I could tell you that I haven't blogged anymore about preparing for baby because I've been so busy preparing that I haven't had time to blog.
That would be a lie.
In fact, the exact opposite has occured.
Steven's work has gotten really busy so there have been many evenings and weekends lately where it's just been me and Mason hanging out which means zero time to prepare for the next little one..
One thing that I've been working on in the background for the past month is our plan for making the arrival of new baby exciting for Mason, and not scary or an experience where he feels like we've forgotten about him.
It's hard because knowing that I'll be having another c-section means knowing that I will have to spend 3-4 days away from him while I'm in the hospital, which in and of itself could easily feel like abandonment to a 2 1/2 year old.
I had read on other blogs (and Pinterest) about parents preparing gifts for the older brother or sister to open every day while you're away at the hospital, and it sounded genius to me. There's nothing Mason loves more than receiving and opening presents!
We are lucky in that my mother-in-law has volunteered to keep Mason at her house the entire time that we are in the hospital, and she lives about a 5 minute drive away from the hospital itself, so we will be able to have daily visits with Mason which hopefully will include lots of snuggles, cartoon watching and some talking about the baby (though mostly focus on HIM!)
I've also put together a list (I have so many of those right now...) of gifts that we will have for him while we are away.
I think it's cool to see what kind of ideas other people chose for their kids.
For us we wanted to make sure that not only would they be inexpesive (it is 4 days after all) but also that they would be useful for Mamaw (Mason's name for Grandma) and him to use to pass the time during the day while he is staying with her.
So here's what we've come up with...
That would be a lie.
In fact, the exact opposite has occured.
Steven's work has gotten really busy so there have been many evenings and weekends lately where it's just been me and Mason hanging out which means zero time to prepare for the next little one..
One thing that I've been working on in the background for the past month is our plan for making the arrival of new baby exciting for Mason, and not scary or an experience where he feels like we've forgotten about him.
It's hard because knowing that I'll be having another c-section means knowing that I will have to spend 3-4 days away from him while I'm in the hospital, which in and of itself could easily feel like abandonment to a 2 1/2 year old.
I had read on other blogs (and Pinterest) about parents preparing gifts for the older brother or sister to open every day while you're away at the hospital, and it sounded genius to me. There's nothing Mason loves more than receiving and opening presents!
We are lucky in that my mother-in-law has volunteered to keep Mason at her house the entire time that we are in the hospital, and she lives about a 5 minute drive away from the hospital itself, so we will be able to have daily visits with Mason which hopefully will include lots of snuggles, cartoon watching and some talking about the baby (though mostly focus on HIM!)
I've also put together a list (I have so many of those right now...) of gifts that we will have for him while we are away.
I think it's cool to see what kind of ideas other people chose for their kids.
For us we wanted to make sure that not only would they be inexpesive (it is 4 days after all) but also that they would be useful for Mamaw (Mason's name for Grandma) and him to use to pass the time during the day while he is staying with her.
So here's what we've come up with...
Our first idea was to get Mason a sleeping bag.
Every kid needs a sleeping bag at some point, and I just so happened to find an awesome sleeping bag that also included a backpack. Can anybody say 2 gifts for the price of 1?!
Target has this awesome deal where you buy a sleeping bag and then it comes inside of a backpack. We are separating the two because that way we can make the gift stretch a little longer into our stay.
Mason is OBSESSED with the movie Airplanes, and they just so happened to have the AIrplanes themed version!
We have to report to the hospital VERY early in the morning the day of the c-section, so he will actually be sleeping over at his Mamaw's house the night before just so we don't have to run him to her house at 5AM the next morning. This way he can open his sleeping back before he goes to sleep the first night, and can have it to use the entire time :)
Day 1-Baby Arrival
We've picked out the obligatory yet awesome "Big Brother" shirt for Mason to open the morning the baby is being born. That way he can wear it to the hospital that day to show off his new status as the big brother in the family.
