3rd Trimester To-Dos

I think the start of the 3rd trimester kind of jolted me into gear because it hit me one night last week (in the middle of the night no less, isn't that the worst!?) just how much we have to get done before babyT is here!

Last pregnancy I had a list of all my "to-dos" (separated by month, of course) by the time I found out I was pregnant, no joke!

This time around...not so much.

Poor second baby.

I can only imagine the forgotten to-dos when people are having baby #3 or #4!

So, in order to help ease the type-A stress that was keeping me awake at night, I made myself a calendar + to-do list for the next 3 months with everything we need to accomplish and have been checking as many things off as possible (like maternity pictures & the chiro appointments that I got set up this week, woohoo!).

Taylor keeps telling me that we'll be fine and get everything done (and I know he's right!!), but I feel much better having a list of tasks that I want us to accomplish. It gives me a way to make sure I'm not missing anything & helps me see that we're staying on track.

Without further ado, and because I know you're dying to know, here is my current list of third-trimester to-dos, separated by month. My goal is not to get everything done on a certain day or specific weekend (I mean come on, I don't over-plan our life that much), but instead make sure (I hope!) that we get the majority of stuff done on each list by the end of each month:

February

Biggest goal: Get Arden's room ready! Arden will be moving into a new room before babyT arrives, and in order to do that, we need to prep the room. This includes:

• Paint the room (this room hasn't been painted since we moved in, and the white walls need a little love. We decided on a light grey color since we have a lot of white furniture in her room. Painting begins this weekend!)
• Move furniture around (right now the room is a guest room/play room so I think we're going to need to take out a desk and shuffle things around to make it a more conducive and comfortable bedroom) 
• Refinish a dresser for her room (Taylor's parents gave us an old dresser - that they got when they were first married! - and we plan to refinish it and paint it white to match the rest of the furniture in the room)
• Set up her crib (ie move her mattress down to this room & decide if I'm going to move the bumpers down too or if we'll have to buy a second set)

A sweet friend of mine gave us their old crib, so we do have a second crib put together & waiting in the room! So thankful that their family blessed ours with that crib!

Other goals:

• Register at the hospital 
• Schedule maternity pictures Done!
• Spend some time Pinteresting maternity picture outfits/poses/props
• Set up chiropractic appointments Done!
• Start ordering a few baby items (we have a lot of stuff from Arden that we will absolutely reuse, but there are a handful of things that I'd just like to have in blue or grey instead of pink, like a new changing pad cover, a pack of bibs, and a new set of swaddle blankets - these things we'll probably try to buy before babyT arrives since we'll be using them right away. Eventually we'll need to buy a second of few bigger-ticket items since each kid will need their own - like a crib mattress (Arden is still in a crib for now and we're happy to leave her in one as long as possible - it keeps her safely contained! However, it does mean we'll need a second mattress), a sound machine (man we use this every single night with Arden + during nap times. I know we'll definitely want a second one for the baby so that hopefully each kid can sleep well without the other waking them up!), and crib skirt (two cribs = two sets of bedding). We did put together little registries on Amazon and at Buy Buy Baby, but they're more for my sanity & to-do list since I don't think we're having a shower this time around) 
• Look into daycares for babyT

March

Biggest goal, 2-parts:

1. Move Arden to her new room. This will be a big transition & I'm sure will take us multiple nights to get her comfortable with and adjusted to her new room. I really want to get this done in the early part of the month so she has a while to get used to the change, just in case babyT comes early in April. Arden is such a good sleeper, both at night and at nap-times, so I'm hoping this shift to a new room doesn't mess that up too much.

2. Get the nursery ready. The plan is for babyT to sleep in our room, in a swing, for the first 2-3 months (like Arden did), but I want to paint the little nursery before he gets here (it's currently pink, so yea). Besides painting, here are "getting the nursery ready" sub-goals

• Paint the nursery
• Wash bedding + set up the crib (which involves buying that second mattress (since Arden will be using her current mattress) and possibly some new bedding)
• Wash baby clothes & organize them in drawers (the drawers will be empty at this point - hopefully - since we'll have moved Arden and all her stuff down to her new room)
• Order a few prints for the room, frame them, and hang everything. The good thing is, the nursery is pretty tiny so there isn't a lot of room to decorate. It certainly helps keep things simple! I think we've decided on elephants as babyT's animal, and then grey/blue/white for the room. Isn't this print just darling? I also love the idea of a print from Where the Wild Things Are, like this one. Besides wall art, a new one of these will be a necessity (Arden has a pink bunny version that she sleeps with every night - it's her "lovie" since she doesn't use a pacifier & holding on to it is incredibly soothing to her) and I'm thinking we may need one of these too (Arden has the bunny from PB and it's adorable in her room). 

Other goals:

• Pack hospital bag
• Pack a bag for Arden for while we're at the hospital
• Order hospital outfits for babyT + Arden. I'd like them to have matching big sister/little brother shirts for pictures
• Make a plan for Arden while we're at the hospital - this is a big one, ha!
• Prep a few freezer meals (planning to do this w/ a girlfriend one weekend!)
• Order NB diapers to have on hand + other NB stuff (I need to sit down and remember what we'll need!)
• Pull out stuff from the garage/storage like bottles/bottle drying rack/my pump/etc.

April

Biggest goal: Have baby! Ha! They say that any time from 38/39 weeks on is considered "full term" so I'm trying not to leave a lot of things to do in April.

Goals:

• Install the infant carseat in our car  so it's ready to go (+ cleaning it first since it's been sitting in the garage for the past few months)
• Get a haircut! (I totally didn't have time to do this last time and regretted it SO much. After Arden was born it took me like 4 months before I had time to go get one and by that time I was wayyyy overdue for a cut so this time I am determined to get one right before babyT gets here!)
• Get a pedicure! My plan is to get one at 38 weeks, just in case, and then again at 40 weeks, ha!

So there you go. If you're a type-A person, this list probably makes sense to you & in fact, there are probably a bunch more things you think I could add! If you're not type-A, you probably think I'm nuts - that's okay! I know we'll get it all done!