Getting Ready For Baby

I'm hesitant to do to many preparations for the Baby-to-be just yet, but I also have that overwhelming feeling of panic that I "must" do something. I've made a mental list of things that I want to get accomplished today...or at least this week.

We really hope to find out the sex of the baby at our January 8 appointment, but we are also aware that babies like to hide their private areas sometimes. I'm starting our registries at B.abies R Us and T.arget today. Lots of the stuff will change to blue and chocolate brown if the Baby-to-be is a boy or to pink and purple if it's a girl. I've picked out the kind of ring sling that I want online, but I want to know what color scheme will be most appropriate. We have a neutral pouch sling and a front carrier, but I want something new because this baby will have to be worn and I loved being a Babywearer with The Muffin!

If the Baby-to-be is a girl there are only a few clothing/layette items that we would need. I'll be wrapping the baby in all of the sweet blankets that we used for Muff and dressing her in Muff's hand-me-downs. I get excited at the opportunity to use The Muffin's sweet clothes again! At Muff's ultrasound they were "90% sure" that she was a girl. Big Daddy and I kept things neutral with the decor, but everyone went girl-crazy and showered us with mostly pink clothes. We have a nice assortment of gender-neutral blankets and newborn outfits. We only had one outfit that could only be for a boy and it was exchanged for a smocked dress in blue.

If the Baby-to-be is a boy we'll need a few more things. We'll have some of Muff's gently used yellow blankets (but NOT her "Baby Bop" or "Tigger" blankets!), and those cute little outfits in yellow. I get excited at the thought of dressing a baby boy in blue and chocolate brown in cute little outfits that are all brand new. Of course, Nana (my mom), would be happy with a boy or girl, but she's hoping for a boy to even out the grand kids. I know Nana and my sister will go crazy buying stuff no matter what color we need.

When I woke up in the recovery room and found out that our baby had survived and was healthy I asked if "it" was a boy or a girl. When my nurse told me that "it" was a girl, my first response was, "Thank goodness, I don't have to return all of the gifts". We only had one outfit that 100% for a boy. It was returned for a beautiful, blue, smocked dress.

The baby's room is still Big Daddy's junk room/computer room/study room, but the baby bed is in there! We have a few things up in the air where that's concerned so I'll be waiting a little longer before I issue an ultimatum about cleaning it out. I keep telling myself that everything will be fine and that we don't have to have a room ready right now...or even when the baby arrives for that matter. We're praying that our issues are resolved soon and we can move on with more baby-themed issues.

No matter what, we will be thrilled when we see our baby next month! I pray that our baby is healthy and everything is developing normal. If it's not, that's okay too. After our experience with Vasa Previa, I'm reminded that it is such a gift to leave the hospital with a living, breathing baby. So many in our Vasa Previa family have not seen their babies alive or are not able to watch them grow up as "normal" children do. When people ask if I want a boy or girl I always say that it doesn't matter. Inevitably they'll say, "As long as it's healthy". I've never looked at it that way and I still don't. We wouldn't love our baby any less if there was something wrong with it and Big Daddy always says that he'd probably love it even more.