Getting ready (38 weeks)

So I wasn't quite sure what to blog about this week, but James suggested that I at least put up a picture of the owl hat I just finished... so I figured I would show you all the stuff I have made (and things I've done), if only because I am inordinately proud of it!  As a bit of a catch up though, I will tell you that this week has been one of getting-stuff-done.

I'm a bit worried about how much we've gotten done actually... because now there isn't enough to fill my days with distracting activity... but ah well.  It is a good feeling to know that everything has finally got a place and it is all in it!  Except the pram... that is still packed away because I'm not so sure where it is going to go once we set it all up... but anyway!  So this is going to be a bit of a picture tour of just how ready we are for this wee one to come, and how clever and industrious I can be (can you tell how pleased with myself I am?  It's disgusting).

So, in chronological order:

We have packed the bag.
It is ready and waiting by the front door.






When he arrives, he will have something fantastic to wear.

This is actually the first thing I made for him.  It was quite soon after I found out I was pregnant, and I wanted to actively do something - but there is very little to do at that point.  So I decided I would start crocheting again (it had been awhile).  It most definitely made me feel like I was doing something positive and I have very happy thoughts associated with this little jacket.  Now, looking back, I am able to notice that it isn't exactly perfectly made (it had been awhile!), and it is obviously WAY bigger than a newborn size (how naive I was) - but I made it with the intention of having something personal that I'd spent time on to bring him ("it" at the time) home from the hospital in - so that is what I'm doing!  Even if he floats in it!

He will come home to a room that is ready for him
Every now and then (when I get asked for the 1000th time if the nursery is ready) I feel a little bit apprehensive about the fact that we've chosen to stay in our flat, rather than move someplace bigger.  But then we spend a few days sorting stuff out and I realise that I'm actually quite pleased with this decision.  Having a baby isn't taking over our lives - it is fitting in with our lives.  No, he hasn't got his own hand-painted room, but he has got everything he needs.  We are not becoming something new, we are adding on to what we already are, and I like that.  So we've tried to keep things minimal and we've had to be a bit creative with space, but the end result is one that makes me very happy.  I know it won't last forever, and eventually we will need to move somewhere bigger but it doesn't need to happen now.  So here is a picture of the "nursery" which is actually just our bedroom with a few additions...

Some particulars to note:

He will have a place to sleep

I've been addicted to freecycle in all of our preparation.  We are not only on limited space but limited budget - so anything that we can get secondhand or, better, for free, is amazing.  If you don't know, freecycle is a group that you join where people post things that they don't want anymore but don't want to throw away.  As long as you are willing to come and pick it up, you can have it (for free).  We've used freecycle for years and have got quite a lot from it.  In fact, just looking at the picture above, I can count at least seven things that we got off freecycle (from the giant bookcase in the back right to the small yellow lamp).  We've also given things away, of course (it's great for big stuff you don't know what to do with like old bikes etc).  Overall it's a fantastic thing and it has served us well for baby stuff especially.  Yesterday, we went and picked up this lovely moses basket and rocking stand (with mattress and sheets and everything) from a woman whose baby had outgrown it.  It fits in perfectly and I love it!  And we don't need to worry about storing it, because as soon as he grows out of it, we'll put it back on freecycle for someone else (and start looking for someone giving away a cot).  Perfect.

He will have clothes and nappies

Again, this little chest of drawers was from freecycle and I was particularly pleased with this find because it fit exactly into one of the few nooks we had left!  Also, again, it was from an extremely lovely couple.  Part of the joy of freecycle is meeting random people and, if you're getting something, seeing where they live... often you end up having a little chat and it's always fun.  I want to use cloth nappies for the most part but am unsure exactly what type to use - so I've got some different kinds from different people off freecycle so I can try them out before I invest in anything.  One of the ladies I got a set from (brand new - she'd just changed her mind!) we ended up chatting, got along really well talking about babies... and she decided to give me all of the disposables that her baby had grown out of as well!  People, as a whole, are very kind.  So the skinny chest of drawers has his clothes, the bottom drawer of the bookshelf is full of different kinds of cloth nappies and the shelf is all the disposables we'll use when he first gets here (we are going to use cloth, but we're sensible enough to try and ease into it...). The top drawer has all the other bits and bobs - bath stuff, bottles etc.

He will continue to have clothes

Obviously we have more clothes than he can currently wear - so the chest of drawers only has the current and next size up in it.  The question was what to do with all of the bigger sizes that don't fit him yet, as well as where to put things when he grows out of them.  Storage is a premium in our flat... but I've solved it!  Clever clever me realised that if I got a board and put it across the top of our two wardrobes, it would add a whole extra section of space!  (there just happened to be an appropriately sized one set out behind the bins at the back of our house - lucky!)  Add some stackable boxes with lids, and it forms a very sensible solution... But did I stop there?  Oh no!  After I put the board up, I realised that simply adding some cup hooks and a dowel rod would solve our "what-about-jackets-and-coats-and-things-too-big-for-the-drawers-but-need-to-be-easily-accessible" problem... So a quick trip to the hardware store, and voila!  Once again a whole extra section of usable space!  Sometimes I amaze even myself...

Speaking of clever creations of usable space...

I can't claim this one - it was James who noticed that our door frames are very wide and would offer sufficient support in our random connection between our kitchen and bathroom (there are two doors there... we don't really know why...).  One more perfectly sized board and a few baskets later and we've got the perfect place to put all the chemicals and other non-baby-friendly stuff once he starts moving about.  Genius.






He will have ways of being carried around
This does not photograph well... but this is the soft carrier that I mentioned I made back when I was in Ohio (see the post from the 14th of July).  I also made a Moby-style wrap carrier, but that's not worth a photograph because it is basically just a giant piece of material, and besides, it's packed away in the going-to-hospital bag as the method of choice for coming-home-from-the-hospital and I can't be bothered to open the bag and dig it out... so imagine a big piece of material.  It's green.  That's what it looks like.  This other carrier though is a thing of beauty... shame the picture makes it look like a pile of dirty clothes....  



Last but not least:
He will have a very cool owl hat.
This really needs no description.  I made an owl hat.  It makes me happy.