The nest

My lack of pregnancy hormones doesn't seem to have saved me from a crucial third trimester urge:  nesting.  I didn't even realize I was doing it until this afternoon, when I started contemplating whether it's took early to buy a huge box of newborn diapers, wipes, ointment, etc, or not.  Then, I opened the second dresser in our bedroom to get out a rag and realized that I had already filled it with newborn clothes, all organized by shirts or pants or onesies, plus all our cloth diapers in the top drawer. 

I have also organized ALL of our baby and kid clothes in the basement, saving favorites and getting ready to give away the ones we never used or don't think we'll need again.  I've pulled together all our little baby toys for Drizzle.  I've gotten out our little baby blankets and ordered more easy velcro swaddlers, not being able to find our old ones.  I also ordered a yoga ball, again not being able to find our old one, for labor and for bouncing the baby after birth.  Our babies so far have loved bouncing on the yoga ball, so I'm guessing Drizzle will like it.

Lest you think that is all, I have also started cooking.  Now that I know how crazy things can get after the baby is born and how important it is to have easy food available, I want to stockpile as much as I can.  That means lots of cooking for the freezer.  I've already made mountains of bean, rice, and cheese burritos, easy mini-pizzas, chili verde, a quiche filling that can be defrosted and baked, and a corn chowder.  That's only about half the list of what we want to have on hand, but I don't know if our freezers (yes, we have two) will hold it all! 

Mostly, I've done all of this in little bits of time when Te Te is at preschool or when we're playing in the basement and the kids are entertaining themselves.  This morning, for example, the kids started playing on their own and I threw together the corn chowder at warp speed.  Then, after we got back from our morning adventure, it had cooled completely and was easy to put in freezer bags in about five minutes. 

I think I'm just so excited to meet the baby and can't stand the wait, so I'm pouring my energy into getting ready instead.  And, both Sacha and I are trying to consciously enjoy this time with Mateo and Natalia and soak them up just the way they are now.  We've been trying to do some special things with them, and have gotten them a few new things to wear (mostly new jammies) so they don't feel competitive with all the baby clothes.  It's funny to think of this as the calm before the storm, but I'm sure that's what it is!  Right now, they are sitting on the couch so cutely together, happily watching a video of Spanish songs.

Finally, Sacha and I are both nesting in the most important way:  by sleeping!  We love to sleep and we go to bed every night by 8 or 9 (Sacha) or 9 or 10 (me).  I always want to tell people expecting babies to sleep while they can, so both of us are trying to follow that advice, too. 

I may feel differently when the time comes, but I can't say I'll feel upset about getting up with Drizzle when she comes.  We're going to do the same thing we did with Tali, where Sacha does the night nursing and I do all the other night stuff (getting the baby up, changing diaper, getting baby back to sleep, etc).   The first time, it equalized, as much as possible, the time we both spent with her, instead of her being with Sacha all the time.  I loved that I could have that bonding time with her, and I look forward to the same with Drizzle.  This is a baby that I've wanted for a long time, and she will certainly be our last, so I hope I'll remember to enjoy her babyhood, even in the middle of the night.

So, I'll continue to nest.  I wonder what I should cook next...