Time for an Update

It's been over a week since I've blogged, and I promised myself that I would do my best to make this be a weekly thing. So here goes...

The nursery has been finished. All the furniture and semi-permanently mounted decorations have been built and placed. The ceiling fan has been installed and doesn't wobble. The changing area is fully stocked; diapers, wipes, Desitin, powder, lotion, hand sanitizer. All of her clothing in the 0-6 month range has been de-tagged, washed in dye/perfume-free detergent, folded and put in her dresser or closet. Pacifiers, and the only bottle we currently own, have been sanitized and stored away. The "Go" bag, for when my lovely wife goes into labor is as packed as it can be; certain things like her nightgown and iPod are going to be last minute grabs, since they still get daily use.

The "Go" plan has been confirmed and re-confirmed. If our 11 year old is with us when it's time, my parents are on call to come get him and hang out until our newest arrives. If he's not with us, his mother knows to expect my parents to knock on her door (time appropriate, of course) to pick him up and bring him to the hospital. My brother and his wife have a spare key so they can come get our dogs and bring them back to their house. They're planning on bringing a blanket home to the dogs from the hospital, so they can be allowed to learn our newest's smell while getting treats.

I have an appointment next week to have the Fire Department's help with making sure the car seat is installed properly. I'm pretty sure I've got it right, but it only takes 20 minutes so I figure better safe than sorry.

The last eight months have been a frenzied flurry of activity and planning, idea generation and rejection and selection, impatiently awaiting the next big doctor's appointment, or grunt-worthy exertion and effort. Our household has been crazy with getting ready for this addition, and now it feels like it's over.

My wife is just shy of the 34-week mark, which means we could potentially be waiting for another 7 weeks, without much left to do to prepare. All this "spare" time has given me the opportunity to flex my creative brain and stretch my creation muscles. In the past few weeks, I've learned how to crochet and knit... and these are the results.

The first is her Nightmare Before Christmas hat, which we're planning on having her wear in the hospital for her first couple days.

The second is an unfinished hoodie. All that's left is adding the fuzzy white trim around all of the edges, throwing on a couple buttons, and cutting off the extra yarn.

The last is actually the first thing I crocheted. My first attempt at a floppy-eared bunny hat. I have plans to make another, in chocolate brown and micro-fiber pink for the inner ears.