A'Dell Stevens

I figure I have 2-3 weeks before he’s born (am expecting a 40 or 41 week baby) and if I don’t make a list I’ll just keep eating chocolate donuts at 4 am instead of DOING things.

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1. Name baby. We are doing prettttty good at this and have narrowed it to two names and decided we are not allowed to consider any other names because that is how we got distracted and to 38 weeks with a no-name baby. So. Two names. Choose one. TOP PRIORITY.

2. Compile a list of addresses for birth announcements. Print them onto those little sticker thingys, so as to make the shipping process easier, though uglier. (Done is better than perfect!)

3. Wash, fold, and put away the small little boy clothes. (HEY! I DID THIS YESTERDAY!)

4. Ammonia Bounce all the diapers. I’m only half-convinced my diapers need this done (perhaps even only 10% convinced), but I figure it can’t HURT and I would rather do it now than later. And really, I might not even DO this. I’m kind of just THINKING about it.

5. Look into re-doing the elastic in the diapers myself, or perhaps shipping a few of the worse-for-wear ones away to have someone else do it. Or, show my mother a few YouTube videos and see if SHE wants to do it for me. (HI MOM!) I’m not even certain this is necessary, but they are definitely less stretchy and I wonder if they will gap on a newborn. So the task is to just LOOK INTO IT, not necessarily GET IT DONE. If it turns out to be a problem then I’ll do something about it, but not until then.

6. Find the NoseFrida. The girls were playing with it for their baby dolls one day and it…disappeared. I feel like January Baby will probably be in need of this device at some point soon though. Must locate.

7. Move the glider to our bedroom. It lives in Charlotte’s room right now.

8. Fill out all the papers and write all the checks for preschool registration for next year. (Registration opens in about three weeks.) Decide if Claire will go 5 days a week or 3, and if Charlotte will go 2 days or 3 days.

9. Pack a hospital bag. Remember to include a toothbrush, because we both forgot one when Charlotte was born. Also pack snacks, because Chris totally got screwed on that last time. I am also taking a hair dryer this time, because even though it costs about $1,000 a night to stay in the hospital? They do not provide hair dryers. (RIPOFF.)

10. Make some more food to cram in the freezer.

11. Fill out the paperwork for the drop-in daycare center. It might be nice to have the option to just ship Claire and Charlotte away for a few hours at some point when Third Baby is brand new.

12. Put car seat in car. Lament how ugly it is, but it’s ours and it’s free and, well, if I have money to spend on something pretty it’s not going to be on a redundant carseat for a baby who won’t care. Please.

For reference, I give you angry Charlotte in her ugly carseat on her way home from the hospital, that was her older sister’s, that will also be her baby brother’s:

“I am so angry to be in this unfashionable animal carseat! Why couldn’t they buy me one of those fancy new ones in chic solid colors!?”

13. Get a flu shot. I remain the only person in my family without a flu shot (let us all hope this is not foreshadowing) and it is not for lack of trying! Nobody will give a pregnant lady a flu shot out in the wild. I have considered balking and saying, “What?! I am not pregnant! Oh, I am SO INSULTED BY YOU!” in order to finagle myself a flu shot anyway, but that just seemed like it might ruin someone’s day so I restrained myself from saying so at Costco, Target and Walmart. (See? I TRIED.) I’ll have to ask my midwife and probably pay more than $20, which is SO ANNOYING.

14. Take one more trip to Goodwill and donate more stuff we don’t need that is piling up in the dining room. (Did that this morning. Damn, I am good at this list crap.)

15. Buy Claire and Charlotte a Big Sister Gift of some sort. Wrap opulently.

16. Check in with awesome-tastic baby photographer and assemble a sack of accessories/special blankies/heirloom rattles to use as options for props. Figure out what Chris and I will wear. Figure out some sort of coordinating outfits for Claire and Charlotte to wear in photos with Third Baby. (Siblings! Awwww!) (Will expect zero cooperation from them, but have them dressed nicely JUST IN CASE.) (Aim to not PURCHASE these outfits, but rather assemble them from what they already own as, obv, one of them will probably melt down anyway thus negating the shopping effort/potential expense to find matching outfits.)

18. Get a pedicure. A fancy one. The kind that takes an hour.

19. Get an Eye-Fi card for my DSLR. I have one for my point and shoot, but lack one for the “good” camera.

20. Make a 2012 photo book, but I’m just not quite sure this is going to happen. Maybe I’ll make one of those quick and dirty Instagram ones. (DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT!)

I’m 38 weeks tomorrow, guys. He’s going to be here SO SOON!

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(And hey! Guess what? I AM AN AUNT! My brother and sister-in-law had a baby last night at 4 am and he’s just SO CUTE and I am DYING because I cannot go to Houston and snuggle him but look! LOOK! WEE BABY BOY COUSIN! Tiny little fingers!)