Baby Prepping: Everything Else

Now that we’ve covered baby prepping in almost every room in the house let’s talk about everything else.

dog food – the dogs need to eat too and I do not want to have to lug a huge bag of dog food from the store with a newborn and some hurting lady parts!

cat food – cats have to eat too

fuel – I am the kind of person who waits for the “dummy light” to go on before I put diesel in my car.  Michael hates that I do this, but I hate getting fuel, so I guess we’re even.  I am trying to make sure my car is full or fuel so I can at least make the trek to the hospital when the time comes. 

oil change – This was Michael’s was of preparing for the baby – he changed the oil in his truck and got the oil changed in my car for me.  Now we are set for a while and won’t have to worry about changing the oil with a newborn in tow. 

car seat installed – This was another thing Michael did to prepare for the baby, it needs to be installed to leave the hospital so you might as well get it done before you are trying to leave!

thank you cards – I bought a cute package on clearance from Target.  I’ll have enough on hand to write a quick thank you to people who bring us a meal or the baby a gift or help us in some other way after baby is born.

stamps – to mail off bills (we pay most online buy hospital bills will require a stamp) and thank you cards

updated address book – If you are going to mail out thank you cards you’ll need an up to date address for the person, so make sure you have addresses or a way to find them quickly 

birthday cards/presents – If there are any birthday in the month your baby is expected get them before and wrap them!

diaper changing basket – We have a stocked diaper changing basket that can be moved around the house as needed.  It will be perfect to grab and move into any room.  The baby’s room will be stocked and so will our bedroom, but having something mobile will come in handy (even though our house is small and we don’t need it – it will be nice)!  Diapers, wipes, a receiving blanket or two, burp cloths, a swaddle thing, and some baby lotion are what I put in our basket. 

Chick update

It has been a few weeks now since we brought our chicks home from the feedstore. They are already looking more like chickens and less like cute chicks. 

They were small enough for the brooder set up for about 2 weeks. But those Buff Orpingtons are giants and we had to move them out faster than we expected. To accommodate their need for more space we decided to build their hen house a bit early. My fantastic hubs found the plans online and built the plywood house you see below. It was pretty simple and only used a sheet of plywood so it was very inexpensive. 

While the chicks still needed heat we kept it in the garage with the hen door closed. The heat lamp clamped on the the side easily and gave them much more space but still kept them cozy. When they could be away from the heat we moved the box outside and took the floor off. This let them start scratching and start getting used the the weather. We moved it daily in our home orchard so they always had fresh grass - and we didn't have to clean anything.

Then this morning we put together a temporary yard for them so they can start going outside and getting used to the dogs. The younger dog really needs to get used to the chickens. This yard we put up with materials we had around the house. With the warmer weather arriving, they need more space yet again. 

Note- dogs love the chase and kill chickens. Usually once they start killing chickens, they don't stop. It is fun for the dog. The difference between a dog killing a chicken and a predator (like wild animal) is that the dog will leave the dead chicken but other animals will eat it. So if you find a dead (and mangled) chicken, odds are a dog got it. Once you find one you need to act quickly to predator/dog proof the pen or you will keep finding dead chickens.

There are several reasons why this is just a temporary pen.
1- after a week or two there would be no more grass left. That is fine but we would prefer to have them move around and help mow the orchard grass.
2- this pen would need to be taller or have a top. Chickens can't fly well or far but they can get up high to roost. Within a few weeks the chickens will be about to escape this top. You can trim their wing feathers to prevent this. It works very well but you would then need a taller pen to keep predators out.

Remember the leghorn (the Prius chicken)? Check out how big she is and notice that she is the brave one venturing outside already. She is actually one of the smaller of the chickens by weight, but a very efficient gal.

These other chickens are too chicken to go outside. The two yellows are the Buffs and in the middle is one of the Barred Rocks. They were not cooperating for pictures. 

We have to fill up their 1 gallon water can daily and have used about 25 lbs of feed already. They are not totally adjusted to the toddler yet, which is part of the goal of this pen too. The kiddo really likes inspecting them: looking at their eyes and feet and feathers.

