so, this is happening.

so, the nursery isn't done. not even close. as in... the trim has yet to be painted and the crib is still in a box in our bedroom. am I stressed about it? meh, sometimes. but because I am a paranoid first time mama our bedroom is on a different level than the nursery, Ronin will be residing in our bedroom for the first few months. I'm thinking he'll be rooming with us for 4-6 months, but it could be shorter or longer, depending on my comfort level. 

as I started to realize that the nursery is just NOT going to be complete before his arrival, I had a list of a few key things that NEEDED to be done to prepare. and I am happy to say that we are in a good place when it comes to that progress now - I feel like Ronin could join us today (but please don't, little one... we want those little lungs to be 100% ready for life) and I'd feel comfortable bringing him home. we got everything done this weekend, so I thought I'd share that progress here with you guys. 


#1. hospital bag is PACKED! with the exception of items we use everyday (toothbrushes, cell phone chargers, etc), we are ready to go! I looked a few sample packing lists online, but I ended up really just going with what I think I'd need. obviously, I don't know if I have everything covered or not, but we're a short drive from the hospital, so I can always send Sean home if I forget something. I will share my list in a separate post later today for those expecting mamas who are curious. 

___________________________________________

#2. the one thing I knew we needed to set up before bringing Ronin home was the Pack N Play, since that will be his bed/my command center for the first few months. we got the Graco PNP with the newborn napper and the changing table attachment so that I could use it in the living room during the day, and therefore avoiding going up and down stairs all day long. 

Sean surprised me one night a few weeks ago and put it together for me, so WOOHOO for that. also? as of this weekend, the PNP is officially Bear tested and approved. 

he seriously loves this thing. I'm pretty sure he thinks we bought it for him.

in fact, he was in the bedroom with me this morning and he walked it around meowing and meowing... so I picked him up and placed him in the newborn napper... where he proceeded to take a nap. 

___________________________________________

#3. another kinda-maybe-could-be-important thing we did this weekend was installing the car seat. since ya know, they won't let us leave the hospital without one, we figured it was time to go ahead and get that done. I did tons of research when it came to car seats (consulting both Baby Bargains and Lucie's List), and we ended up choosing the Chicco KeyFit 30 due to it's outstanding ratings in safety categories. I picked the "Extreme" model because I loved the orange and grey - I wanted something gender neutral so that it could be used for our next baby, regardless of the baby's sex. 

love the orange & grey. 

ready for a baby!

I love all the features and the fact that it's so light weight, although I do know it'll be a bit heavier with a baby in it, haha. it was ridiculously easy to install, and since posting the picture on Instagram, tons of people have shared how much they love their Chicco car seats, so I feel confident that we made the right choice. :)

___________________________________________

#4. last, but not least, a baby cannot come home unless he has clean clothes to wear! so I gathered all of his NB and 0-3 month sized clothing, wash cloths, towels, receiving blankets, socks, hats, and gowns and washed them. let me just tell you - this kid has so many clothes that there is NO WAY in hell that he'll be able to wear them all. the entire load filled up the whole washing machine... I couldn't believe just how much room was taken up by those little teeny tiny items. 

welcome to Baby Clothes Mountain.

teeny tiny side snap shirts.

teeny tiny baby socks.

I think I am officially obsessed with baby clothes. I organized them all according to size and type of clothing (short sleeve onesies, one piece sleepers, gowns) and hung them on hangers. I also went ahead and organized a basket with his bath items and put the whale spout cover over the faucet (not that he'll be bathing in the tub for a while, but I figured I might as well). all of his bath stuff is in one place and ready to be used on his cute little tush.

wash cloths, baby shampoo, bath water thermometer, etc.

___________________________________________

so there you have it - we are officially (but not really) ready for Ronin to join us. however, I am still mostly comfortable and would prefer for him to stay in there for at least two or three more weeks. I may change my mind on that at some point, but for now, I am ready and preparing to go to 40 weeks, even though I'll be full term tomorrow. full term doesn't always mean that baby is 100% ready (hello, there's a reason pregnancy is 40 weeks long and not 37 weeks long), so I won't be one of those pregnant girls trying to induce labor early or anything like that. I know that we are now on his schedule and he'll come when he's ready, whether that be today or a month from now. 

Happy Monday!