Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Baby Prep

Well, it hasn't gone according to my original plan because of the outbreak of the tummy bug in the Jacobs household this past week, but I'm working on baby prep today. Evie and I are both bathed and dressed, and I've even done her hair! She's down for her nap right now (which means I'll have to redo her hair, but that's okay), so I can't vacuum the living room until she wakes back up. But in the meantime, I'm catching up on all of the laundry that I didn't have the energy to do this weekend. I changed the sheets on our bed and made it look nice. I'm also going to sweep the stairs and our bedrooms; I want the baby to come home to a place that's as clean as I can make it. We also plan to have the cradle built before she comes, but we're missing one of the washers from when we took the cradle apart after Evie grew out of it. Todd is planning to go to the hardware store to pick up another one, but I don't know when. My last big cleaning task is to vacuum out the car and make it as clean as possible before having 2 car seats live in the back seat.
When I had Evie, I was induced due to high blood pressure, so I didn't get to shower or eat before going in to the hospital. This time around, I'm trying to be more prepared so that the experience will be as pleasant as possible. My blood pressure has been great so far this time around, but I'm still a little paranoid that one of these days, it'll suddenly spike and my doctor will send me over to the hospital to be admitted. Just in case, I make sure to shave my legs in the shower, put on makeup, and eat a decent breakfast every Friday before my doctor's appointment. Last time, my suitcase was packed, but was sitting next to the door, so Todd had to bring it to me after I was already admitted. This time, my suitcase is packed and is stowed in the trunk of the car so I'll have it whether I get admitted right after an appointment, or whether I go into labor spontaneously. Every night, I make sure the phone is plugged in to charge so we'll be able to call everyone with the news as soon as it happens without worrying about a dead/dying battery. Speaking of batteries, yesterday I found a great deal on Toys "R" Us brand batteries online. The price for a 20-pack of AA's was cut from $9.99 to $6.99, PLUS they were buy 1 get 1 free! I was able to get free shipping, and only paid $.20 in tax, so I got 40 batteries for $7.19! Like Todd said, even if they turn out to be really cruddy quality, the price is still worth it! Since they'll take a couple of days to get here, I also bought a really small pack of AA's at Walmart for the camera in case Elizabeth arrives before they do, but if they get here first, we can always return the more expensive ones. Little things like that (camera, cell phone, Kindle, I-pod, and their power cords and batteries) are all packed into my purse along with a hairbrush, my makeup, and my wallet. Every night, I make sure that my purse is packed and ready to go where I can easily grab it. I'm trying to make sure that, at the first sign of real labor, I can jump up, take a quick shower, get dressed, and go. I even have a towel lying ready to grab in case my water breaks and I need something to protect the seat of the car.
Since I'll have Evie with me at every appointment, there's a plan in place for getting her home if my doctor does end up sending me over to get admitted. Fortunately, his office is in the same building as the labor/delivery unit of Sky Ridge Medical Center (the hospital where we're delivering), just in a different wing, so I won't have to go far toting my older daughter. And Todd's work is maybe 5 minutes away from the hospital, so if that happens, Margot will just drop him off during/after they get off work, switch Evie's car seat over to her car, and bring her home so we won't have to worry about traumatizing her! If we go into labor in the middle of the night, I think the plan is just to leave her sleeping in her bed, and letting my in-laws know what's going on so they can listen for her. Then, we can call them once Ella is born and figure out whether they should bring Evie in to meet her little sister or if Todd will go home and get her; it's still flexible. If, for some reason, I randomly go into labor while I'm at work or something, I'm still prepared. My suitcase is still in the trunk, and I take my purse everywhere. In that case, I would call Todd and tell him I'm in labor so he can either come get me or I might drive myself (it's only about 10 minutes from my work to the hospital), and then I would call whoever was currently watching Evie to ask them to keep her a while longer. The only people who babysit Evie are family members, they all know that little Ella could be born at any time, and they're all excited and willing to help out, so I'm pretty sure that we'll be okay regardless of the labor/delivery scenario. I just want to be as prepared as possible so everything will flow more smoothly than last time. Really, all I have to do now is make sure all my housework is done, and, now that I have a new nail file, that I get a chance to do my fingernails before she comes because several of them have broken, and I don't want to accidentally scratch her soft newborn skin. I would like to get my hair trimmed again so I look at least somewhat decent in the after-birth photos, but I doubt that'll happen, so I'll just do the best I can with what I have. Anyway, wish me luck in getting everything prepped and ready for the arrival of our sweet little girl!

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