Getting Ready for Baby Brother

Today I am 36 weeks!!! DS and I have been super busy getting ready for "Baby Brother". I read somewhere that it is important to involve an older sibling w/ the preparations to make them feel as though they are a big part of getting ready for baby.

Each week, for the past two weeks, we have been doing things around the house (one day a week) to get ourselves prepared. Two weeks ago, we went through some of the crib toys we had when DS was a baby. Together we picked a few things out to wash and put new batteries in for "Baby Brother" to use. It was fun showing DS his old mobile, he asked to listen to the music the mobile plays when he went to bed that first night.

Last week we cleaned up the car seat by washing the liner and bleaching the seat and base. DS helped me take the liner out and put it back in after everything had dried. We then took apart the Diaper Genie and bleached it. I realized at that point that there are a few supplies that I need to run out and get in the next few weeks, like Diaper Genie liners and diapers!

We will be packing the diaper bag today and making a list of all of those supplies one needs when preparing to bring home baby number 2. I look forward to showing DS the outfit we brought him home from the hospital in and having him help me pick an outfit for "Baby Brother".

In the next 4 weeks (or so), we will pack Mommy's hospital bag and DS's overnight bag for Grandma & Grandpa's house. We will order the crib bedding and wash it up and put it in the crib, put the car seat in the car, set up the bassinet and shop for a gift for DS to give to the baby. Mommy will shop for those supplies I mentioned above as well as a few other things we need and for a gift from "Baby Brother" to "Big Brother" DS!

There's so much left to do in so little time! On top of all of the busy work to get ready for baby, there's also the matter of celebrating DS's 4th birthday next week. Everyone keeps asking if I'm ready and my answer is always "YES!", but after writing this post, I'm not sure I really am as ready as I thought!

What am I forgetting? I'd love to hear from all the second time Moms out there about the things they stocked up on before bringing home baby #2!