Nesting, Nesting...

Fresh, clean, newborn diapers on the line!

I love the look of all the itty bitty cloth diapers out in the sun... Caroline and Cecilia helped me hang them up one morning earlier this week. Good fine motor work, those clothespins.

I have been getting into serious nesting mode in the past couple weeks... baby Lucy's 0-3 month clothes had all been sorted and washed and put away a couple months ago, but we hadn't done much otherwise. So I pulled all the cloth diapers out from under the bathroom sink, where they'd been stored in the cabinet there... I washed them all to freshen them up, trying something new in the wash - Bac-Out. It is a stain and odor eliminator, all-natural, and recommended by some for keeping diapers fresh, They smelled much fresher when they came out of the wash, so here's hoping it works well! I did dry them all in the dryer - high heat also helps eliminate germs - and then put them out in the sun for good measure. It freshens them up some more and gives them a good airing, and the sun also kills icky things like yeast and helps to fade stains.

All ready to make baby Lucy have a fluffy bum!

Here's the pile of diapers after I pulled them out of the cabinet before washing... while I was under there, I noticed some junk that had accumulated under the sink. Things like partially-used soaps, old knick-knacks, a mostly-empty, crusty bottle of Softsoap that my mom bought for me ten years ago when I first moved into the duplex... stuff that needed to go. So I cleaned that out while i was in there, just because.

Chris climbed up into the attic with Caroline to retrieve the bouncy seat... it had been wrapped in a large kitchen garbage bag, so it was still in good shape. I removed the fabric and put it through the washing machine. Now to get new batteries, because it plays music but does not vibrate currently... if the vibrate function is broken, hmm, I don't know if we need to do anything about that, since I don't think my previous babies have cared one way or another... they just didn't like bouncy seats much either way. But it is a nice handy place to set the baby when I need my hands free. The baby swing is still in the attic... we never got it out for Cecilia, so I don't know if we will this time or not... guess we'll wait and see.

There are also packs of newborn and size 1 disposables here for the early weeks and going out anywhere. I love the Target diapers (both for price and function), but I have never tried them on a newborn. I also got the huge crate of wipes since we have none left from Cecilia. They don't sell newborn and size 1 diapers in "family packs," apparently... I think it is hilarious that Target use to call the cases of diapers "family packs." Like you buy a package of size 3 diapers for use by several members of your family.... I think they changed the name recently to something like super pack...

Here's my beginnings of packing for the hospital. Ugh, I hate going to the hospital while in transition... not too comfy, you know? Maybe we can make it a bit before this time... doubtful, given the super-speedy labor I had last time. So, I packed several snacks like peanut butter crackers and orange juice, and now I have clothing added to the bag for baby and me. I got a new nightgown that unbuttons partway down the front for lots of good skin-to-skin contact. Hoping that if this baby is unsettled as Cecilia was in the hospital, I will have it in my brain to remember to just try some relaxed "kangaroo care" with her. I have a list of other things to add to the bag when the time comes: toiletries, shower shoes, maybe makeup in case I want to put it on before coming home, maybe?... and this time, I am taking a white noise machine so that any nutjobs walking down the hall whistling "Hail to the Chief" at 6am will hopefully be drowned out by the white noise. The hospital is the worst place to get any rest! Our hospital is working towards a more mother and baby-friendly atmosphere... they are combining the nurses so that the same one who checks on the mom also checks on the baby, meaning only one person coming into the room at disturbing hours instead of two. Unfortunately, I think that is not slated to begin until October or November... but they are working towards several changes there, like less time in the nursery for the baby (not that I let them do the "mandatory" nursery stay of four hours anyway, but good to know change is coming).

