I am a planner. I love planning things, it's usually my favorite part of an activity. I also love being prepared. With Ashtyn, I have to admit that I wasn't as prepared for a newborn as I probably would have liked. I think it was because, first, I was focused on preparing for the labor since I had never experienced that before. Secondly, I just didn't understand what it would be like to have a newborn and be taking care of a baby 24/7.
With Parker, I was a lot more prepared and loved that. I did learn from that experience, however, and now with this baby I will be even more prepared. I have a list scheduled out of all the things I want to do before the baby comes.
It starts two months out (I wish I could start now, but it's realistically too early). In June, I want to record and edit about ten extra YouTube videos for my channel so that I have them ready to just upload after the baby comes. This will give me more than a month of recovery before I feel like I need to record more videos.
I also want to begin reading a few books. I have some books on taking care of babies that I would like to read before this baby comes and starting in June seems like a good idea.
There are also some things that we want to buy for the baby that I will probably buy second hand while visiting near Salt Lake (a baby swing, a van, etc.).
Then one month out, I will do a deep cleaning (I like to do a deep cleaning about every three months and this fits perfectly in with that timeline). Along with the deep clean, I want to make sure to do a major declutter. I am always decluttering, but when the baby comes, the less stuff we have to take care, the easier it will be to keep our house clean. I feel the most important place to declutter will be the kids' toys.
I also will be stocking up on a few things, like diapers, onsies, baby socks, pads for me, nursing pads, toilet paper, etc. I will also take stock of our nonfoods and just make sure we have enough of basically everything so I won't need to go to the store for those for at least a month.
Something else I want to do is go through the baby clothes. I'll make sure they're all clean and stain free, that I have enough of what I feel I'll need (enough pants, pajamas, etc.). I will also move all the baby clothes upstairs so it's easy for me to put them away after the baby comes, but I'll wait until I know what we're having to actually put them in the dresser.
Sometime in this month, I'll also get a hair cut so that I don't have to worry about that for at least a couple months after the baby comes.
4 weeks out, I'll start meal planning. I have a separate, very detailed, schedule for all my meal planning plans, but I basically will set aside a day to go buy all the supplies I need, then I have different things to do on each day for two to three weeks, starting with items that will go bad (like meat) or the most important things (for example, doing dinners first, then lunches, then things like desserts or snacks).
At four weeks, I will also buy any items I need for my birthing kit (because I birth at home, there are quite a few supplies I need) and prepare items for birth (for example, sterilizing towels and sheets).
At 3 weeks, I'll finish any meal prepping that still needs to be done. I'll also set up the co sleeper with Benjamin and have all the things ready for when the baby comes (the birthing kit supplies organized, wipes and diapers where I need them, nursing supplies in reach of my bed, etc.). I also want to make sure any other baby things (like the swing) are set up.
I also want to make a list for anyone who wants to help with anything after the baby comes. I had people asking when Parker was born, but I never really knew what to say. I'll just include the main things, like unloading or loading the dishwasher, sweeping (that basically has to happen everyday because, well, kids), and playing with the girls. Then I can stick the list on the fridge and if anyone wants to help, they can just look at the list and see what hasn't been done yet.
The last thing I want to do here is make sure I have the eye ointment and vitamin k I need for the baby for after the birth. With Parker, we were taking care of this basically while I was in labor and that was stressful, so this time, I want to make sure it's done beforehand.
At two weeks, we've reached the the-baby-could-come-any-time stage and so most of these things are things that if I didn't do them before the baby came, it wouldn't be as big a deal.
We'll do things like put the car seat in our van (not as big a deal when you have a home birth ;)). We want to get the girls a new toy for after the baby is here, to help keep them occupied, and we've decided on some simple costumes. This is when I'll start buying those and wrap it up in a big box for the girls.
I also just want to do a last sweep and make sure everything (especially the toys, because those can become unorganized pretty easily) is organized and clean.
1 week out, I'll start just making sure the house is clean everyday. Simple things like wiping up spills on the floor, sweeping, doing a clutter sweep in the living room each day. I want to keep it fairly clean so that it's easy to have clean for when I go into labor.
I also want to be extra diligent in spending one on one time with the girls and giving them lots of attention. I know right after the baby comes can be a tough transition for everyone and I think this will help.
I also want to find some good books and TV shows to keep me entertained during those first long, tired nights with a newborn.
The last thing I'll do here is stock up on treats. I'll have already made a few things in the freezer (cookies and ice cream sandwiches), but there are some organic treats from a local store and also some candy (ahem, licorice) that I want to have after the baby comes. I don't want to get this too early, though, or it will be too much of a temptation for me to eat while I'm pregnant (I learned this with Parker). I figure if the baby comes before I have a chance to buy them, I can always send someone to get them for me.
Then it's just the waiting game. The day I go into labor, if I have time, I'd like to shower and straighten my hair (because I know I won't be jumping up right after the baby comes to shower) and do a quick clean of the house. I'd really like to just clean the bathrooms, sweep and mop the floors, and run a vacuum through everywhere. This is one reason keeping our house fairly clean just everyday leading up is important, so that I can do this cleaning without having to put a ton of stuff away. With Parker, I felt the baby drop and then saw my mucus plug come out, so I'm hoping the same will happen with this labor and give me a heads up so I can do my last minutes things :)
And that's it! I know we'll have lots of help after the baby comes, but this way, our house will be clean and easy to keep clean, the kids will have things to entertain them, we'll have everything we need for the birth to go smoothly and everything we need to take care of a newborn, I won't need to take a huge break from my YouTube channel, and we'll have plenty of yummy food that's easy to prepare and clean up!
I think we'll be about as prepared as we could be.
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