4 Weeks!

At most, I now have four weeks before our newest addition!! I have taken serious inventory of the things that I need for an infant. After two children, this process is much easier - and I already have many of the "essentials". What have I learned is necessary for me to make caring for an infant easier?

• First - having a supply of diapers, wipes, and several changing stations (with a DiaperGenie). We have a station in her room and in the den, so that it is never far away. We are going to transition to cloth diapers for this little one, as she won't be going to daycare, but we plan to use disposables for the first couple of weeks.
  
• Next, I love the My Breast Friend (hate the name - it is a little creepy - but the product rocks) for BF and, of course, a pump.
  
• We have a place for her to sleep (hahahahaha) at night.
  
• I am trying a different wrap this time - instead of the sling I used with the last two, I am using a Mei Tai wrap.
  
• If you have more than one child, or if you have animals, you know the need to set up "safe places" for the baby in the common areas - someplace I can set her down and the other kids will not have immediate access.
  
• I have about 10 outfits for her (which should get me through 2 or 3 days of "I didn't have time to do laundry").
  
• I also need to have several preprepared freezer meals, our clothes all washed and ready for a week or so of no/sporadic laundry, and
  
• A few busy-time bags set up for the kids (large Ziploc bags with an activity that keeps the older kids busy for 30 minutes or so).
• A journal/calendar to jot down funny/terrifying moments that can later be transferred to a scrapbook or baby book.
• A camera - charged and ready to go! - and my iPod (for moments where I really need to get away, but can't, I use music as a mental escape).
  

There is a much longer list of "hope to have's" ... but the above are what I consider essential! Next I will post a list of my favorite "busy time" bags that will hopefully help me keep my New Year's Resolution of Incredibly Limited or No TV for the kids (I still plan to late-night watch Top Chef and Project Runway and Masterpiece Mystery!!)

The Benefits of Seeing It Over and Over

My youngest (well, the youngest who is actually on the "outside") is entranced by a certain animated horse movie that stars a mustang horse and a Lakota youth. This means that I get requests to watch the movie every single day (I am pretty sure he would watch it on a constant loop if I permitted!) and that translates to actually watching the movie at least 3 times a week. Of course, I have heard many friends comment on how their little ones like to watch the same movie or show over and over. At first, this seemed a move destined to drive me literally insane, but I have come to appreciate the subtle nuances I missed the first (twenty) viewings. I like that I can time other activities by the current status of the movie. I feel zero compunction about switching it off at any point (we can always talk through the ending). And, since I have long since previewed and reviewed the content, I don't have to watch it while it is on - at all!

Scientists suggest we have a novelty gene - a gene that controls our love of new things. Many of us will only read a book one time, grow quickly irritated when our grandmother/father/friend tells us the same story for the fiftieth time, or become bored with routine workouts/meals/jobs. Yet a toddler will repeat an action, read a book, and watch a movie on an endless pattern. And while our youngest can quote lines and learn every detail, we often miss the minutia (even the word "minutia" evokes images of meaningless details). How often, though, is it the details and a thorough understanding of every part of the picture that would lend to us an advantage? How much have we missed as we seek to always experience the "new" instead of rigorously investigating the familiar?

Shared Spaces

We are down to 6 weeks before our new baby girl arrives (hooray!) and my laundry list of "things to do" seems to be getting longer rather than shorter. You would think that by the third time you greet a new child, all would be well under control!! (Or at least, that is what I thought...) One thing that is nice, is the comfort of knowing exactly what I need for "essentials" ... I plan to post on that later. But the new twist, this time, is combining the older two children into one bedroom (for the safety of all) until the new baby girl is old enough to share a room with our oldest. To making things trickier, this means combining a toddler bed and boy decorations (from our 2yo) with a "big girl bed" and girl decorations (from our soon-to-be 4 yo). I have searched and searched for the perfect bedding to make the room divided, but complementary. For some reason, I was steering away from "themed" bedding this time - I didn't want elephants, etc. I also didn't want puffy comforters. Also - I needed a site that offered the toddler sized sheets/bedding AND twin sizes - which truly narrowed the field. Finally, DH said "no repainting", so I needed things that would match the current wall color. I finally found a complementary patterned set ... but the price was astronomical. Reality check!! First, my 2yo and 4yo truly don't care what is laying on their bed. Second, I don't have the budget to satisfy my apparently high-flying tastes unless I am willing to sacrifice other, more practical items. Third, this will be a short-term design challenge and I have spent FAR too much time on the search - I need a decision!! So... I am investing the budget in two new toy storage units (from Target) and 2 new cabinets that will fit tidily into the closet (from Ikea). I am re-purposing his old bumper to make cushions that will tie the two beds together. His bed will have the large quilt from his infant set that we never used (no additional cost) and her bed will have a "girly" textile that is solid colored but includes interesting details, and pillows from his bumper as well as some more "girl-friendly" pillows to tie it all together. I am going to add some of their own artwork in frames as accents and call it a day. Whew - glad to have that decision behind me!! If you are searching for ideas for shared spaces, Pottery Barn Kids had a few, and Land of Nod (high end) and Target (lower end) had the best selection of bedding. Happy hunting!