"READY" FOR BABY!

I woke up on Wednesday morning in a complete and total panic that this baby was going to come any second and I'm not ready. Which, when a rational personal looks at it is so silly because 1. my due date is still 4 weeks away and 2. we have a car seat and my boobs and truly those are the only things we absolutely NEED to bring a new human into the world. But the feeling of uncontrollable irrational panic took me over. When I actually talked it out with my pals {thanks Beeb & Erin}, I realized that reality is sinking in. This is actually happening and it's happening soon. I am having another baby. Labor 2.0. Childbirth 2.0. Crazy, hazy, emotional, exhausting newborn stage 2.0. And, I had my first "Kenley's not going to be my baby" tear-fest. The good news though, is that it lit a fire under me to finish a couple a couple of {not-so-pressing-but-still-there} to do list items and I can now say that according to the list we are "READY" for this baby. 

Once my second Sprinkle came and went, it was game on and I was in full blown nesting mode. Some of my friends were giving me a hard time for getting things done so early but I told them that I'd rather be ready and have to wait for baby then to have him come early and not be ready. And let me tell you, despite Wednesday's panic, it feels really good to feel "ready".

Since I last checked in, here's what we've gotten done...

✔  Celebrate baby at Sprinkle! - I was lucky enough to have two Sprinkles and both of them were so perfect. Ziggy and I are surrounded by the BEST of the best and I can't say enough how much it meant to me to feel so celebrated!

✔  Send Sprinkle thank you notes - All notes for baby gifts have been sent but I wish I could send everyone a thank you present because I appreciate all of the gifts so much and it just means so much to me! 

✔  Unpack and wash baby gear, pump and bottles - All of Kenley's baby gear is officially unpacked, washed and assembled - bottles, rock n play, bouncer, etc! It's crazy to have baby stuff all over the house again!

✔  Finalize outfits & ideas for newborn shoot - I've got all of Ziggy's photo shoot essentials ready to go! I cannot wait for Sara Jayne to get her lens on my baby boy! LOVE this football one, thinking it's a must! 

 

✔  Schedule professional house cleaning - This one is actually still up in the air. Turns out deep cleans cost a lot more than anticipated and while I've found some awesome deals for a general cleaning, I don't want to pay someone just to dust and sweep - I can do that. And really, I CAN do a deep clean myself, I just don't want to. So I'm keeping my options open on this one...if I find a good price and it happens, GREAT! If not, I made myself a list of deep clean projects I can chip away at  if and when I have the time and energy. If any of you in the area have a suggestion or would like to come clean my wooden blinds - please let me know!

✔  34 week prenatal appointment - This appointment was quick and easy. Like I mentioned, my doctor unfortunately was not able to tell for certain if Zigs has flipped but everything else went well!

✔  Finish nursery - THE NURSERY IS DONE! I kind of can't believe it! I am so in love with how everything came together and cannot wait to share it with everyone! You'll all have to wait though, revealing the nursery would also reveal Ziggy's real name. To hold you over until he's born, here's a little sneak peek. 

 

✔  Pack for the hospital - Our bags are packed and ready to go. There's a couple of things we'll have to throw in last minute but I have a list of those on top of the bags so we don't forget anything! I also have all my makeup essentials packed in a travel bag so that I can quickly and easily throw that in the bag when the time comes. 

✔  Pack Kenley's bag - I had decided that as much as I'd love to have all her stuff packed and ready to go, it's just too hard, unless she goes without several outfits for potentially a month! Then my sweet little planner asked if we could pack for her Ziggy Sleepover {which is what she calls it} and I seriously have never been so proud. I explained to her why we couldn't pack up quite yet and suggested maybe a list instead. Which, now that I think of it is great because we can quickly pack her up when we need to, when the date gets a little closer OR so someone else knows what to grab just in case all of this goes down in a hectic way. 

✔  Baby laundry - All of Ziggy's newborn and 0-3 month clothes, blankets, bibs, burp cloths, swaddles and bedding have been washed and put in their new home!    

✔  Buy any remaining baby items - anything and everything we need has been generously gifted to us or purchased {thank you gift cards and completion coupons}! We are stocked and ready for our boy!

✔  Install car seat - We pulled out the infant car seat and I got that all cleaned up and washed, it looks brand new! We've got the carrier with our hospital bags and the base in my trunk so we are ready to roll!

✔  Make freezer meals - Wednesday, I spent the better part of the day making a GIANT mess in my kitchen but was able to throw together a few things to keep in the freezer to have on hand for after Ziggy arrives. I didn't do this with Kenley and am already glad I did this time around. With Jason working all day, I know when he gets home he isn't going to want to cook and I am going to want his help with the kiddos {plural...OMG} so having quick and easy meals ready is going to be great. I'll probably do a post on these eventually, but want to be sure they actually work and taste good first!

✔  36 week prenatal visit & group B stress test - I have this appointment this afternoon! We also have a growth ultrasound to confirm that the cord is still working properly and Ziggy is growing as he should - which has not been issue so far. I am also praying hard to hear the words "head down". So fingers crossed this is a happy and healthy appointment!

Also worth noting, this morning is my last morning at my coffee shop job. I've just been working one morning a week but I love it so much and am so sad to be leaving. Thankfully, the shop is right by our house so I will be able to visit often but I have met some incredible people {coworkers and customers alike} and am really going to miss seeing everyone every Friday morning. It's going to be  a bittersweet morning for sure.

With everything checked off the list I plan to spend the last month of pregnancy relaxing, resting, spending quality time with my hubby and daughter, maintaining a clean house, going to those weekly doctor appointments and trying to chip away at that 400 mile walking/running/biking goal {though there's no way I'm getting on a bike right now or running for that matter}. As of today I've gone 120.19 miles this pregnancy, and while hitting 400 definitely won't be happening I do hope to get a lot of walks in over the next few weeks - walking helps induce labor, right?