Here are baby Lucy's clothes in her "dresser" in her "room." This means they are in some available drawers in a piece of furniture in the guest room. ;) The little outfit in the bottom right corner and the one that is diagonally to the left and above it are packed in the bag now, and she will wear one of them home. It is hard to decide what to bring baby home in with this heat! Newborns need warmth, but I don't want to overdo it, you know? I wonder i she'll even get a chance to wear any of those cute little gowns... it might be too warm. I love how newborns look in those, all slug-like! But not slimy like an actual slug, of course. ;)

Baby booties and a headband... two new things for Lucy, since much of her stuff is hand-me-down. The booties should fit her well in the cooler months ahead, which is the age when my other girls were barefoot all the time since it was summer! I guess I will need some 3-6 month size socks!

And just for fun, here's a picture of how huge I am now. ;) I am retaining more water than I have in the past since it is summer, but I doubt that accounts for the extra 15+ pounds I have gained. I am also hoping there's not a 14 pound baby in there... if it was twins, I think we'd have noticed by now, right?!? So, I am trying to stay cool but also enjoy the last of summer activities... I have taken the girls to the fountains several times, and I just wear as little as I can and stay in the shade or wade in the cool water! The swelling in my ankles began a week or so ago, not unusual, but I also have it in my hands. i will wake up at night with my right hand asleep, and throughout the day it will tingle after I have done something like washing dishes, writing, or gripping anything for more than a minute. I have almost dropped bottles of dish soap, shampoo, etc., since my fingers don't flex so well right now. One of the OBs said it's carpal tunnel and will go away... yeah, it sure feels like what i would think carpal tunnel would feel like (and here I am typing on a laptop...). So, energy level is lower now, having trouble getting comfortable at night, achy feet and ankles which make me give up on doing the dishes partway through (and maybe not being able to reach the sink past my belly has something to do with that as well!)... all telling me that we are in the home stretch now. Yet I am feeling the urge to nest... tonight I cleaned out the baby bathtub and cleared off the "nature shelf" which was basically covered in broken leaves and dirt at this point... I made it into a shelf for chapter books for Caroline.

Chris is nesting, too, because I asked him to install the carseat. Caroline has moved to the back bench of the van, and Lucy's seat is next to Cecilia's. They look so... big. They are identical seats with different fabric, but both rear-facing, so it looks weird to have both those seats taking up all that room in the middle of the van! Amazing that the same seat will work for a 6 pound newborn... Cecilia is a bit over 30 pounds now! Anyway, the fabric we got for Lucy's seat happens to be girly, because it was a discontinued print and therefore the cheapest of the My Ride 65 seats. Caroline wasn't even jealous this time about the fact that she's the only one without a girly seat cover, but Cecilia had to rub it in a bit that Lucy also gets two cup holders in her seat (like that will be useful to her any time soon, ha!) while Caroline just has one. But Caroline now has access to the actual van cup holders and the A/C control in the back!

So, I am also brushing up on my Bradley childbirth education stuff... Chris and I are reading through our workbook before bed, and I am going through Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way when I have time. I am hoping to be able to focus on relaxing a bit more this time, but when you wake up ready to go to the hospital and then the drive and getting checked in with all the annoyances like signing paperwork... not really conducive to relaxing! I honestly don't know which I prefer... long labor but able to relax since you don't have to rush to go anywhere right away, or fast labor where you feel really out of control! I think I liked the long one a bit more just because I didn;t like the out-of-control feelings, as brief as it was!

And, the last thing I need to be doing with this nesting urge... resting! I should be wrapping up any of the nesting stuff and putting my time toward resting. Meaning I really should be getting in bed by 11 or maybe earlier as we get toward the big day! It is so hard to do when last-minute preparations are swirling in my head (and in my to-do lists in my notebook!)... I am also wanting to plan out as much school stuff as I can so that I don't have as much of that to think about with a new baby. Most things on my lists have been completed now, though, so everything is really coming together now! There are some meals in my deep freeze, stocked up on some snacks, postpartum supplies, pretty much deciding on not even getting the co-sleeper back and setting it up (although it is an excellent place for middle-of-the-night diaper changes!)... Just need to make sure I can find my sling and wrap and wash them if needed...