Getting ready for baby!

When I was expecting my first child, I couldn't wait to get the nursery painted, put together the crib and buy all the cute little sleepers and other such things a person buys when they are having a baby. I remember having to check out the baby section anytime I went shopping and I couldn't get ready for the baby soon enough.

By the time the third child comes around, it's harder to get motivated to do all these things. After spending the day looking after my boys, cleaning up messes, hauling kids to nursery school, making meals, exercising and somewhere in there finding a few minutes to do a little bit (some days a lot) of nothing, I just don't feel like doing much else. But a couple of weeks ago, it dawned on me that I don't have much time left before our new baby boy is supposed to arrive. (If anyone is wondering, I have about 6 weeks left to go)

So I almost started to panic! I got thinking of all the things I have to do before I'm ready to bring home a new baby. For one, my older boys will be sharing a bedroom, and Aaron is still in his crib in his own room. I want them to get adjusted to sharing their bedroom and I really want Aaron to adjust to a big-boy bed before the baby comes. I already have a lot of baby clothes and the crib and car-seat, so there's not a whole lot to buy, but there's the matter of having to find and wash all the clothing, find a dresser or something to put all the clothing in, relocate and install car-seats in the van, buy a big-boy bed or bunk beds for the boys and move them in together. I want to buy new bottles, and then there's diapers, formula and some other odds and ends that I need.

So I've started getting ready. My mom helped me go through the baby clothes a couple of weeks ago, so now I just have to wash them all and put them away. I still need a dresser so I'll wait till I get that. Then this past weekend we bought the boys a set of bunk beds. They can be separated into two twin beds, so we'll do that until the boys are old enough for bunk beds. I haven't yet moved them in together. Aaron has had a terrible cold and hasn't been sleeping well, so I figured we'd wait till he feels better. There's still a bit of a list of things to do, but at least we have a start.

Even though I haven't been motivated to "get ready" for the baby, (which by the way, I now am, 6 weeks motivates a person) I can't wait to meet our new baby boy. It doesn't mean he's any less special or loved than the others. I love him so much already and I haven't even met him. Time just seemed to slip away on me, I guess I'm busier now than I was when I didn't have any kids, or just more distracted, or tired. I don't know, probably all of the above. But I look forward to the day when I can hold this precious little boy in my arms for the first time. That's one of the greatest feelings in the world. So, I hope I can get everything ready in time. If not, we'll figure it out as we go.