Preparing for Baby

Oh.  My.  Goodness...  I cannot believe that in less than 3 weeks we will have our baby in our arms!  I am still shocked that we have made it to full term and the gender of our baby is still a surprise!  Nathan and I have been getting more and more excited for the birth now that it's almost here.  What an amazing moment that will be to find out who our baby is!  We are prepared with a name for either a boy or a girl, but it has been so strange to not know who this child is that I am carrying.  This has really been a different experience than I imagined, but definitely in a good way.  I am still in that day-dreamy phase that most moms leave behind in the second trimester when they have their ultrasound.  I am always thinking, "I wonder if it's a boy or a girl?!"  This pregnancy HAS seemed never-ending, (mainly because I am chasing after a baby already) but I can't complain.  I have had very healthy pregnancies and I know some are not as fortunate.  I realized last night that I have been pregnant for 27 months total out of the last 4 years.  That just seems unreal!

I know when we decided that we would not be finding out the baby's gender via ultrasound our family thought we were crazy!  I just knew that even if we knew ahead of time the only thing we would need to buy would be diapers.  We had some neutral clothing from when the girls were newborn, but newborn clothes are so inexpensive that it wouldn't be an issue to go out and purchase some boy outfits if we had a boy.  Also, the preparations that take place for the third baby are so different than the first, or even second time around.  I haven't felt the need to decorate an entire nursery.  Even if we had an extra bedroom, there is NO WAY that I would have had the energy for that this time around!  So I guess it's safe to say that if this was our first child, we would NOT be able to handle the mystery.  One of the main reasons I wanted to keep it a surprise is because we have decided this will be our last baby.  I always thought the delivery room experience would be more special, I just couldn't resist with either of the girls.  Since this is our last chance, I really wanted to wait and I am so glad we did!

As far as the big stuff goes, we have all the necessary baby equipment already (thankfully in neutral colors).  The new baby will be sharing the nursery with Caroline, so we just got some neutral bedding and put up a second crib.  It is still very girly in the nursery, complete with the pink chandelier.  If we end up with a boy, then some redecorating will definitely be in order.  The baby will be sleeping in our room for the first several months anyway, so I couldn't see any reason to change Caroline's room around before the birth.  When I was pregnant with Caroline, I made so many personalized outfits for the girls.  I love matching my kids and I LOVE monograms.  I decided not to go overboard with monogramming, because I didn't want to be stuck with personalized outfits that we can't use!  I made one outfit for each name.  That way, the baby will have a special outfit for pictures.  

For boy :)  There are actually matching pants and a hat for this, just not pictured.

For girl :)

Everything else is ready and set for baby #3 to complete our family.  We have drawers stocked in some boy, some girl, and some neutral clothing.  We have the nursery stocked with all the newborn essentials and the pack and play is ready to be set up.  The only thing we did differently this time is purchase a co-sleeper that will be placed in our bed for the baby to safely sleep in.  Nursing Caroline as a newborn was the most exhausting thing I have ever experienced and I have heard many nursing moms recommend a co-sleeper so you can both rest safely.  I actually bought one used for next to nothing, so no major expense there!  We have our hospital bags packed and arrangements made for the girls during the hospital stay.  We are so, SO blessed to have family nearby.  We will keep you posted in the upcoming weeks!  Thanks for reading!

Love, Maegan