Eventually we will use the house to attach to a mobile pen to move around our little orchard. The orchard will provide shade, grass and bugs. The chickens will leave behind fertilizer and hopefully help control the grass and bugs. And of course we will get eggs. 

Baby Prepping: Pantry

Now that we have an actual pantry (woohoo!!) I wanted to make sure it was stocked for the baby.  I don’t typically buy lots of canned or boxed food, but since our freezer in the house is so small now I will have to buy more canned food (or can more of our food) and less frozen. 

Basics:

flour

sugar

other baking/cooking supplies – baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper, spices, brown sugar, and anything else you use regularly. 

oatmeal – I’ve read that oatmeal is good to eat for breakfast if you are breastfeeding.  Plus, it’s delicious and you can make cookies out of it, so stock up!

protein mix – for smoothies to make a quick and healthy meal.

pasta

pasta sauce

rice – great base for a meal and lasts for a long time

coffee – I don’t drink coffee but Michael does sometimes and I have a feeling he’ll be drinking more once baby comes.

tea – I don’t drink much tea but I have a box of energizing tea in case I need a pick me up!

canned fruit – get the no sugar added version to keep them as healthy as possible or can your own!

canned veggies – get the low sodium version to cut down on sodium or can your own.

Meals and Sides:

soup – cans of soup will be a quick meal for lunch or dinner.

rice a roni – I found a recipe for making your own so I have both the real deal and the homemade version.  I love rice as a side dish and not having to measure and mix the spices when we’re exhausted is going to be great!

boxed pasta – I don’t usually buy this since it is not the best for you, but I bought a few for a quick lunch or dinner if we need it.

snacks – maybe the most important of a stocked pantry.  Protein bars, granola bars, crackers, popcorn, and beef jerky will make good snacks for when we need our energy

Hello world!!

My due date was last week and guess who made their appearance two weeks ago?  Our baby girl Avery!

I’ve heard that most people go after their due date with their first, so I was expecting the baby to wait until Spring Break to come.  But, as I told my class – babies come when they want to come!  She was full term and healthy and that’s all we could ask for! 

She is just perfect!

The last two weeks we have been busy figuring out what to do with a newborn. 

Any tips?

Baby Prepping: Freezer

When I think of meal prepping, I think of stocking the freezer with ready to cook meals. 

meat – we got a half from my sister so I would say we are stocked up on beef!  To see what is in the half we got go here.  We also have fish left from Michael’s last trip, duck from last season, and pork from our pigs.  We both love bacon, so we stocked up on bacon from Costco (our bacon is gone very soon after we get it back from the butcher).  We also have breakfast sausage.

marinated chicken – I love having marinated chicken in the freezer that we just have to dethaw and throw on the BBQ. 

lasagna – My favorite freezer meal!  Full of protein and veggies AND delicious! 

crock pot meals – Throw all of the ingredients in a crock pot in the morning and your meal is ready in the evening!  Can’t get much better than that!

soup – some are reheat and serve and some need to be cooked all will make a great meal with little prep

juice – orange and other fruit juice concentrates for when we want more than just water or milk

cookie dough – This needs no explanation – everyone needs a sweet treat in their freezer!  

fruit – for my protein smoothies or I can add it to yogurt for a yogurt parfait

muffins – a quick breakfast or snack I can just pull out of the freezer

prepackaged meals – I had every intention of making all my own meals and having this full freezer or delicious and healthy meals for after the baby comes, but with the move and everything else going on that just didn’t happen to the extent I wanted.  Not the end of the world – we stocked up on frozen pizzas, pasta meals (which are an awesome quick meal I would love to learn how to make), chicken nuggets, and french fries.  I’m pretty sure we aren’t going to die from eating meals that are not the best for us!  At least we’ll have food!

Your Turn!  What would be included in a stocked freezer at your house? 

 

Baby Prepping: Kitchen & Laundry

We covered prepping the bathroom for baby (well, really for your post partum self, but you also get a baby from that!) now we’ll cover the Kitchen and Laundry Room.

