Butterfly's Birthday

Lilypie Fifth Birthday tickers

Saturday 8 May 2010

To Do List

House

  • finishing touches (walls; clothes [mine.. sorting and putting nicely in cupboard]; change position of bed so can co-sleep [have one side against the wall instead of head-board]; sort and find place for odds and ends)
  • handyman (fix sink in kitchen; cat-door [need to buy one first :-)]; enlarge shower (again - first need to buy one); move bathroom cabinet if possible [right now there's an annoying gap between it and the wall. Moving it will also give more space for the shower]
  • baby stuff (currently stored at my mother's) (clothes - go through what I have and sort, see if I have enough for the early weeks [should]; cot - bring up and assemble; arrange changing area; all the rest of the stuff [mobiles; slings; diapers; sheets; etc])
  • windows (put mosquito nets and new [and better..] shutters)


To Buy

  • washing machine (the one I have is probably too old to be fixed..)
  • physio ball (for now, birth [they should have one but I'd like to take mine just in case..) and for calming baby on after birth)
  • almonds oil (a closed jar to take to hospital)
  • some kind of unit to store baby's clothes
  • garden swing (just so nice to sit outside on a nice day and maybe nurse her, maybe just swing and relax..)
  • [shower; ball; cat door - as implied in previous entries]
  • bath for baby (unless sis has one to give me)
  • bean bugs
  • small bowls for EC
  • simple cloth diapers (to be used as wash wipes and for general purposes)
  • hat for baby for hospital (or is that provided?)
  • vitamin K drops (don't want an injection, so I need to buy it. do need to get prescription first..)


Hospital

  • birth plan (movement; no drugs [epidural, pitocin, etc]; delay cord cutting; on me right after birth [skin to skin]; nurse; homing; no bathing no injections and no antibiotics for eyes)
  • prepare bag (water; dates or something sweet for energy; sour sweets for if nauseous; diapers; comfy clothes; shower equipment; almond oil; and god my mind is blank but I'm sure there's more..)
  • phone and meet with doula (should have done that a while ago! somehow I always remember to call her on Saturday and she is ultra religious..)
  • show birth plan to sisters #1 & #3 who will be with me (#3 as a backup) and go over what I what and how I want.

So much to do! And yes, most [most? hmm.. how about all??] of this stuff is very last minute (and I've probably forgotten a thing or two).

9 comments:

Paige said...

You will get it allllll done...I have faith in you. What is a bean bug?

MommieV said...

I second the "what is a bean bug" question.

At my hospital (in the States) they provided the hat. There was a thick knit one they put on her right after delivery, and there was a slightly thinner one in our room so when they gave her the first bath and shampoo (because she was born with So Much Hair) they could put a clean one on her.

It's a good sign that you're feathering your nest!!!!!!

Do you have any contingencies in your birth plan for in case you have to have a c-section? I didn't do that, and I ended up having to. My cousin said she demanded they hold the baby to her breast to begin nursing right away. I didn't have that, so we started nursing in the recovery room. Worked out fine for us, but I wish I'd had more of a plan for the surgical birth.

battynurse said...

Good luck. I hope it all goes well.

Hera said...

Ooooo just reading this gives me anxiety...how awesome you're so close! I get nervous whenever I get close to a big event, and boy this couldn't get bigger!
Oh and yeah - what's a bean bug? I want one!

Billy said...

A bean bag (oops yes, bag and not bug..) basically is this material filled with (trditionally) dried beans (filling material now [or at least here] is styrofoam ) which you can sit sinking into.
I actually don't have a good chair to nurse her in, and I don't want one, and I think it would be nice to sit in one of these and nurse.

And mommieV - no, I don't have plan b in case of a c-section. That is too scary to me to add, but you are right. I'll think about it :-).

Jess said...

your so close!!! so much to do and so little time.

Tiara said...

So much to do! You'll get it all done, I'm sure!

Dora said...

Woohoo! Almost there!

Re co-sleeping, I'm a big fan of it. I think it's the best way for moms, especially nursing moms to get as much sleep as possible. But please be sure you put something along the edge of the bed against the wall. My understanding is that the most common co-sleeping accident is from the baby sliding between the mattress and the wall. Rolled up towels should do. I used this for the first couple of months. It would be difficult to position my bed against the wall of my bedroom due to the odd shape of the room, so now I use this product (they ship worldwide) on her side of the bed. I'm sure you've done your research on safe co-sleeping techniques. We love snuggling and sleeping together.

As for "plan b," MommyV has a good point. Childbirth is unpredictable. From what I've heard, the women who have the hardest time when things don't go according to their birth plan are the ones who don't give much thought to being flexible. The ultimate goal is a healthy baby. Of course I would have liked a vaginal birth, but at the time I agreed to my c-section, my water had broken nearly 24 hours previously, and I was not dilated AT ALL. And the baby was not tolerating the (non-productive) contractions well. But you know, my c-section was a calm and lovely experience. My doula was at my side the entire time, and my daughter was on my chest almost immediately. I was nursing her within a half hour of her birth. Now that might have happened sooner with a vaginal birth, but there are no guarantees. A different birth experience would not have changed how bonded we are.

MookiePie said...

I love a good to-do list, and it looks as if you've got yours all in order. I'm sure you'll get it all accomplished too!