Ready Freddy & Betty

We are very ready.

Like ridiculously ready.

At the beginning of this baby-adventure, Jeremy & I decided that we would just make a huge list of everything that we wanted to get done before Will’s arrival.  I know.  It sounds like something everybody does but nobody actually accomplishes.  But surprisingly…we did.  early.  Us darn overachievers.  

Some of the items were for early-on…like going on an exotic baby-moon (slash anniversary trip), 

and purchasing a new family-friendly vehicle,

and quitting my job so that I can do this every morning:

It’s kinda obscene how late I sleep in these days.  It would make you blush…worse than wearing a Dancing With The Stars female costume to church.  It’s that bad.  But Jeremy insists that I need to sleep…and I am a very obedient wife.  Plus I know that as soon as we bring our little bundle of joy home that my sleep to wake ratio will go from 50/50 to 2/98 so I am soaking it in while I can.

But back to our preparation list…

It seems a little obsessive compulsive but our list included a ton of things that were small (like compiling photos of Jeremy & me as infants for guests at the hospital to flip through) and large (like take prep classes at the hospital) and pretty much everything in between.  First, my friends, you will be happy to know that we passed our baby prep classes with flying colors. 

Ok…so the instructor never actually made the ’flying colors’ comment…but in our very niave assessment, we definitely passed.  We actually took two classes at the hospital where we are planning to deliver.  The first was a labor & delivery class (hello breathing techniques and uber-graphic videos!) and the second was a baby care class (my boyfriend is a swaddling fool!).  And can I just say that our instructor was AHHHmazing.  We absolutely loved her down-to-earth attitude and frugal outlook on baby care.  She helped us more than I can ever express. 

After we took our baby classes, it was time to tackle all the things that will help make Will feel welcome when he FINALLY arrives.   

Which brings us back to the list.  The numero uno item was to clean.

absolutely.

everything. 

This year, spring cleaning took on a whole new meaning.  We cleaned all of our cabinets, dusted, organized our pantry, washed and ironed all of our baby clothes, cleaned out the fridge, and even shampooed our carpets.  I don’t think our house has ever been this clean! 

We also have the nursery 99% complete.  The only thing we don’t have complete is the secret craft project for over the crib and the art piece that my friend Brook is working on.   Other than that…it’s done.  And I know you all area chompin’ at the bit to see it…too bad I am such a tease

From what we hear, alot of people choose to have the baby sleep in their rooms when they first come home.  It apparently makes it easier for those night time feedings and allows paranoid moms & dads check on the new baby at 3 in the morning.  Ya know…just to make sure the little critter is still breathing. So after discussions with our baby-care instructor, we decided the most economical and safe choice for a bedside ’bassinet’ was actually a pack n’ play.     

Another way we prepped our master bedroom was to take the corner and turn it into a little baby station for those 2 am feedings.   

The bedroom wasn’t the only area that got a little switcheroo.  We also had to figure out a new arrangement for all our recently acquired baby gear in the kitchen.  A drawer and shelf in the kitchen were dedicated to the bottles and sippy cups and spoons and non-breakable plastic stuff…I’m sure that will grow  

Since we are already in the kitchen – you might as well know that I have been stockpiling formula on top of the fridge.  It was on the to-do list just in case my girls don’t work.  I want to be able to breastfeed but I realize that it is something not entirely in my control…so I thought it would be better safe than sorry to be ready with a little supply of formula. 

And speaking of all things baby – it doesn’t just change the inside of our house.  We also wanted to make sure that we prepped the vehicle.  We installed the car seat,

and loaded down the back with everything we need for the big D-day.  Our bags were packed weeks ago…(c’mon Will!)…and we have them filled with everything we could possibly need including our snacks, quarters for the coke machine, robe, slippers, speakers for blasting our labor song playlist, and those fun massage toys.  We also threw in the breast pump, the stroller, and extra towels (just in case I pop while out in public…eeek!)

And speaking of popping…we also took the time to think through how Jeremy would get through the entire labor process.  First, we were pleased to have the supplies from the labor & delivery class (they provided us with a flipbook called Partner’s Points that included reminders and key points on how to help him help me).  And we also stocked our pantry with lots of granola bars & Red Bull in case Will decides to draw out his big day. 

Jeremy also is in charge of all the paperwork for when the poppage takes place.  Afterall, I will probably be freaking out.  And because my boyfriend is so uber-responsible, he created a little phone-tree for who needs to call who when the time comes.  He also has the doctor’s number and the hospital’s digits on hand for go-time.  All the other paperwork got packed in the back of the vehicle. 

It was a big wish-list item for me to have little favors for people who come visit us in the hospital.  And because we love chocolate…we decided that a basket full of sweet-stuff would be just the thing to send folks home after they see our little sweetie I also packed a little jar of gummy bears for my nephew Cole and the Irish Princess tiara for my neice Clara and a coloring book just in case they get bored   Oh and the plastic champagne glasses?  Yeah.  Those are for toasting the ’birthday’ boy when the family gets all together after the birth.    

Don’t worry though…we won’t be drinking anything too hard core.  The bottles of sparkling white grape juice will be the drink of choice.  Plus, they actually allow that in the hospital…so we won’t be faux-sipping out of our plastic glasses. 

We also stock-piled our fridge with drinks for our houseguests.  When we arrive at the hospital, Jeremy’s parents will be taking up housesitting responsiblities and we wanted to be sure that they were well-hydrated :) 

Getting ready for guests doesn’t stop at drinks though.  We also had to make sure that all the beds were ready-for-sleeping and the bathrooms were well stocked and all the necessary items were easy to find. 

The last thing on our to-do list was to write down our guesses on Will’s arrival.  Trivial?  Sure.  But oh-so-fun to add to Will’s baby book later.  Imagine how fun it’ll be years down the line to see what we thought would happen vs. what actually happened! 

So there you have it – a little inside info on how the Bower’s are fully prepped for Operation Deliver Infant.  We are a very ready Freddy and Betty.  Which leads me to my next point -

Anyone else wanna take a guess at the arrival of Will?  Leave a comment with the date, weight and length.  If you end up being the closest…maybe I will send you a little something after we find out!  You will definitely be awarded about four thousand points…and that, my friends, is priceless