lists

Getting Ready for Baby: Phase Four

 
 

Phase #1–#3 are done! Well...mostly. I'm moving the pediatrician one to Phase #4. I made myself a checklist and put it on the fridge of things that I felt HAVE to be completed before the baby arrives. So, I'm pulling from that to create my to-do's for Phase #4.

PHASE #1:

  • Get organized. 
  • Clean out the crib space. 

PHASE #2:

  • Get the crib + changing table assembled. 
  • Wash all the baby clothes/blankets/etc. 

PHASE #3:

  • Buy a few more maternity pieces.
  • Buy a couple of nursing bras.
  • Baby showers (I don't have any photos – yet – from the one my friends threw us, but here are some photos from the one Mr. LL's family had for us)

PHASE #4:

  • Call pediatrician. 
  • Install the car seat.
  • Pack hospital bag (this includes getting the items I need to actually pack the bag).
  • Create a healthier freezer menu plan.
  • Get an exercise ball.
  • Finish out "baby must haves" list

I plan on doing some freezer cooking to have meals ready to go for after Lazy Baby arrives, but Mr. LL really is eating a lot healthier these days (and so am I by default), so I need to rework my plans. The meals I had planned weren't the healthiest (pastas, not a lot of veggies).

Also, now that we've finished up with the baby showers (unless my work throws me one), I'm ready to hunker down and buy what I have deemed a "must have" based on the numerous blog posts on the internet and in parenting magazines. If you are interested in the list I curated by combining as well as pairing down what I found, let me know in the comments. I'll be happy to share my checklist with you!

Checking In

This week, I'm a bit all over the place with my focus. I'm getting things ready for Lazy Baby, cleaning out the back room, taking care of myself, eating well (with Mr. LL, more on that tomorrow), and exercising. So far, the eating better and exercising have been going great. I'm actually really enjoying our better diets – granted, I have some not so healthy snacks stashed away at work, but they are just to supplement when I'm feeling hangry. Even those aren't the worst, compared to junk like chips and cookies. Cleaning out the back room probably won't happen this week. It's a major undertaking and we'd probably only be able to work on it this coming Saturday, and that's only if Mr. LL doesn't have to work. I need to do another round of washing of baby stuff because Cake and Mei-Mei (our cats) burrowed into all the clean blankets , plus, we have some new stuff from the baby shower this past Sunday. As for taking care of myself, well, my doctor told me I needed to rest due to ligament pain and when I told Mr. LL that his response was "yeah, every one I work with says their wives slept a lot during their pregnancies. You don't sleep." :| So, now I'm taking off every Monday until my maternity leave so that I can slow down a bit and rest a little more.


My daily tasks are:

  • Make the bed EVERY DAY. Check.
  • Put away the clean dishes in the morning. Check.
  • Spend 10 minutes a day on dishes. heck.
  • Do something laundry related every day. I slacked yesterday, but we're in a good place with laundry (so long as I do a load tonight!)
  • 10 minute pick up before bed. Mr. LL and I were so tired we both basically passed out after dinner, lol.
  • Journal. heck...well, I haven't done it yet today, but I plan to get it done.
  • Meditate. heck.

For my weekly tasks:

  • Clean the bathroom
  • Dust 
  • Walk 4 days a week. So far so good. Today was a rest day. We're really trying to get Bigby to stop freaking out whenever a cyclist/other human passes us. It hasn't been going well though.

GETTING READY FOR BABY

PHASE #1: COMPLETE

  • Get organized. 
  • Clean out the crib space. 

PHASE #2: COMPLETE

  • Get the crib + changing table assembled. 
  • Wash all the baby clothes/blankets/etc. 

PHASE #3:

  • Make appointment with pediatrician. Ugh, this is STILL haunting my to-do lists. However, I'll be working shorter weeks up until my maternity leave, so the extra day should give me some time to get things like this done.
  • Buy a few more maternity pieces. – Check.
  • Buy a couple of nursing bras. – heck.
  • Baby showers – Last baby shower is this Sunday. The one last week was GREAT. My friends gave us a lot of things we need for Lazy Baby and we had a fun time playing games. I'll do a post about it later. Not sure when, just yet, but I'll definitely do one!

Meal Plan Monday

 
 

Mr. LL is really wanting to eat healthier, so I'm trying to work with him. I'm not really in a position to go on a diet, but I can get most of our meals to a healthier place. The snacks I'll just keep at work so he won't be tempted.

Breakfasts

Hard boiled eggs, grits (for me), coffee

Monday

Chicken and Asian chopped salad

Tuesday

Steak and salad (+ baked potato for me)

Wednesday

Chicken and roasted veggies

Thursday

Crab Cakes and Asian chopped salad

Friday

Leftovers

Lunches

Salads, hummus, cheese sticks, fruit with water

Snacks

Hummus, bacon, pepperoni, berry smoothies, eggs