Thanks Mystery for updating, appreciate your effort!
I finally feel like we're getting organised now for baby - still can't believe we're having a baby girl. I honestly feel the luckiest woman in the world! As we're both teacher types, this is the longest stretch of holiday we're going to get before baby arrives. October half term we normally prepare for xmas and then, once xmas is here it won't be long until baby appears!
My OH happily got the baby stuff out the loft for me yesterday, I didn't even ask him to. So i'm washing the blankets etc we used with my little boy. Moses basket has kept well, so refreshing the material for this baby. Everything we had for Zachary was gender neutral, fortunately.
There is a local company that properly clean car seats/Prams so i'm going to book ours in for a really thorough wash - they're all fusty from being wrapped up in the loft. OH did promise me a new pram if baby was a girl, but I've decided this is an expense we don't need, and on facebook i've found a company that make customised liners/blankets/bows for prams/pushchairs which will be far cheaper than a new pram, so i'm going to do this instead. I think I can customise the car seat and pram for probably less than £80.
I've ordered the bottles and sterilizer from Amazon - we used Dr Brown's bottle with Zachary, so will be doing the same again. I'm not a breastfeeder - if i'm honest, I never tried as when I had Zachary, a lot of my friends had babies too and they really struggled, my best friend couldn't breastfeed for reasons beyond her control and she became very depressed from it and felt like a failure (Which of course she wasn't!), so I decided to completely side step breastfeeding. By 8 weeks Zachary ended up with a lactose intolerance so we were on prescription formula then anyway!
Zachary is going for a sleep over at Nannie's next weekend (my MIL's), which is very rare so we're going to decorate the nursery in his absence, as it maybe the only chance we get to do it child-free. I've chosen a floral wallpaper with blues/pinks/greens/white in it - not your typical nursery paper perhaps but we like old fashioned names, so I think this will suit.
My lovely mum is already on with knitting blankets and little cardigans - she's so excited that after 4 grandsons in a row she'll be having a granddaughter. My niece is 14 next week, so it's been 14 years since my family had a baby granddaughter! OH's family have 3 grandsons, so it's fair to say the excitement is brewing there too.
Anyway, I shall load more blankets into the washing machine and then this afternoon, we're going my nephew's 2nd birthday party!
How's everyone getting on preparation wise? I know i'm early but I can't rest until i'm organised, and I know once we get back to work, work will take over!
Any thoughts on maternity leave? I'm going to try to hold out until we break up for xmas, 19th December.......not sure if this is a good idea, but financially it is......Me and OH are going to share the maternity leave, again due to finances really. I'll be off Dec to 1st wk of July. Then OH from 1st wk of July until just before October half term. The forms for this look like a right mare though, so will need to start looking over them more closely.
Alipops x