The to-do list is shrinking!

Several weeks ago, on a mothering bulletin board I like to frequent, my "due date club" posted our to-do lists, for getting ready for the baby. It seemed pretty overwhelming at first, but I'm getting there!!

Today, since Jesse had the day off, Jesse and I knocked off number 14: doing a major cleaning of our bedroom and adjoining half-bathroom. What a relief to get that particular one done! Everything looks so nice. Of course, when he was vacuuming, he sucked up the tablecloth from his bedside table, which made the belt on the vacuum burn, and the room stinks pretty badly now. So after I'm done typing this, I'm going to go light a scented candle in there, hoping that it helps before bedtime!!

1. Go through baby clothes, make sure there are enough 0-3 month pieces. Done!
2. Clean out dresser drawers to make room for baby clothes. Done!
3. Wash baby clothes and put them away.
   
4. Purchase Official Birth Kit. Done!!
5. Purchase and assemble supplies for homebirth into one location. In progress, nearly done.
   
6. Sew pouch carrier. Done! Just have to see if it will fit after the baby is born, now!
7. Wash Ergo carrier and Ring Sling.
8. Sew Boppy slip cover.
9. Sew DIAPERS!! (Okay, I was originally going to sew Newborn size diapers, but I've given up on that idea, and I'll either use disposables or buy a cheap system for newborns, and do my own sewing for size small, which should fit the baby by 1 or 2 months old, at most.)
10. Sew baby blanket(s) with already purchased fabric. One super soft fleece blanket and matching toddler pillow done! Still have one patchwork blanket to go, ideally.
    
11. Sew at least 1 pair of baby moc's (est time: 2 hours tops).
12. Finish up the maternity sewing, silly! Time's running out! (honestly don't think I'm going to get around to sewing the top, but maybe I can adapt it to non-maternity, since I like the general style and fabrics I picked.)
    
13. Pick a name for the baby. I think this might be done! DH and I both like Alexander Boden right now.
14. Clean the house, especially get the bedroom and master bathroom in ideal condition. Due date: 36 weeks. Hoooooray! It's done!! Just have to keep it clean, now!
    
15. Clean out the fridge/freezer.
16. Get the mattress OFF THE FLOOR!!!! Getting out of bed is getting too hard! Done! Whew!
17. Finalize plans for help with other children during the birth.
18. Review Bradley Method techniques with Jesse.
19. Pull out the co-sleeper and rearrange the bedroom to work with a baby.
20. Wash car seat cover.

Many things on this list will go quickly. Three of them are simply laundry. Which I'm planning on doing tomorrow. My homebirth supplies are down to very basics, like making sure I have a small bottle of olive oil on hand, or printed directions to the hospital/phone numbers for emergency personnel (just in case!), etc. And all the supplies need to be gathered into the same location. So things like the olive oil, a crock pot (for compresses), a cookie sheet (for laying out supplies), just have to be transported from one room of the house to the other. Simple enough. The sewing, obviously, will take the longest, but I'm not stressing myself about it. And I think I have a pretty good idea in mind about childcare during the birth. I want Melinda and Jacob to be there, if they want to be (and Melinda has expressed a very strong interest in seeing it happen!), but I also need someone on hand in case they're too wild and bothering me, or get upset and need some soothing, etc. I don't want Jesse to have to be in that position, and leave me, which means I need to have someone over. My new Visiting Teacher is a stay-at-home mom of young teenagers, and she told me she'd be more than willing to help if I wanted to ask her (she sounded excited, honestly!), and she's very available because of her children's ages. Unlike most of my other choices, who I love, but have young kids of their own to consider. So I think my best option at this point is probably my Visiting Teacher...I just need to talk to her and make it final. And get myself more comfortable with the idea of having someone I'm not yet very close to in the apartment when I'm in labor, lol.

Anyway, I'm starting to feel close to ready. A little excited and a little nervous, too! I'm just about 35 weeks now - which means baby could be here in as little as 2 weeks, although 5 would certainly be more realistic when considering my history. Melinda and Jacob have both been doting on babies recently, which is fun to watch (although Melinda gets very confident and tries to carry around small 5-month olds by their armpits!! Ack!!!).

Also, we have babysitting lined up for this coming Saturday, and Jesse and I will get to go out for a nice last fling before the baby comes! We decided to go to the art museum and dinner afterwards. If my body can keep up with me, it should be a lot of fun!! And if my body doesn't keep up with me, well, we won't have the kids to worry about, so we can sit down and take all the breathers I need! :)