7 Weeks Left...

Seriously?  And that's until my due date.  I was induced 2.5 weeks early with Miles...That means in about a month, we need to be at least somewhat ready to take a trip to the hospital to become a family of four.

I thought it might be helpful to me to write out a list of things I still need to do before Spencer comes home.  Not to stress myself out more, but to organize it into tasks instead of a general, panicked feeling.

So here we go:

• Move the boys' room across the hall to the bigger room.  This means moving the piano out of the bigger room and into...well, I'm not sure where.  Hopefully during this process, we will weed through some unnecessary things we can donate, trash, or sell.
• Starting packing a hospital bag.  Note to self, don't take so much stuff to the hospital.  I'm going to buy 2 new pairs of jammies for me (Wal-Mart has some cute t-shirt/pants sets for $10 that will be perfect) and maybe a new pair of slippers.  The last ones I bought were purchased right before Miles was born.  They're looking and feeling pretty "lived in."
• Locate the Newborn/0-3 size clothes.  Get them washed and ready for use.
• Decide what baby gear (swing, etc.) needs to come into the house from the storage building for the first 1-3 months.
• Reassemble the toy box into the bassinet.  We have this bassinet from Badger Basket that converts from a bassinet to a toy box.  It's just in Miles's room and doesn't do much but hold stuffed animals that are taking up room.  He won't miss it.
• Get all the newborn diapers ready to be used, figure out what other newborn diapers I need to buy, and set up a system for keeping Miles's and Spencer's diapers separate.  I don't want to try putting a large Fuzzi Bunz on Spencer or a preemie prefold on Miles when I'm sleep-deprived.
• Get all my nursing supplies ready, which means washing and prepping the pump, washing my nursing bras and tanks, and washing my cloth nursing pads for home use.  I have plenty of disposable nursing pads left over from last time to get me through outings for awhile.
• Work on some kind of sign for Miles to use when he needs "Mommy Time."  I got this suggestion from a dear friend over the weekend.  She has 2 children, almost exactly 2 years apart.  Since Miles isn't really saying "Mommy" when he wants me, we need to work on some way for him to tell us when he needs some alone time with me.
• Find a sub Leader for my Weight Watchers meetings on Wednesdays.  I have someone for my Tuesday meetings, but no takers yet for Wednesdays.
• Contact the hospital and work on a plan for paying for my hospital bill.  I'm putting it off because I dread it, but it has to be done.
• This one isn't a must-do, but more something that Brandon would like to do - take a quick tour of the Labor/Delivery and Mother/Baby unit at the hospital.  Since we're not taking birthing classes this time, we haven't had a chance to see it.
• Work on a plan for who will watch Miles during the day when I am in the hospital.  We also need to find someone who would be willing to come to the house in the middle of the night if that's when we have to go.  Once Spencer has arrived, Brandon will come home at night to put Miles to bed and provide some consistency for him.  But there are so many variables - how long will my labor last?  We also need to find someone who can take the dogs outside and feed them.  Once Spencer comes, we might just board the dogs for a few days to make things easier, but again, if its the middle of the night...?

I'm sure I'm forgetting some things, probably some important things...But believe it or not, having a long list helps.  Now, I need to get over this cold, start feeling better, and get to work!