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To Do List at 34 Weeks
There are all kinds of things that I would like to prepare before the baby arrives, so that when we come back home, everything is set up.
While my general goal has been to get it done before my due date, I’d actually feel better if we finished everything by week 38, (just in case, and also because I’m getting anxious to meet the little guy).
- “Baby stuff” is bought – currently the only things we are missing are a crib and a bathtub (also changing the shower head to use with the tub)
- Food- I’ve been working on cooking and freezing some meals for us. I need to do more of this. And make sure the “pantry” foods are stocked (peanut butter, granola, etc).
- Cleaning- I want to have tried out a cleaning lady so that after Baby Boy is here we can call her up and know that she knows what to do.
- Laundry- Type up a list of instructions, so that someone other than me can also do it and I won’t be worried about how it’s being done or try to take over myself.
- Guest Preparation- I’m working on a phone number list for all our service providers, a touring list of what they can do to keep themselves occupied, and directions from the airport in case we can’t pick them up.
- Non-Baby Projects Finish- I really want to finish up some projects that I just haven’t finished: wedding card book, photo books for our last few trips, etc.
- Meet with the Rabbi- See what we need to do to plan the bris when the time comes.
- Fumigate- I heard this horrible story of a spider bite, and want to avoid it at all costs.
Bonus To Do List Items
And then there’s some extra baby stuff I would like to do, but nothing will happen if I don’t:
- Start the Baby Book- Get album and put together the pregnancy related pages
- Make toy attachment ribbons
- Install a bidet (to use as a diaper sprayer)
- Finish reading up on labor and breastfeeding
- Make music playlists with classical music and white noise
- Buy “extra” baby items (like floor tiles, sunscreen, more burp cloths, wipes)
- Possibly write a birth plan
The Happiest Baby on the Block – Book Review
The second book I read, The Happiest Baby on the Block, was one recommended by the first book, and about 800 users on Amazon. Turns out that Harvey Karp is the guru of our generation, as everyone I’ve spoken to in person has read the book or watched the DVD.
Only time will tell how the 5 S’s (swaddle, side/stomach, shush, swing, suck) will work, but I did like the premise of the book. Even though it is a bit demagogue-ish in it’s vocabulary: the fourth trimester, the cuddle cure, being held for 12 hours a day is only half of what the baby got in the uterus, etc, the ideas seem logical.
I would have been interested to read more of the research behind it, the anthropological studies, but I understand it is written in a very simplified manner for the general public. I do like that it follows the ideas of attachment parenting and I like that the instructions for how to perform the S’s are clearly laid out with diagrams and lots of explanations. Hopefully it works as well as it sounds. (Update: it does!)
What have you been doing to get ready for baby? Any more baby book recommendations?
