Things to do before baby gets here

OK, now it’s real. Now I’m pretty sure there’s going to be another baby here in December.

Suddenly my mind is filled with things I need to get done before she arrives. I’ve been procrastinating a bit. Part of me feels less worried this time. But now that I know what it is, it feels different. Now there’s a little face and a little girl I have to get ready for, and it’s a lot more exciting. And if you know me, you know I love to make a good list. So, here it is.

1. Come up with name for the baby. A few of you have asked, so I’ll let you in on what we’re thinking. We have a list, but can’t seem to decide on one. Indie, Marlo, Ruby, Celia or Cecilia. I also like Iris and Ivy a lot, but Steve has ruled those out. Anyone have any thoughts, ideas? I mean, I can’t promise I’m going to do a poll and let you name my baby, but I’m open to some ideas. Or you can say something like “Indie is cute!” I like those comments as well.

2. Clean out/freshen up nursery. It’s nice that we’re not starting from scratch, but I have turned the closet into a bit of a storage area and I’d like to hang a few new things and possibly rearrange. Something to freshen it up for the new baby.

3. Get out baby clothes. And baby items. Seems early to get out that big stuff from the attic, but people tell me that time flies with the second pregnancy, so maybe I should just do it. But where will all this stuff go???

4. Load up on supplies. Thank goodness I’m pretty much done buying diapers for Ella, because it’s time to stock up for the new baby. We really need to pick a name. Poor new baby deserves that much.

5. Get Ella to sleep in her big girl bed. We’ve developed bad habit of Ella sleeping in our bed. This will not be ideal when new baby needs to sleep in our bedroom and is waking us all up every few hours. This is going to be tricky.

6. Make room for pack-n-play. I’m not sure the pack-n-play will fit nicely anymore with all our bedroom furniture we’ve bought since Ella. It might be time for the elliptical to find a new home.

7. Get out bassinet for downstairs. I’ve learned with Ella that it’s imperative to have essentially everything I need on both levels of the house. Including a place for baby to nap.

8. Buy a babybook. With Ella I had a baby calendar, where I tracked all her firsts and big milestones, then a scrapbook for all those special keepsakes. I think this time I’ll get a cute little babybook that will serve both of these purposes. Since I’m not even finished with Ella’s 1-year scrapbook at age 2.5, things aren’t looking good for another scrapbook.