Stressing Baby's Arrival...

kmommie · July 2010

Let me try and explain what I'm dealing with here... first, our entire family is in TN we are in CO. We are having the baby in CO. Our "plan" is to fly my mom out for two weeks around my due date to help me with the baby and hopefully help me and the baby back to TN bc my husband is deploying after paternity leave. So here are the things I dont know what to do about

2. We received most all our gifts/clothes/supplies/diapers here in TN while we are home on block leave... this includes tons of newborn things like clothes, socks, diapers, bath supplies, onesies, etc. Do I bag an entirely separate bag and take all of this stuff back to CO with us bc I don't know how long I will be in CO after the baby is born?
- Do you have any advice on what exactly I will need for the first month or so he is here?

3. Will I need a stroller for the first 2-4+ weeks? If so, do I return the stroller I got here in TN and wait to buy one out in CO so I don't have to worry about taking a the empty stroller/car seat back to CO on the plane?

4. Should I buy everything for a crib (mattress, mattress pad, crib sheets, etc.) in CO, or will he be fine to just sleep with us in a co-sleeper for the first 2-4+ weeks?

5. And what if husband gets orders after the baby is born and has to leave on very short notice? I will have to move back to TN by myself with an infant!!

I know that I simply can NOT plan our lives because of the military but these things are stressing me out. I don't know what to do to plan ahead and make this craziness a bit more organized!

DowagerCountessofNJ · July 2010

The first thing you need to do is come to grips that the military never allows for perfect planning...you're going to need to be a bit flexible.

If you're going back to TN after the baby is born you should leave a majority of the things you receive in TN. Take home the essential: a car seat, pack-n-play or bassinet, bottles, onesies, a few infant outfits and toiletries. He or she won't need any toys for at least a month to two months.

If your husband has to leave on short notice then he has to leave on short notice, there's no getting around that. Are you PCSing back to TN or is this a move by yourself while H is on deployment? If it's a PCS you won't have to do much in the way of moving, the movers will handle the packing and moving for you. If it's a move to go home during deployment you're on your own unfortunately.

Lithigin · July 2010

ExpectantSteelerFan:
During the first few weeks, all you really need are some seasonally appropriate clothes (it was July when ds was born, he lived in side-snap teeshirts for the first week, then just onesies and swaddle blankets), a place for them to sleep (probably not a crib), and a car seat (can't leave the hospital without one). Things that would be helpful are a sling/wrap (you can wear the baby through the airport, and if it's a cloth wrap like the moby won't even have to take them off to go through security) and somewhere safe to put the baby down like a bouncy seat or swing.
I'd leave everything else in TN.

Ditto this poster. You do not need a stroller. You won't be leaving the house for the first week, anyway. After that, you will put the car seat in the shopping cart or I'd take baby out and wear him in a sling. This sounds ridiculous, but you don't need a crib or PnP for the newborn stage, either. When I was tiny and my mom was traveling, she would put me to sleep in a dresser drawer on the floor. High sides, no suffocation risk, newborns don't move. Plus, people can lend you a PnP if you prefer something a little more traditional.

Stressing Baby's Arrival...

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