Thursday, May 12, 2011

Nesting Instincts Have Kicked In Big Time!

With the last several months of pregnancy with both Trent and Kate, I had an incredible urge to get extremely organized, make sure everything was perfect for their arrival.  I even went as crazy with Trent as to re-paint all of his wooden alphabet blocks because the reds and greens that it came in weren't the right shade to match the color palate of his room - waaay too much time on my hands due to bedrest back then!

But I didn't expect to get that same sort of nesting instinct with Penny, mostly because the wait time is sort of ambiguous and unknown.  Well, boy was I wrong!  I am like a woman obsessed.  I want to browse toddler toys and baby aisles every time I walk through Target or Walmart.  I am showing serious self-control not buying every outfit I see to have ready for her - frankly, we're not even really sure of her size so  it seems a bit silly to buy a lot until we have seen her in person.

The other day we were driving home from our USCIS fingerprinting appointment (which, by the way, is such a crock - we already were fingerprinted 12 months ago but have to have them renewed so that they are current.  Pretty sure that fingerprints don't change, right?).  We drive down the freeway and I see a Babies R Us sign off the freeway.  "Oh!  Trent and Kate, we're going to take a little detour.  I want to stop in there for a minute!"  I have such awesome kids because without complaint they trekked with me all over that store.  Nothing to get in particular, just to browse.  In the end, I did end up buying some toddler appropriate toys that we'll take with us on our trips.  I wanted to find toys that didn't require batteries so that they continue to be played with at the orphanage once we bring Penny home - that was a hard task!

I've been thinking about how to make the transition as smooth as possible for Penny over the last few weeks.  A few things have come to my mind:  I am going to make 2 identical blankets for Penny.  I plan to sleep with both of them so that they have my "scent" on them when we travel.  We'll take the first blanket on our first trip and leave it there with Penny.  Then, because when children leave the orphange, they are not able to take anything with them so that other children can benefit from the items given to the orphanage, I'll bring the identical blanket with me for the 2nd trip so that as she leaves the orphanage, she'll have something snuggly, comfortable and familiar to take along with her.  Likewise, the toys I found at Babies R Us I bought 2 of.  1 set I will take and leave at the orphanage on the 1st trip.  The 2nd set I will have for Penny when I take her back to the guest house on our 2nd trip, so she has toys to play with that are familiar to her.  I just simply can't imagine all of the transition that will be going on in her little heart and mind.  I know I can't make it all go away but I will do everything I can to make her journey to our home special and meaningful and safe.

1 comment:

  1. You have really thought this through! Penny is so blessed to have you for a mom! I was so excited when I started to nest this time and I know you are too. If you need a house to "nest" on, feel free to use mine. Unfortunately, now that they baby is home, there isn't much time to make things perfect for him!
    Can't wait to see you!

    ReplyDelete