“I am pretty sure this is just your body getting ready to go into labour,” my husband said, standing at the threshold to our bedroom.
“I sure hope not,” I moaned. “I would much rather my body prepare itself by giving me energy to get everything ready.” I was laying in bed, 37 weeks pregnant, after a long, nausea-filled day. On the other hand, I certainly didn’t want to be facing a full-blown flu. But I knew I was no where close to being ready to bring home a baby and I certainly didn’t want to spend the rest of my pregnant days out of commission. The thought of being so close to labour with so little ready scared me.
Unlike my first pregnancy, I have been doing a pretty good job at keeping the house relatively clean in preparation for my hospital stay. I try to keep up with all of our living spaces in order to avoid CHAOS (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome). The kitchen is cleaned by the end of each night, Cameron is responsible for straightening up his toys before bed, I attempt to clean the bathroom once a week, sweep the floor at least every couple of days, and mop when appropriate. Last time, though the hospital bag was ready by the door and the crib was set up by this point, I was embarrassed by the state of my house and unsure if I should even bring a baby into such a messy living space.
So although I appear to be doing a good job keeping everything up, I haven’t been good at prioritizing those behind-the-scenes details. Until Saturday, we hadn’t even pulled the carseat out of the closet it was packed into. I didn’t even have enough clean laundry to put some of it into a hospital bag. And although the bed that baby will be sleeping in is mostly set up beside my bed, it was acting as a glorified laundry basket. Clothes for new baby unpacked and laundered? Nope. New pacifiers purchased? Nope. Any baby names chosen? Not even close. If I immediately went into labour, the most stressful part would be that we were absolutely and completely unprepared for a hospital stay or to bring a baby home.
Ironically, I realize that it would probably be better to have my hospital bag packed, the carseat installed, the newborn clothes laundered and the diapers purchased by this point. Because the reality is, even though the house might remain relatively clean until I go into labour, it will all fall out of sorts again in those months weeks of adjustment following the birth of our precious new one.
So on Saturday, as I spent my day curled up in a ball whining about how sick I felt, I vowed to get our lives ready for this baby in a more practical way, if I had the chance. Although I am getting so anxious to get this baby out, I also realized how desperately unprepared we are.
I blame this partially on it being my second baby. I already have a very full day caring for one child. And after experiencing bringing a baby home once before, I realize that no matter what, we will get through whatever challenges we are faced with. So it is because of this giant confidence that I place in the power of my little family that I am found in this place, wanting to go into labour and not at all ready yet.
This week has been a busy one for me, and I am not fully there yet. There are still piles of Cameron’s outgrown clothes that need to be boxed sitting on the kitchen table and a few loads of baby clothes that need to be put away. My hospital bag still sits empty but at least I have set aside a good portion of what needs to be packed into it. My bedroom the room the baby will be sleeping in desperately needs to be vacuumed and the baby bed still has clothes in it. But I am getting there. And thankfully these past few days have been filled with more energy than nausea.
Cameron helping Mama sort baby clothes. Apparently he has outgrown some things.
Am I alone in this? How early were you entirely ready to bring home baby? Or were you getting things together up until the last minute, like I am?
My mind is racing with everything I want to write about as I prepare to bring home baby, but the reality is that I am finding very little time and energy to do too much these days. So, I am not promising anything, but if I get a chance, there might be a few more Final Countdown post before the baby comes.
It looks like Cameron has even outgrown the socks he has on!
More than anything I just hope you can feel rested for the ‘real’ work that lies ahead of you when this next little ‘bubby’ decides to show up. Rest, enjoy, sit in the sun, let your Mom do the things on your “to-do” list right now. I think she’ll be glad to be of some use to you!
Oooo – and I was thinking of baby names – Darcy, of course as a tribute to our favorite novel…how about Declan…I’m stuck in the ‘D’s” for some reason. Ellis? I like the meaning of that name. Tristen or Trent? Hayden (or Haydn) or Garreth….anyway, all boys names – have some girls one’s too, but I think you’ve got some in mind?
Love the post!
Yeah, we totally need to get Cam new socks. But these cover his feet, so they do the trick! :) He grows like such a little weed and his feet are so big, it is hard to keep up!
We do have a girl’s name picked out, but no boy’s name. I think I have a top two boy’s names (it is funny, I want something that goes well with “Cameron”), but one neither Dan nor I LOVE and the other doesn’t go well with our last name. The ones you have suggested are nice but really aren’t our style, not that I particularly know how to define our style very well. Trust me, we’re difficult customers when it comes to naming!
