Nesting

Nesting has hit me hard this pregnancy.

While I thoroughly cleaned out each room back in term three, I spent the holidays and the beginning of this term baking non-stop. There's been chocolate cakes (yes, more than one), carrot cakes (yep, plural), banana breads ('tis true there's been a few), coconut cakes (guilty again, it's always a favourite), slice, muffins, bliss balls, pudding and biscuits. I've also been trying out new recipes during the week with some real stand outs (more on that to come). It was only when Joel told me to slow down that I realised how much I've been doing. So this week, I've been taking things a little easier on the baking front. 

Instead though, I've been getting busy preparing for Littlest's arrival. We decided to go again with a baby capsule for the car for the first six months. While we hired one with Leo, this time we've bought one second hand for a fraction of the price. Leo 'helped' me sugar soap the frame and wash the insert earlier in the week, so that's now ready and waiting to be installed.  

I also had a sudden urge to pack my hospital bag. While I don't see it as a sign of an early delivery, it feels good to see a packed bag ready for us to grab and go when the time finally arrives. I never had any wild nesting with Leo, so it was a real novelty to experience a bizarre and desperate need to do something like that immediately. 

Surprisingly, or maybe not so, it was easy to pack my hospital bag second time round and I know I've over packed clothing-wise for Littlest and myself (all things well, I don't anticipate being in hospital for any more than 2 nights but of course, I've packed for 3).

In an attempt to prepare Leo for our family's new addition I'm enlisting his 'help' to set up Littlest's bassinet although initially, Sophie the Sheep will be sleeping there. I'm hoping some role play will better prepare Leo for life as a Big Brother and provide some necessary practise at being gentle with fragile things. I'm not at all worried about how our first few weeks (or months) will go as a family of four, we'll just go with the flow, but I want to do all that I can to make the transition easy for Leo.

Because after all, once Littlest is here, I'll no longer be just his Mum. That's huge.