I am going to do food items in a separate post, so this includes everything else.

Kitchen:

cleaning supplies – the last thing I want to do is go out and buy cleaning products because my adorable baby threw up all over the couch.  So, stock up!  Whatever cleaning products you love – make sure you have enough for at least a month! My favorite cleaning products are even safe around my newborn! 

paper towels – There will be lots of messes to clean up, so stock up on paper towels!

paper plates – this is something we don’t normally have around the house, but I figured dishes are the last thing I am going to want to do.  We’ll still use real silverware and glasses, but plates are one thing we can use the paper version if we need to. 

dish soap – I know, I just told you we’ll probably use paper plates but still I am stocked up on my favorite dish soap for cleaning pots, pans, glasses, and everything else.

dishwasher detergent – same as above – want to be able to clean a mess of dishes in no time? Throw them in the dishwasher and add your favorite dishwashing detergent!

trash bags – I’ve heard babies produce a ton of garbage and we don’t want to run out of bags to put that all in!  We have a jumbo box under the sink. 

extra sponge -  Just in case.  I wouldn’t want to have to run to the store just for a sponge!

Laundry:

laundry detergent – I’ve heard babies go through tons of clothes and mommies and daddies may go through more too if their bundle of joy spits up or projectile vomits on them.  I have plenty (no baby Schwall – that is not a challenge) of my favorite fragrance free laundry detergent!  Plus, it is concentrated so I need to little of it clean well that my stash will last that much longer!

stain remover – with spit up and poop and all of that other lovely baby things come stains – we have plenty of stain remover to throw in the wash and banish those stains!

dryer balls or dry sheets – I prefer dryer balls.  They are so awesome!

Your turn!  I loved your comments for the bathroom prepping post, what did I miss here? 

All American Baby Shower

Today is baby’s estimated date or arrival, so I thought it would be a good day to show the best baby shower EVER …

My mother in law and sister in law are rock star party planners – they came up with all of the ideas and everything went just perfectly.

The Décor …

Super cute sign welcoming the guests.

The patriotic gift area. 

That wagon with the flag bunting was the perfect place to put the gifts.

Another chalkboard sign before the food inviting guests to enjoy their picnic out on the blankets or sit at a table if they could not. 

They used moving blankets as picnic blankets which went perfectly with the color scheme.  A square piece of fabric on most of the blankets brought the colors (red, white, and blue) out to the eating area without distracting from the beautiful backdrop. 

Like I said – a beautiful backdrop!

The floral centerpieces were borrowed from another event.

Adding a flag to the floral piece was the perfect patriotic touch.

The guests enjoying their picnic lunch. 

The Food …

The food table was decorated with red, white, and blue fabric.  The napkins are from Pottery Barn and I fell in love with them!  They belong to a family friend, but you can get your own set here.  

This shower was during lunch, so the menu consisted of a sandwich, carrots and celery, chips, and a cutie all packaged into an adorable brown box tied with a bow. 

Each box was labeled with the sandwich meat so guest could grab and go. 

Kids lunches were also labeled and consisted of a PB&J sandwich, a cutie, fruit snacks, carrots and celery, and a cheese stick.

Guests could also grab a fruit skewer – they were adorable and tasty!

The dessert table was also decorated and even more delicious!

Pie in mason jars – apple and cherry.

Red, white, and blue sixlets. Also, not pictures rice krispy treats dipped in red, white, and blue candy coating, dipped oreos, and red & white mints.

Photo Booth …

Stacey (my Sister in Law) set up her camera on timer in front of this patriot backdrop.

She also made cute props to go with the photo booth. 

Here she is!

My Sister in law, mother in law, me, my momma, and my sister. 

Michael and me. 

I am not a center of attention kind of person but this shower was perfect!  I wasn’t the center of attention this little baby growing in my uterus was.  The baby was showered with so much love and support.  I truly believe it takes a community to raise a child and Michael and I are so lucky to have such an amazing community of supportive family and friends.