Laura recently posted..Caught Unprepared
I got Cam some new socks today. Had to go into the big boy section at Joe to get them. The socks looked so big. My little boy is growing up!
Laura recently posted..Caught Unprepared
I’m sure I’ll be like that when the time gets closer…we were last minute on everything the first go around! Try not to stress out…it will get done I have faith :)
Natalie recently posted..YAY Thursday—And Calling on Guest Posters!
I’m a last minute by nature girl, so it doesn’t really surprise me that I’m in this state. Glad to know I’m not alone in this. No matter how hard I try to do things on time, I am always running behind. But I don’t usually let it stress me out. I’m feeling pretty confident that we’ll be fine no matter what! :)
Laura recently posted..Caught Unprepared
Wendy – I LOVE the name Declan, so I will steal it for when I have a kid haha.
Best of luck getting ready Laura! Even if you arent, life will go on :)
I will say, out of all the names my Mom (Wendy) suggested, Declan is definitely the best! :)
Laura recently posted..Caught Unprepared
I’ve been in baby-prep overdrive the past few days for some reason. I think I’m trying to convince myself (and the baby!) that maybe it will come early…which is more than likely just to set me up for disappointment and frustration in the final weeks!
Good luck with your prep – you’ll be ready enough when the time comes.
And, since everyone is piping up with name suggestions, here are a few I think sound good with both Cameron and your last name – Ethan, Connor, Caleb, Kyle, and Blake.
Rae recently posted..Steadying the Mother Ship
You are right on my naming wavelength! We REALLY like Caleb, but I have a cousin Caleb and Dan really isn’t big on mixing names in families. I have suggested Connor, but we are slightly concerned with having a two “C” names and then feeling pressured to carry on that first letter trend for baby #3 (ohmygosh! It is way too soon to be thinking about Baby #3!). I even suggested Blake to Dan a few nights ago.
Dan kind of hopes that the name will be able to be shortened into some kind of nickname, kind of like how Cam works for Cameron.
I think the main problem is that there are just no names that stand out to us as a “I LOVE IT!” type of name. I had that with Cameron’s name, and even if Dan had that with a name this time around, I’d probably go for it (how we decided on the girl’s name).
Laura recently posted..Caught Unprepared
OH – and I’m pretty sure Haydon is NEVER wearing socks that are big enough :P
You asked how prepared we were? Let me tell you a story, and I’ll make it quick. Back when I was pregnant with my first daughter, I was working full-time, and a little too focused on that. I was nearing the 36-week mark when my husband said, “Hey, you need to pack a bag…” and I said, “Oh yeah, I’ll do that this weekend…” We went to ONE Lamaze class, and ONE breastfeeding class. And I had not yet packed a bag. I went to my 36-week checkup, without my husband because it was a routine thing, and he was dealing with a crisis at work… and my blood pressure was so high I won’t tell you. My OB graciously allowed me to drive myself across the street to the hospital. I had on a silk maternity top, dress pants, ballet flats and full makeup and hair because I was dressed for work. After I found tissues, I called my mother, told her to drive up (an hour-and-a-half) to my house, launder the newborn baby clothing, wash the crib sheets and then come to the hospital. My husband got the job of driving home (45 minutes), packing my bag (he did okay) and joining me. Needless to say I don’t think I had a bra until the day I came home, I had to bribe an orderly for deodorant… but I was fine, and I had a BABY! :)
This time around? I’m 32 weeks and I spent yesterday sorting baby clothes and adding to my growing laundry pile with my dear friend . I don’t have a bag packed, yet, and the car seat is still in the basement, those are next week’s chores. But I have promised myself to not be caught unaware this time around. And yet, I feel your exhaustion, too, and I’m less worried about it than I probably should be. Like you, I’ve already experienced the worst, so I figure I can deal with whatever.
See – even if nothing is prepared, baby will still come when baby is ready to come and we will bring baby home. That’s what I am counting on. I *started* packing my hospitalbag last night. I am SO far behind – will be 39 weeks tomorrow. Thankfully I have a checklist made next to my bag so if my husband needs to put some things in a bag, it won’t be *too* hard for him.
Laura recently posted..How to Pack a Hospital Bag (with Free Printable!)
