June Baby Preparations

June was not quite so eventful as May for getting lots done. We had lots of early heat, some illness, a business trip, and something every Saturday but one.

We are continuing to work towards our goal of having everything but laundry done by August 12. Our due date is September 19, so this is actually a month and a week early, I decided to pull it in a week!

But here is what we did get done:

1. Learned that once again it looks like we will not know if baby is a boy or girl before the delivery room, so we are planning a nice generic room right now. We have one more chance to find out July 1. We are healthy, but the doctor does want her favorite ultrasound tech to check something (I cannot remember what, but it might be the placenta because it is migrating like crazy).
   
2. Decided we did not like any of the paint chips we brought home for baby's room. Back to square one on that one.
   
3. Picked up 2 jumbo packs of diapers and wipes at Target on a great sale.
4. Worked very hard to find a new home for the futon that is in baby's room. (A couple hot leads still to pan out, if not we are calling a charity).
5. We looked into book cases that will fit into Miss Pear's closet to improve storage and help support our book habit (and get a few things out of baby's room), but decided to wait on that as the one that fits the best and maximizes space is a bit more expensive that we expected. This is something that is not a rush, but made the list of preparations as we were not sure how much energy we would have after! We think we can just put a second row of shelving above the shelving in there now to tide us over.
   
6. We figured out that there is a set of sheets that is very hard to change on the crib mattress, so is like brand new, and we will use those at first so that we can order the color we want when baby arrives. (They are so tight that literally, Mr Pear has to take the mattress out of the crib to change it - not possible for a mommy recovering from a C-section, but possible for a Daddy home for 3 weeks on vacation, and a grandma to help!)
   
7. I looked through our baby supplies that I have been picking up on sale for Miss Pear (her skin is so sensitive that we have not really switched yet), and found that I need very little!
8. We picked out the Bible and bookmark that will welcome baby home. When Miss Pear was born we could not find a Bible storybook that did not seem really light to us (as in missing key points!), so we opted to get her an NIrV Bible instead, it was important to us that she have her own Bible. And we have always been happy with that decision! So we are doing it again. (Plus, we never did order Miss Pear a bookmark, she commandeered one of mine, so when I found a beautiful Noah's Ark one with 4 ribbons, I was sold!) I will be ordering it in July or August, but just picking one was a big step!
   
9. Miss Pear finally found the sunshine night light for baby - the top priority for her and baby preparations, so it was very important to find this! It is a long and very special story that I will tell later.
10. Sorted through some hand me downs to see what we could use and it was all of it! (Toys and play yard sheets!)
11. Continued to talk to Miss Pear about baby's arrival, and she is excited! She loves to talk to baby and give baby hugs and kisses.
    
12. Ordered more supplies at my monthly stamping class to make cards (we make 3 or 4 projects each month, and instead of paying a fee for the class we commit to a $15 order each month. Rather than just order stuff randomly I have been ordering stuff to make some thank you cards! I have a rough idea of what I would like to make, so we will see. I think I may have everything except the brads, assuming I do the punch out flowers....
    
13. Selected the invitations for our church shower - we are just waiting for our appointment July 1 to confirm the color. They are so cute!
14. Begun serious work on the Freezer Stock Up plan (just the plan, not the cooking). Because my MIL will be here for the delivery it is not as urgent as she will help, but I still would like a well stocked freezer to make my life a bit easier and make sure my family is well cared for. With Miss Pear it was really 6 weeks before I felt like myself again, just with less sleep.
15. Completed all the stuff I wanted to get done for Miss Pear's hope chest. Just because I said it was going in for a specific birthday does not mean it was in at that time!
16. This past weekend Mr. Pear emptied the baby's room and moved the two remaining pieces of furniture down to the garage (disassembled). (Important because we got the call saying the furniture is in!)
17. I will be calling today to schedule the delivery of baby's furniture, so that technically counts as a June accomplishment!
    

And I think that possibly the most important preparation was a mindset shift for me. Miss Pear was breech at birth, and despite numerous things done to turn her (ECV, soaking in the pool daily to make more amniotic fluid to make more room to turn, exercises), she did not turn. I am petrified of surgery and needles. But a healthy baby was more important to me that my convenience. So over time I realized that the Lord was protecting me. I don't know from what, but He gave me His peace about it, that it was His will and provision for me.

So this time around I had hoped to avoid a C-section, but that is looking less likely with each appointment for reasons I don't want to get into here because frankly, I cannot emotionally handle the discussion. But, be assured that we are VERY well educated in this from a variety of sources, and have one of the few ob/gyn's who actually will do VBAC's and are scheduled for a hospital that supports VBAC's, so it is not like someone is trying to talk us out of it, and we are still in a wait and see mode, but things are becoming clearer.

So the mindset shift for me was to stop thinking that I am charge, or can do something to effect the outcome. Of course I pray about this, and try to be healthy, but understand that while this is good for both my and baby's health, the outcome is up to God. I am praying for Him to make His will very clear for us, knowing that if that means a C-section again I am going to have to trust that is best and good (despite the needles!), and that it is again the Lord's provision for us.