As the days tick by, we’re inching closer and closer to my daughter’s due date, with less than two weeks to go until then. We are now officially in full-term territory; essentially, she could come any day now!
So in anticipation of that, I’ve spent the past week or two trying to get things around here as prepared as possible. Throughout the entire pregnancy, I’ve tried to focus on preparing myself emotionally and spiritually for bringing home a child as well as mentally, learning all the practical things about childbirth and childcare.
But now, I’ve got my sights set on things that will pave the way for when we come home. Little gritty things—like meals in the freezer, a fully stocked pantry, organized baby drawers—that I’m hoping will ease the transition a bit and take some of the frustration out of the picture so that we can focus simply on being parents, rather than on running errands or grabbing take-out.
Every couple of days or so, I’ve made it a goal to “stock up” on something. Earlier this week that was making two extra batches of homemade bodywash and some dishwasher detergent (a new homemade favorite of mine!). Before that was hamburger buns. Today, it was an extra batch of sweet potato chili.
I’ve started gathering items for my hospital bag and making a list, so that we make sure not to leave home without grabbing last-minute things like my eye glasses or phone charger. I’ve also started culling together different things into a drawer in our living room that will (hopefully) help ease early labor: a stack of encouraging Bible verses written on notecards, a heating pad, a cheatsheet of helpful laboring positions to try among other things.
I figure that whether it’s the fog of labor or of new motherhood, it’ll be a blessing to have already thought some of these things through—because I know there’s plenty to come that I certainly will not be prepared for! Until then, I’m trying to take care of some of the things that I can prepare for.
By the way, anyone have any other preparations or ideas of things to do that you'd recommend to make the transition a little easier? If so, please let me know in the comments!
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