I’m kinda the opposite with this baby! Mostly because with my firstborn, we had him overseas (my husband’s home country) and we were in temporary arrangements for at least the first 2 weeks. I had absolutely no nesting instinct (no reason to I guess) and all I did was wash some baby clothes. We had to get everything else we needed while I was in hospital and much of the bigger items were purchased later. We had makeshift everything.
With #2 though, we are going to be at ‘home’, so I’ve actually just washed all the baby gear, including crib sheets etc, set up the crib, put his clean clothes in drawers, purchased newborn diapers and this weekend, we’re getting the infant car seat, baby bathtub, and hopefully, a nursing chair for me. And the changing table will be set up closer to time. I’ve set aside things for my hospital bag too! I do have to pull out the breast pump, bottles, sanitizer etc and get them all washed, which is my next task.
I’m so much more prepared and it feels good. I am tired mostly, not sleeping very well and sciatica is killing me, but I feel the urge to get everything in place, with just a month to go.
So don’t stress it, you WILL get it all done! Look forward to meeting your #2!
Alison@Mama Wants This recently posted..Quirks
Good for you! I always try so hard not to leave things until the last minute. I picture how freeing that feeling would be. To just sit back and think “This baby could come whenever. I am ready for it”. I just started packing my hospital bag last night. Part of me wondered if “fate” was waiting until my hospital bag was packed to get labour started – but another part of me wonders if Murphy’s Law would prevail. Thankfully, I’m not *that* concerned about it. No matter what, we’ll be fine, assuming we can bring home a beautiful, healthy baby.
Laura recently posted..How to Pack a Hospital Bag (with Free Printable!)
With Noah, I was pretty much completely ready by 34 weeks. All of the baby clothes were washed and put away, the nursery was spotless and every surface of our tiny apartment had been scrubbed with Lysol….twice. We had a bag sitting right by the door waiting to go. I’m thankful we did, though because after week 35 I was miserable and could hardly move. If I’d waited till the last minute I’d have never gotten it all done. Hope you get back on your feet soon! I know you’re ready for this baby to make an appearance :)
Courtney Kirkland recently posted..Feature Friday: Not Just Us
That seems to be my problem now. I am having a really hard time finding the energy and the ability to get things done. Not only that, but my husband is claiming that I am working too hard and keeps forbidding me to do anything. And honestly, it doesn’t take much to convince me to just sit and relax. But no matter what, we’ll be fine, and I’m still hoping for this baby will make an appearance sooner rather than later! :)
Laura recently posted..How to Pack a Hospital Bag (with Free Printable!)
Oh I had a cleaning lady scheduled to come on a Tuesday b/c Donut wasn’t due for another couple of weeks and I just couldn’t do the cleaning and DH was too busy w/ work and the remodel. So I thought I’d treat myself and get someone to clean b/c there was no way I could let a baby come home to a dirty house, right? The Thursday before the cleaning lady could come–you guessed it: Donut arrived a little over 2 weeks early. Guess that showed us we can’t plan everything.
Rach (DonutsMama) recently posted..Life’s Lessons: Good House Hunting
So is that how you entice a baby out? Hire a cleaning service! GREAT idea. (If I were you, I would have kept the cleaning service on – or at least rescheduled for soon after child birth.)
Laura recently posted..How to Pack a Hospital Bag (with Free Printable!)
Let’s see….
By the time my due date rolled around I was definitely ready. I sorted through baby clothes at my MIL’s one day over a month in advance, I think at her suggestion, and so I had those things put away in the drawer. I packed my bag early too, I think about a week? I was looking for this baby to come EARLY due to being due so close to Christmas – so was determined baby would not be late by my will alone, and as a result got things ready earlier than I might have otherwise.
I loved watching my boys with the tiny baby things when I was looking through them! They wanted to put them on, soo cute!
Gillian recently posted..7 Quick Takes – Praying for Him, Baby Milestones and Movie Night Recap
Good for you! I was definitely more “ready” for Cameron’s birth. In fact, I *just* finished packing my hospital bag last night. I’ve been realizing that I should have just started with having the baby stuff ready and ignored the house, because as my pregnancy progresses (and progresses and progresses and progresses!) it is all falling into disarray faster than I can keep up with it anyway.
Needless to say, I’m the type of person who will never be fully “ready” in that physical sense of the word. But my heart is ready. And that is what matters.
Laura recently posted..Ambiguity
Yeah, and if our hearts are ready, the rest will follow.