Third Baby Preparations and Expectations

Hello hello! How was your weekend? No matter where in the U.S. of A. we live, we’ve always been able to expect at least one February weekend to be surprisingly warm and springlike. I actually bought the girls their annual pairs of Native shoes last month in anticipation of the first warm weekend of 2019. (I got Hadley and Sadie .) This past weekend was it for us! It was in the teens on Wednesday, but by Friday we were outside enjoying the high 60s. Ahh, good weather is such a mood boost!

Third Baby Preparations and Expectations

Today I’m sharing a big “brain dump” revolving around all things related to this bebe in my belly! I’m feeling lots of flutters already (I’m 18 weeks today), which has me very giddy. We’re in major preparation mode in lots of ways as we get ready to add to our family, and I’d love to share a peak into some of our conversations, to-do lists, etc.

Bedroom/Nursery Situation

So, where to put a nursery? This situation is giving me gray hair! Haha.

In addition to our bedrooms (master bed + two girls’ bedrooms), we have a large extra bedroom that’s full to the brim as the playroom as well as a home office. We hate to give up either because we use them both and are happy with the current set up.

We’ve considered bunking Hadley and Sadie for a few years and giving this baby girl one of their rooms as her nursery. But this would require buying new furniture and shuffling around a bunch of things. Not the end of the world (I actually think they’d love sharing a room!), but we’d like to avoid unnecessary spending and work if possible.

So, we still need to do some thinking. We’re hoping to come up with an option that doesn’t require us to spend a bunch of money as well as an option that we will all be 100% comfortable and happy with for several years. We would like to avoid shuffling things around two years from now, because we know that’ll be here before we know it.

It’s possible that you’re laughing at how I’m over thinking this, but welcome to my brain. 😉 I don’t like to waste time or money, so I will think things to death until I’m happy with our route. Ha!

Minivan

We are ready to bite the bullet and buy a van just as soon as the right one pops up! We know what we want, what our budget is, etc., and after doing some test driving and looking at a bunch of different ones, we are ready to pounce on a good one! Our good friend let us test drive a Pacifica from his lot for a few days recently, and it made Jamie and I very eager to actually buy a van. We really (!!!) liked it.

I will miss my Jeep, but we are ready for something that is literally MADE for parents toting around kids!

Life Pace

I cannot believe how CRAZY excited we both are about adding another little girl. It seems like she’s all we talk about as a family. Our parents are all thrilled to death as well, so it’s fun to see them excited.

Jamie and I talk all the time about all of the things we will do again that we never thought we’d do (both exciting and hard things), such as labor, the hospital stay, breastfeeding, sleepless nights, newborn chest naps (Jamie’s favorite!!), cheering on a baby’s first milestones (rolling, crawling, walking!!), carrying a diaper bag, etc. It’s all such a whirlwind, but we are thrilled and constantly day dreaming together about what our future now looks like.

I think I’m starting to realize though that this third baby is going to slow us down a bit (like new babies always do). For example, leaving three kids with my parents to babysit is a lot more than two kids. Or sometimes Jamie and I spontaneously leave each other in the evening to go to dinner with a friend, run an errand, etc., but I think for a while we’re going to need all hands on deck in the evenings. I know we will get into a routine like we always do, but I think we’re going to truly need each other more than we ever have, simply because we’ll be outnumbered!

One of my very best friends is moving to Savannah this summer (roughly 7.5 hours from us), and as soon as I found out I was all “Me and the kids will drive over and visit in September/October-ish!” and then I started thinking about what that meant. I’ve done long trips with two kids, but now I’ll have three kids, and one of them will be an infant. And Jamie will be working because the civilian life doesn’t have near as many days off at the Army.

You can’t “just go” anymore, Erica!

Ah. It’s those kinds of weird thoughts (not bad thoughts) that have humbled me and prepared my heart a bit for a slower pace.

Also, I am curious what will happen with my early morning workouts. I love them so much, and they’ve become a part of my daily routine that I really crave. I just I don’t know how they’ll realistically work with a babe. Just going to roll with it, but it sure would stink mentally and physically to give them up. I just don’t want to put unrealistic expectations on myself with an infant because I know it’s a year that will truly fly.

Baby Gear

Well, I sold or donated almost everything via Facebook Marketplace months ago (“You better be pretty darn sure you’re done having babies, Erica!” said Mom. She gets the last laugh about this one! Whoopsies.) Thank the good Lord above that I had enough sense to hold onto the seven tubs of girl clothes just in case (because I knew those could not be as easily replaced), but almost everything else is gone. I actually didn’t freak about this as much as I thought I would because I lot of it was pretty yucky anyway! (I got most of it in the summer/fall of 2013.)

The car seat was expired, the high chair was pretty gross, and the bouncer was almost laying on the ground from being so well loved. Ha! There are just a few things I “need” that I plan to borrow from my sister and girlfriends for the few weeks we need them (like a swing).

I welled up with tears of gratitude when a brand new car seat travel system (the ) was sent to us with no strings attached via a blog PR deal about two weeks after I found out I was pregnant.

This was going to be a big expense, but now it’s taken care of. (Things like high chairs are so cheap to replace, but we didn’t want to skimp on something as important as a car seat.) I was still pretty nervous about this pregnancy when we received the travel system, and seeing it on our porch was a huge reminder that we are right where we should be, and not to worry so dang much.

I’ve told my friends that I please don’t need a shower because I don’t need anything big, but just to come lay around with me after I have this sweet girl and I’m taking it easy inside in steamy July! 🙂

Let’s chat!

What were some of the biggest ways life changed for you after you added another baby to your family?