Hi TOG Moms,

Well, the Lord has surprised us with Blessing #4 -- I calculated my due date to be early to mid-November.

My children are ages 16, 13 and 10...this will be our first new baby while homeschooling. I'm curious what things you all do to prepare for a new baby (I'm not talking about buying clothing & diapers, setting up a nursery, etc.) but rather, what expectations should I have? (How soon after baby was born did you return to schooling? What adjustments did you have to make as far as scheduling, etc.? What "baby equipment" could you not function without?)

I'm up for any and all advice you have.

Thanks!!

Congratulations Amy! I had about a 10 year space between my 2nd & 3rd children. My 4th and 5th have been November babies and to be honest we didn't get back to school work until after Christmas! With the holidays and a new baby it is just to much otherwise but you could always start early and/or go late, I did both. Babies are not too hard to work homeschooling around, its the toddlers!!! A bouncy seat is my favorite and seemed to be my babies favorites too. I can put them in it and bounce them w/ my toe or turn it on vibrate while I read aloud or do other things at the table with the older kids. I got a surprise too, we thought we were done and got rid of everything but #6 will be showing up mid-October, Lord willing! Well, I have to get back to fixing dinner, if I think of anything else I'll pop back in. Congrats again and hope you are feeling well!

Deanna in WA

Thanks, Deanna!! Congratulations to you also!!

We gave away all our baby equipment about 4 years ago when we moved and thought we were all done. So, I'll be on the hunt for goodies...I feel so out of touch after a 10 year hiatus. Things have changed SO much!! One thing I quickly realized was that the selection of maternity clothes is slim...any suggestions of online/catalog that is modest and priced reasonably??

My youngest was a toddler when we started homeschooling -- I remember those days vividly. I think he would wait for me to be busy with a math problem, and then look for things to get into.

Off to do some more online searching...

Congratulations Amy!!! We had our first 3 children in 3 years and then 5 1/2 years later were pleasantly surprised with #4. We hated for her to be all alone and our 5th came along a couple of years later. We also had gotten rid of all of our baby things after our third child.
Our last two children came at the end of the school year, so it didn't really disrupt things much, we were basically wrapping things up by that time.
Not only did I have that "cleaning madness" where I tried to get everything checked off of my list, cleaned, and in order, I was cramming school down my children's throat so we would have minimal school work after the baby came.
We really appreciated a gym?? that the baby would lay under with toys hanging down and an exersaucer when they were a little bigger. However, with the ages of your children, I think you will have plenty of arms to hold this little one.
I am excited for you!!
Blessings,
Mindy

OK:

So far, Deanna has recommended a bouncy seat and Mindy K recommended a "gym" and an exersaucer.

Anyone have any recommendations as far as "wraps", "slings", etc.?

What about infant car seats? (The possibilities are endless...and the prices are astronomical. It's hard to decipher all the details.)

How much do you use a "pack and play"? We used to have one and really only used it when traveling...but maybe I'd use one more this time with homeschooling and the upstairs/downstairs floorplan in this house.

Thanks again!!

Congrats!

I'd recommend the Moby D baby wrap. I've tried many and this doesn't bother my back as much and can be used up to 35 pounds.

I'd also recommend looking for a baby swing that runs on batteries. They're wonderful!

I'd encourage a baby seat with a stroller. It'll save your back. (Look at gently used stores or see if your church has a moms group. We received a new car seat for our youngest by letting people know we were looking for one and we received it for free.)

I'd recommend planning to school 6-8 weeks after baby is born. Slowly add in subjects and just do the basics. As baby gets older, you can add more things.

BTW--With the ages of your children, you might end up having to schedule time to hold your little one, LOL. They'll enjoy having a baby around.

quote:

Originally posted by Amy Byron:
OK:

So far, Deanna has recommended a bouncy seat and Mindy K recommended a "gym" and an exersaucer.

Anyone have any recommendations as far as "wraps", "slings", etc.?

What about infant car seats? (The possibilities are endless...and the prices are astronomical. It's hard to decipher all the details.)

How much do you use a "pack and play"? We used to have one and really only used it when traveling...but maybe I'd use one more this time with homeschooling and the upstairs/downstairs floorplan in this house.

Thanks again!!

Yes I forgot about the exersaucer, got to have one of those. I have never had much luck with slings but might try the Moby wrap this time.

I never used a playpen much at home, they just never seem very content in it for long. Maybe if it had "special" toys in it.

As for an infant seat I have decided to get this one - Graco Snugride 32 it is the only infant seat I have seen that goes up to 32 pounds. I think they are safer rear facing as long as possible.

Hope you are feeling well.

