 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their opponents in court.

Psalm 127:3-5