Week 34: Checklists and Nursery To Do’s

This move came at a good time to relieve some of my nesting needs. Having an entire house to get settled provides plenty to do on the nesting front, however, it can also stretch out a few things that you would rather have buttoned up so you can focus on other things.

Like the nursery.

We shipped our nursery furniture in our household goods, still in the boxes it came in when we ordered it. It made for easy packing for the movers, but because it wasn’t preassembled before the move, that meant the movers here were not responsible for reassembling the pieces along with the rest of our furniture. It was no big deal. Isn’t that part of the fun for dear ol’ dad anyway?

Right…not when DOD is busy trying to clean out and organize his new office, complete the mountain of in-processing tasks required in Turkey, contracts some sort of virus that leaves him alternating between chills and night sweats, and then hosts his boss in the office for a week to cover a couple of hearings.

I ended up putting together our glider and ottoman (which is probably why they both creak and pop), as well as any of the toys and rocker chairs and such that I could. I finally got Will to put the crib together a few weekends ago, but then the nursery sat in it’s unfinished state until we were met with our last free weekend to get things done before I leave (we are going to Cappadocia for Labor Day).

So on Saturday I put a stop on all other activities until we had the dresser put together, everything put in it’s place, moved the rug to the nursery, and got the pictures, shelves, and mobile hung.

We were making such good progress. In fact, we got all the way down to just needing to hang a few things when we came to a screeching halt, to the tune of our drill trying to penetrate our concrete ceiling. All of our walls in this house, and apparently our ceilings, are concrete. So now we have to put in a work order for CE (Civil Engineering) to come and hang our things. Alas, the nursery will most likely still be unfinished by the time I leave. I am really happy with how it’s turning out so far though!

Getting Ready for Germany
It sounds crazy to start packing weeks in advance, but this is one trip where I do not want to forget anything. And packing for a month and a half (possibly longer) in Germany is no joke. Especially since it is now hovering in the high 50’s/low 60’s during the day there, and into the 40’s at night. Quite a change from the 100’s we are having here every day (I’ll admit I’m kind of looking forward to the break from the heat). I’m down to limited things that still fit, and having never given birth before, I’ve really got no idea what I’m going to feel like wearing.

I’ve got checklists for myself, for the baby bag, for my labor bag, for Will’s bag. I’ve got checklists for paperwork, travel, and finances. And somewhere in there I’m trying to find a good sitter for the dogs (I think we have found one fingers crossed).

I also planned a number of freezer meals to prepare this week so we wouldn’t have to worry about cooking for a while once we get back with the baby. But my shopping list has created a situation where multiple grocery stores are required in order to complete it.

I surprisingly don’t feel stressed, but I do feel like time is ticking away really quickly at this point. Part of me is looking forward to Germany because I keep thinking it will feel like a bit of vacation in an odd sense. A chance to just truly relax and wait on the baby without having to worry about moving, or settling into a new house and life, or figuring out how to navigate through Turkey.

Doctor’s Report
This week’s appointment went well. I’m measuring just slightly behind, but still gained almost a pound so baby is growing. I read that this late in the game the fundal height measurement can be a bit misleading depending on where and how the baby is laying in there. So it’s not big deal if you don’t measure right on track. We had a strong heartbeat, and I’m feeling LOTS of movement.

And some nice bump pics with my sidekick…in my PJ’s 🙂