Erin Akin Carroll

There’s nothing quite like the feeling in the final days before you have your baby. Whether it’s your first, second, or even your fifth baby, welcoming a new family member who needs your undivided love and attention is something that warrants excitement. I was induced with Hudson and had a scheduled c-section with Hayes. So with both babies, I knew that I’d be going into the hospital the next day and had a little bit of an idea of what to expect.

Todd and I had taken a tour of the hospital during one of our childbirth classes and received the full meal deal of labor and delivery room tours. We knew what floor to go to, how to ring the bell and tell the nurses that you were there to have a baby, and unfortunately, I knew that I’d be spending the next day or so in one of those wonderful backless hospital gowns. I got my bags all packed during that week. My extensive packing list came in handy. I didn’t want to forget anything. It was most important to me to have 3-4 pillows- especially for my c-section recovery.

39 weeks pregnant with Hudson- our last doctor’s appointment before he was born

Having my bags packed was important, but it was more important to make sure the house was ready for a baby when we came home. This meant stocking the pantry and freezer, preparing the nursery, and scrubbing baseboards and ceiling fan blades in an effort to make the house as clean as possible. I also knew that I’d be sleeping in our downstairs guest room (to avoid climbing the stairs to the master bedroom) for a few weeks. So I moved my clothes and some of my toiletries to the guest room so it would be all ready for me when I came home.

Preparing the nursery was my favorite part, of course. It just smelled like a baby before a baby was even there. I washed all of the baby clothes in sweet-smelling baby detergent. I hung all of the clothes in the closet. I stocked up on Huggies Snug and Dry in newborn and size 1 (I’m prone to having big babies) and packed them in the large chest in the room.

Nesting is such a funny thing, but our house has never looked as good as it does the week before a baby comes home. Todd and I are so fortunate to have such wonderful friends who volunteered and created a meal schedule for us. We were all set to have meals delivered to our house for the next six weeks. But we still went ahead and stocked up on essentials so we could prepare some of our favorite dishes. And my mom stocked our freezer with a couple of our favorite casseroles.

Something about staying so busy the week before I delivered my babies made it even more surreal the night before I went to the hospital and laid wide awake in my bed. I was just thinking about how much our lives would change the next day. How did nine months creep by but then all of a sudden the due date was upon me and I couldn’t believe how quickly time had flown. Taking time to prepare my mind in that week by packing, stocking up, and cleaning helped me focus on preparing my heart in that sleepless night before we went to the hospital to meet our baby.

Read more posts from bloggers sharing their experiences of motherhood on the Huggies page (http://www.blogher.com/huggies) on BlogHer.com.

Okay, y’all! Hurry up and place your orders because the darling Anavini smocked Easter outfits from She She Made have been marked down. And there is a discount code!

The outfits are hand smocked and are absolutely beautiful, classic pieces. They have bunnies, lambs and little chicks in styles and colors for girls and boys.

They have been discounted to $50 and you can take an additional 15% off your order with the code “easter15.”

These low prices on Anavini items are so rare, so it’s a great time to take advantage of a great buy!

To order, visit She She Made on Facebook. There is currently a Facebook sale going on and the prices have already been marked down. You can just leave a comment to claim your outfit.

You can also visit the She She Made holiday wear for girls or for boys on the website to order your Anavini outfits and apply the discount code “easter15” there.

This is actually the outfit Hayes is wearing this year.

The last week was a doozy.

Between allergy mess turning into a mean cough, runny nose, and complete loss of voice and getting used to our first week with the doc band, last week kicked my tail.

I was sick. I didn’t meal plan. I didn’t wake up early to blog or to do my quiet time. I only went to the gym once and my heart rate monitor almost exploded because my heart rate was ridiculously high due to my lack of oxygen. Seriously. I was in spin class and I saw my heart rate monitor reach 193 when I wasn’t even that physically tired. And I didn’t die, but it wasn’t comfortable.

I napped when the boys napped so I could try to get some relief. But we still had our normal meetings and responsibilities. And we still had to get used to the doc band and do “skin checks” for Hayes every few hours.

We had six house showings last week, so we were constantly vacuuming up dog hair (thanks, Oreck!) and then rushing every little creature out into the car to drive around while the potential buyers took a look around.

Laundry took a back seat. Meal planning and preparing took a back seat. And general home organization just went out the window.

Needless to say, this morning I woke up and felt like I had a million things to try to get done. Weeks like last week are tough. But they’re harder the following week because that’s what I spend time making up for it.

I made a little commitment this morning to not do anything “extra” this week. I’m going to do my regular routine that I’ve gotten so used to, and not take on anything extra in the evenings.

Thank goodness for the Crock Pot. Because I planned our meals yesterday and went grocery shopping, I was able to get dinner started this morning and I’m able to focus a little bit more on all the other little tasks– and laundry folding– that I need to.

Do you ever have weeks that really set you back and make you feel like your house is in disarray?