Signs of Impending Doom, er I mean Birth

So, you know what's a really good follow-up to a post about me (NOT) freaking out?

A photo post!

Signs of Approaching Baby are starting to appear throughout the house.

Where once our nursery was a random collection of goods that had something to do with infants and/or children, it is now fairly organized (if not entirely pretty-looking just yet) and I have gone through all the baby-related stuff and taken them to the parts of the house where they are likely to be used.

This means that there is a box of nursing pads on my nightstand, and as if that weren't enough to tip you off, on the other side of the nightstand there is a freakin' cradle. Yep.



Also pictured: enough pillows on my side of the bed to make it look like there's a person sleeping there. I have a full-size Snoogle pillow plus THREE regular pillows (one under my hips, one under my head, and one between my knees).









Pictured here: the place where Chris sleeps a couple of nights a week now. I don't blame him, do you?




So here's a picture of the nursery closet with the lovely organizer that Chris installed. Chris also taught me how to fold baby clothes so I can go crazy with the nesting.



Here is a lovely hand-knit sweater made by a sweet old lady at my church (Vibeke). The generosity that babies bring out in people really amazes me! I mean ultimately, she knows little about me other than my name and the fact that I'm expecting, and she devotes her time and energy to making this. SO sweet.



Another treasure from the closet: an adorable denim & daisy dress that I cannot WAIT to dress my daughter in. This is from my Mom.

Downstairs in the pantry is a high chair, a bouncy chair, and an activity mat. And scattered on the kitchen counter is a collection of baby bottles and free samples of formula. Where else am I supposed to put these things?

Back in the nursery, the current decor is a little lower-key than in many other nurseries. For example, here we have the plastic chest of drawers substituting for a dresser.

And here is a small shelf and a folding table substituting for a changing table.

Near the door of the nursery is the nursing pillow and the diaper bag, all set for the trip to the hospital. My labour bag is not packed, but the diaper bag is ready.

Note: the piano keyboard is not actually coming with us to the hospital.

As for me - the belly button is still an innie. But just barely.

This Saturday I am going shopping with Karen (my mother-in-law and bona fide Martha Stewart-type superwoman) for even more baby stuff. Primarily nursery decor. Karen called last night and offered to re-paint the nursery. It is currently a pale yellow above the wainscoting and alternating broad stripes of forest green and sunshiney yellow below the wainscoting.

She wants to repaint the forest green stripes to be a paler green and a pale pink, so the stripes would be yellow-green-yellow-pink. I think that would look lovely and she is not asking me to do any of the work, so I guess my main objection would be that it's a lot of effort for a room that is only going to look "perfect" and matchy-matchy for the few weeks or months before the baby actually starts living in it. Again, though, it's her effort and she's offering it cheerfully, so why should I be concerned? Perhaps because when she comes over in a few months and the room isn't all perfect-looking I will feel guilty? Hmm, yes, maybe that's it.