Full Preparation Mode

Me and baby Julia in the hospital back in 2007

A Newborn

Everybody loves a newborn.  The way they yawn.  The way they smell.  The coos, their little faces, how they stretch.  They are just so little and so incredibly cute.

Now, my job as a mom of Julia and Mark with Micah on the way, I need to prepare my little ones for a newborn.

Of course we've been reading Big Sister books, Big brother books, and what babies are like books, and even my pregnancy books have helped witht he pictures, etc.  But we have to do even more than that because Julia is now 5 and Mark is almost 4.  They understand a lot more than the average toddler or Pre-Ker...so I've been doing and planning even more things with them, like...

1. A Hosptial Tour for the end of this month to show the kids what Monmouth Medical is like and where mommy will deliver the baby.  A few of my friend's suggested doing this because they said their kids loved going ahead of time and going on a tour, and that the nurses do a great job of showing them the different rooms, the nursery, and they even get prizes to go home with!

2. A New List of New Big Sister/Big Brother responsibilities.  My kids already have chores, but lately (as it has been getting harder and harder to put my own socks on, and bend down, and carry things up and down the stairs) they have been getting new jobs like...bring down their hamper bag to the laundry room, they learned how to sort light clothes from dark, and they even put their dirty clothes in the washer (only mommy is allowed to press the buttons thought).  Some other responisiblities we've been practicing are getting dressed by yourself from start to finish (mommy doesn't pick anything out, except for mark who would wear 4 t'shirts if I let him...he loves putting all his favorite shirts on at once).  It's amazing to me how after bath time now I just towel them off and they go to their own room and put pjs on!  It's so much easier now!  The kids will even get baby jobs like, burper, and diaper fetcher, etc.  I want everyone to feel a part of this experience.

3. Planning who watches the kids during our hospital stay.  Debi Hech, my knight in shining armor, who just became a grandma on Nov 20th has already volunteered to be our first call, after the doula and doctor of course.  She said she will watch the kids day or night for how long it takes before someone can relieve her so she can come see Micah in the hospital.  But we still have to plan who the kids will stay with while we sleep at the hospital, etc. 

4. Our birth class is coming up on Jan 26.  Our doula Roe, is giving us a refresher course since it's been over 3 1/2 years since we had a newborn.  And apparently a photographer is coming to take pics during our class time for her own personal advertising for her doula business, so how cool is that!

5. The minivan, carseat, and diaper bag are ready to go!  Come on guys, are you surprised, lol?  Even John said to me the other day, "Babe you are so excited for this baby, aren't you?"  And my answer was, "Of course I am!!!!!!!!!!"  Even Julia reminds me of how often we prayed for this baby and how happy she was that God answered our prayer to bless us with another one.


So, now that the holidays are over, the countdown is on...9 weeks and counting!  Woooohoooo!  On Thursday my sister Sara and I get to go to my 7 month check up!!!