Preparing for Baby

As promised, I am posting photos of our baby's nursery. We do not know the gender of the baby even though we tried to find out...it is modest. We went with a gender neutral nursery set. I knew we were not planning on painting the walls so I wanted bright colors. I left some spaces on the wall for future photos of our baby with his/her grandparents and cousins. I plan on purchasing letters for his/her name to place on the wall too. I want to give a lot of credit to Tim for preparing the nursery. He was handyman-in-chief!

If you know me at all, you know that I like to have things prepared and ready. Unfortunately, it comes from a controlling place, but what I have learned in preparation for the baby is that I really have very little control and will not have control for a very long time...or that's what people are telling me.

I am in my 33rd week of pregnancy and feel quite good. Turns out, no matter how good you actually feel, things can be going on inside your body that are not so good. I won't bother you with the details, but there is a good possibility that I will be going on bed rest and if that does not improve things, we will be meeting our lil' bundle sooner than expected.

Thank goodness for the Internet. I did almost all of my shopping for the nursery and beyond from the comfort of my own couch. I have always been a big believer in the Internet gods, but more so than ever. First of all, shop around. I saved $150 from the most expensive retailer to where I actually bought my nursery set (bedding, valances, etc).

Then, the car seat shop around saved me about $30 dollars from retailer to retailer. You must use the promo codes for discounts and free shipping. My plug of the day is diapers.com. I ordered my car seat and stroller at 6PM on a Monday and it was at my door step by Tuesday noon with free shipping.

This weekend was filled with even more preparation. I made a mammoth trip to Target to stock up on all items, household and baby, that I felt I would need for the next couple of months. It is true that I am within driving distance to several Targets and I do plan on doing some Target shopping after the baby arrives, but I like a stocked house.

I have been trying not to overdo my nesting and tire myself out. I have a grand plan, but remember, the plan doesn't always work out for reasons out of my control...UGH. Next on my to-do list is prepare some foods. I am going to make several casseroles, lasagna, and dishes so we can just pull something from the freezer and eat. We are happy with sandwiches on a weekly basis and I know that cooking will not come to an end once the baby arrives, but I know that this will comfort me in the early days of our new family. I should probably stock up on some take-out menus too!