It probably seems crazy since I just posted about being pregnant on here last week, but we’re actually halfway to baby! I’m 20 weeks as of last Saturday (tomorrow I’ll be 21 weeks!) which means that we have more of this pregnancy behind us than ahead of us, assuming she comes on time. In some ways this period of time feels like forever, but mostly it seems crazy that we’ll have a baby in just a matter of months.
Hitting this milestone has made me realize how much we have to accomplish before she gets here and how quickly that time will go by. Today’s post mostly serves as a little to-do list for me to wrap my brain around what needs to happen in between now and then.
Register. Turns out creating a baby registry is a huge undertaking! There is so much to research and a lot of options to consider. I’ve always thought it would be fun to stroller shop but I’m not going to lie… I’m a little overwhelmed by all the choices. Overall, definitely enjoying this part and taking my time!
Secure child care. Apparently this can be tricky! I haven’t started looking into it yet, but I know that once the baby gets to a certain age I’ll want child care 2-3 days a week so that I can have some focused time to work on real estate during the week without baby in tow. With my unpredictable schedule I’m thinking a daycare center will offer the most flexibility, but we’ll see!
Choose a pediatrician. This seems like a big task, but I’m hoping once we start looking at options one of them will emerge as a clear choice.
Sign up for a class. Our hospital offers childbirth classes, and I feel like we should take them… but I’m also a little skeptical at the same time. I’m excited to take a hospital tour, though! If you’d like to weigh in, I’d love to hear about experiences with or without classes!
Maternity photos. I don’t want to skip these, but at the same time being in front of the camera isn’t my favorite right now. Trying to get better about taking bump pics (see exhibit A above!) When is the best time to have professional pictures taken? Still need to look into this one, since we’re having a girl and I’ll be pregnant during the spring something with blooming flowers seems like it would be fun.
Plan for Babymoon. It was really important to us to get away one last time before the baby comes, so we booked a trip to Palm Springs in April! I went for Designer Vaca in 2013 and I’m really excited to take Brian, I think he’ll be into the desert vibe. I don’t really have maternity attire that will be appropriate for that climate so that’s going to be a whole other project!
Nursery prep. We plan on painting the nursery, but before that I have some serious stuff to purge. Since we bought our house in 2015, our third bedroom has been lovingly referred to as the “stuff room,” mainly because in a house without a basement or a garage, we don’t have tons of storage. That needs to change to make room for baby and all of her stuff!
Home projects. We have some things that we’d like to get done before the baby comes because we know that afterwards, things will be just a little crazier. I’d love to install a pantry organizer, some closet organizers, blinds in our bedroom… those sorts of things.
So… just a few things to tackle. If you have any advice, I’m all ears! Thanks for reading!
32-34 weeks for maternity pics according to my gal, can’t wait to see those!! Love you!
Don’t discount a nanny for childcare. My situation was a little different since the ex and I had twins. Nevertheless, we found it was actually cheaper to hire a nice young lass from Wisconsin to look after Grace and Rachel in our home than to put them in daycare.
I skipped the class at my hospital. It was 9-5, and there’s no way I was going to do that. I saw pictures of the rooms on the internet, and I read the Mayo Clinic’s book on pregnancy, which was super informative. I was also constantly reading different things about breastfeeding and just hearing experiences from other moms. I haven’t regretted not taking the class, but I know in can be beneficial for some parents, especially if you have absolutely ZERO idea on babies, haha.
I’m just 1 week behind you and have so many of the same to-do’s! We are starting a home reno on Monday and then we’ll be in full on nesting mode. We’ve made some registry decisions but I keep polling friends on their best advice! Enjoy it while you can!
We have LOVED seeing Dr. Cooper at Pediatric Healthcare–and all of the other doctors/nurses/PAs/NPs are great too! We took the short, evening class at the hospital. It helped us get a little bit of an idea when it came to changing diapers, bathing, etc, but we were still totally hopeless when it came to swaddling (that’s why we only used velcro swaddles!). I do wish I had learned more about breastfeeding, but if you’re going through INOVA, they have a lactation consultant to visit with you after birth, and you get a free follow up appointment after that, which was immensely helpful (plus they have a help line you can call, as well as free drop in hours). If you want to do a natural birth, you might want to take the longer class with the hospital–otherwise you’re probably okay with one class. I always tell my friends who are expecting that I’ll tell them anything they want to know, so feel free to message me anytime if you have other questions!
Congrats Kate! I’m so excited for you and I hope you’re feeling well and enjoying pregnancy. Wishing you all the best in the coming months!
<3 Kinga