I can't show you a picture of the shirt...because I found it on clearance through Old Navy about 2 months ago ($3.99!!!) so needless to say, it's not for sale through them anymore. You'll get to see a pic of the shirt in-action after baby arrives though :)
We've picked out the obligatory yet awesome "Big Brother" shirt for Mason to open the morning the baby is being born. That way he can wear it to the hospital that day to show off his new status as the big brother in the family.
I can't show you a picture of the shirt...because I found it on clearance through Old Navy about 2 months ago ($3.99!!!) so needless to say, it's not for sale through them anymore. You'll get to see a pic of the shirt in-action after baby arrives though :)
Day 1-Hospital Visit When Mason comes to meet the baby at the hospital, we are going to have a gift ready for him to open there. It's from the baby. Obviously. :) For this gift we are giving him the backpack that came with his sleeping bag. Inside of the backpack we are including a Melissa & Doug fishing game! |
Day 2
For the second day of his stay at Mamaw's house we got him a Frozen floor puzzle.
Mason has this new-found obsession with puzzles, and I've found that a lot of the wooden ones we purchased for him when he was younger are missing 1 or 2 (or more) pieces. He HATES that they're missing pieces so I'm trying to rebuild a set of puzzles that have ALLLL of the pieces in them to keep him happy. We've also started using the ziploc storage for puzzles where all of the pieces of each puzzles are stored in their own separate ziploc baggie along-side the puzzle itself (the puzzles do not fit in the baggies). It helps keep everything more organized, and it allows him to help "clean-up" the puzzles in between each one.
For the second day of his stay at Mamaw's house we got him a Frozen floor puzzle.
Mason has this new-found obsession with puzzles, and I've found that a lot of the wooden ones we purchased for him when he was younger are missing 1 or 2 (or more) pieces. He HATES that they're missing pieces so I'm trying to rebuild a set of puzzles that have ALLLL of the pieces in them to keep him happy. We've also started using the ziploc storage for puzzles where all of the pieces of each puzzles are stored in their own separate ziploc baggie along-side the puzzle itself (the puzzles do not fit in the baggies). It helps keep everything more organized, and it allows him to help "clean-up" the puzzles in between each one.
Day 3
The final full day of staying at Mamaw's house. This one is a little more random. I didn't want to buy another "big ticket" item, but I also wanted something new and fun for him to play with. We're kind of going with the variety pack for this day. His gift will include some coloring books, sticker books, and also a bunch of his favorite snacks.
The final full day of staying at Mamaw's house. This one is a little more random. I didn't want to buy another "big ticket" item, but I also wanted something new and fun for him to play with. We're kind of going with the variety pack for this day. His gift will include some coloring books, sticker books, and also a bunch of his favorite snacks.
Day 4 is the day Mason (and the baby) will be coming home. I debated getting him something for at the house, but I think that his present limit is 100% capped at 3 days (technically 4) of presents straight. We don't want the kid to think EVERY day is present day. Family reunion will have to suffice as the last gift. I know Nana (my mom) has planned a couple special treats for Mason as congratulatory gifts for becoming a big brother, so those will most likely surface sometime in the first few days that we are at home as a family again.
So there you have it! Our list of big brother presents to keep Mason excited about this huge change in our lives while we are recovering at the hospital. It was actually really hard to figure out the best gifts and which day sto give them so he'd get the most use out of them. Nevermind the fact that Easter is happening 2 days after we get home from the hospital...so we have to have another list of items for the Easter Bunny to bring. Geeesh :)
XOXO
Laurel
So there you have it! Our list of big brother presents to keep Mason excited about this huge change in our lives while we are recovering at the hospital. It was actually really hard to figure out the best gifts and which day sto give them so he'd get the most use out of them. Nevermind the fact that Easter is happening 2 days after we get home from the hospital...so we have to have another list of items for the Easter Bunny to bring. Geeesh :)
XOXO
Laurel