baby | getting ready

I'm a chronic list maker.  So is my dad, so I think we can safely blame this tendency on him.  However, my list making has gotten a little out of control with the expected arrival of our baby in about three weeks.   So, at least in my mind, it's reasonable that my list of things to do before the baby arrives is about a bazillion miles long.

Thankfully I have a husband who humors me and willingly does things from my list so that I feel we are appropriately moving towards welcoming our baby home.  Some of the things on my list are practical like installing the carseat (thanks for checking that one off the list this weekend, darlin'!), packing the hospital bags, and washing all the baby bedding/towels/outfits/etc.  Some things on my list definitely fall into the ridiculous category though like "trim all the loose threads and fuzzies off of the bathroom rug".  You're probably wondering what this has to do with our baby's arrival.   Well of course the obvious connection is that people would judge us if they came to our home to see our new baby and decided to use the bathroom and caught sight of our RUG FUZZIES!  I seriously hope this is what they call nesting because I was not even aware that our rug needed to be "trimmed" until a few days ago at which time it became overwhelmingly apparent.   And it obviously needed to be taken care of immediately because what if I went into labor right this second and we had to leave and go to the hospital before I had a chance to trim the rug fuzzies?!?  So last night I sat on the bathroom floor and trimmed rug fuzzies with manicure scissors for a half hour like an insane person.  However, while I trimmed rug fuzzies, my first ever load of baby things was being washed so at least now our baby has a fresh, clean place to sleep, and clothes to wear home from the hospital.

Also, in honor of being full term at the end of this week, I've decided to go ahead and start packing the hospital bags just in case baby J decides to make an early arrival.  Better safe than sorry, right?  Speaking of packing the hospital bags (and I say bags because I figure one for me/baby and one for Isaac because he might want clean underwear and snacks too), I've been reading up on what to take and what is better left at home.  Turns out just about everybody has a different opinion on this and rightly so - what matters to one person may not matter in the slightest to someone else.  There are some basics that just about everyone requires though, and here are a few links to blog posts/articles I have found helpful and/or entertaining:

This one is funny and informative. Also, Wendy makes lots of lists too so I don't feel so odd.

Standard list from BabyCenter. Good reminders though.

A list of things she took to the hospital that she did NOT need. Also funny.

Maybe once I actually get our bags packed I'll post my own list of what I decided to include and leave out.  We all know how much I love to make lists...