How I’m Prepping for Baby Koz

We’ve got less than 30 days to go until Baby Koz’s due date and I am in major nesting mode. Obviously this I my first child so I am by means no expert on how to prepare for a baby. I’m just sharing the mindset that I have given that I am a very organized, type-A person, I have done a ton of research and read many other blog posts about how to prep. I’ll share more down the road as I learn what the “hits and misses” are – for now, here’s how I am preparing, from all angles:

+ Physically: I have been incredibly consistent with prenatal yoga, doing my favorite 20 minutes video almost every single morning. Even though it’s short & sweet (and not really a “workout”), it helps me to stay loose and mobile which I hear will be critical for a smooth delivery and recovery. At this point in my pregnancy, I am limited my physical activity since I’m no longer jogging, spinning or lifting much. My focus is on walking a lot, staying mobile (foam rolling, stretching) and working hard to relax and sleep more.

+ Emotionally & Mentally: This may be the most difficult area of all because how do you mentally or emotionally prepare for a huge life altering event that is totally unpredictable? In a nutshell: you can’t. All I can do is control what I can control which is a general plan, my house, my dog and our schedules. Terry and I have spent hours discussing tasks/roles when the baby comes (example: I will be focused on feeding the baby while he handles meal prep), sorting out Mela’s schedule, figuring out the best strategy for our parents visiting the baby and our work schedules. Sorting out the details and being on the same page about what we hope can happen is very mentally calming and makes us feel better about the future. We will, of course, have to roll with the punches once the baby arrives but it is reassuring to know that we are aligned about everything at this point.

+ Literally: Around the house, I have been a nesting machine getting things done. I have put together no less than 10 pieces of furniture in the past two weeks, prepared multiple freezer meals, stocked up on a variety of groceries / toiletries / necessities and gotten way ahead with work so that I feel adequately prepared. We have our handyman coming by again this week and are knocking out home projects left and right so that we will be comfortable once we are back at home. The most helpful tasks I have completed in the past week that I’m most excited about are:

1. Organized the nursery: I’ll be sure to share more details to come in an upcoming post about our nursery once it’s completed but I was able to organize last weekend which was incredibly helpful. I washed and dried all of the baby clothing, towels, swaddles and items that we have. The closet has been organized with the cutest little outfits on mini hangers and books, toys and baskets all around. I also went ahead and organized the dresser with changing supplies (diapers, wipes, paste), swaddles, onesies and crib sheets. We set up the Hatch Baby, our baby monitor and our bouncy chair. All that’s left to do is install the glider once it arrives (next week) and hang a few pieces of art. The room is so adorable, I can’t wait to share it!
2. Completed food prep: My mom came over to help me this past weekend with the baby nursery and we decided to also go ahead and knock out some food prep. We decided that it’s never too early to be prepared so we made a few meals that are already in the freezer! We made Monique’s Spinach Pumpkin Lasagna and Landyn’s turkey baked ziti that will be easy to pop in the oven & eat off for a few days. We also whipped up Monique’s Lactation Cookies, Banana Choc Chip Baked Oatmeal Cups & Chocolate Spinach Muffins – all of which are frozen individually so that Terry or I can grab individually when we need a quick bite or snack.
3. Signed up for a meal delivery plan: In addition to the food prep, I signed us up for Freshly which will send us 6 individual meals each week. I haven’t tried Freshly yet but I like that they’re individual meals focus on portion size, calorie control and protein. This will allow us each to have a few healthy meals per week that take less than 2 minutes to get prepared.
4. Finished the guest room: This may seem like an off “to do” on a baby preparation list but since we are less than 60 days in our new home and Terry’s entire family is out of town, I suspect we will have family visiting soon and often. The last thing I wanted to do was worry about sheets, towels, furniture, etc. for our guests. We needed a comfortable, relaxing guest room so that when my in-laws come, they can feel at home as well and enjoy every moment with the new baby!
5. Scheduled our maid to come every other week: Our fabulous house cleaner will be coming every 2 weeks – on the same day & time – to make sure that bathrooms are deep cleaned, floors and windows are cleaned and we’ve got fresh linens all around. I feel like I will be so preoccupied with a million other things and worrying about cleaning isn’t going to be high on the priority list.
   

There are plenty of items I’ll need to prepare, boxes to check and tasks to complete before we get ready for our baby to arrive in February but I feel good about place we are in. I’ll likely comb through the nursery again, prepare our baby bags (I still need to order one for Terry) and pack our hospital bags but we have time!