I have to jump in on this thread because we, too, were pleasantly (at least, eventually) surprised by a baby in our old age. We already had six and had given every last baby thing away when we learned that God was giving us one more! After my doctor visit today, we now have next Thursday on the calendar as the day I'll be induced if nothing happens before then. I'm 45 and my husband will be 50 in May, but we are nevertheless thankful for one more child to pour ourselves into for God's glory.

We have been so blessed with friends from church giving us whatever we have need of. We had given most of our baby stuff to our local crisis pregnancy center and feel that God has graciously provided everything that we need for this new little one. I would encourage you to let your needs be known and allow the Body of Christ to step in and minister to you.

As far as maternity clothes go, I was dismayed to find very little that was modest and have actually made it through my whole pregnancy with only purchasing two pair of maternity pants! Then I found two tops at Wal Mart for about 6 or 7 dollars that were that "baby doll" look (can't imagine wearing them if you WEREN'T pregnant!)and that has managed to be enough. Around the house, I've just worn big sweats and sweatshirts and no one has cared.

So all of that is to say: you can make it because God will provide what you need! I can't believe we're already to the end of the 9 months. What a privilege it is to be blessed in this way when we weren't expecting it. I'm glad God doesn't leave us in charge!

God bless you in this change of life!

Congrats, Amy!
When I had #5, I believe we took two weeks off of school, and we did start the school year two weeks early to make up for it. Our home also has an upstairs/downstairs plan. Once the baby was moving around, we found a gate to be indispensable. (I never used a play pen either.) And while he was still tiny, our baby swing was used a LOT!

By the way, as long as your little one is getting up at night to eat, don't hesitate to lie down for awhile yourself in the afternoon! You'll probably need to do this while pregnant, too. (Hey, my youngest one is 5, and I STILL need a short nap in the afternoon when I can get it! )

Michelle

Well I have to say the SleepyWrap has been wonderful. I only used a hip rider with my 5 sons but my daughter wanted to be close so this was wonderful I could carry her all day without it bothering me at all. I didn't carry her all day except for special trips, vacation and such when we were going to be out and about all day. What sets it apart from the Moby and others is there is a stretch but not too much. You tie it on then put your baby in when you need it. If you feel it is losing its elasticity at all, just wash it and it springs back to life.

I usually get back to school after a week or two. And I normally try to start school a week or two earlier just in case I need a little more time, and schedule my breaks in light of the impending delivery.

We were recently blessed with baby #5! He is now 2 months old. Right now I am homeschooling 6th, 3rd, 1st and have a 4 year old. I planned to teach until the baby was born and then take 3 weeks off. We started a couple of weeks early in August. We ended up actually taking off 8 weeks and just started back to school last week. Being that I just turned 40 and don't have the energy that I used to and our little one had some weight gaining issues so we were nursing every two hours around the clock, I just couldn't get it all together to start back up. My advice would be to just be flexible in case something does come up to delay you getting started back up. It stressed me out at first that we were taking so much time but a wise mom suggested that I just relax and let our family focus on each other for awhile. Now that we started back, we are covering most subjects and working more in each week. When my four year old was born in late October, we ended up waiting to start back to school after the new year. However, it is easier to catch up when you have K and 2nd grade work. If your kids are self starters and work well independently, you could schedule some things for them to continue working on after baby is born.

I have the New Native Baby Carrier sling and it is working out pretty well. I can't wear it for more than about 30 minutes at a time however because even 9 lbs gets heavy after awhile. I am borrowing an Ergo baby carrier to try out and I think I will be buying on of those. We have a Fisher Price Calming Vibrations bouncy seat that is very nice. It reclines to be like a papason chair/bed. He likes to nap in it and then it can be a rocking bouncy seat when he wants to be in that. We also have a Graco battery operated swing that my cousin gave me that plays classical music. He likes that also. We are using a borrowed infant carrier car seat until it warms up and then we will be switching to the First Years True Fit Convertible Car Seat that we bought. It goes rear facing to 35 pounds and then they can fit in it forward facing longer than our old seats.

It really helps to have the 12 and 10 year olds that can help hold him when I need to get something done and he is fussy.

I forgot...clothes. I do like the new style of pants, with the lower band that goes under the belly vs. the older full panel type. However, newer shirts are short and don't work well with low pants. I bought several of the spaghetti strap type tank tops that work for layering and I would wear them under my shirts. At first I could wear them as a layer but as the baby grew, I would need to tuck them into my pants. I don't know how big the town is where you live but I bought most of my clothes from a consignment store and a thrift store. If you have a local freecycle group, that would be a good place to ask for maternity clothes, baby clothes and other baby type items you might need (www.freecyle.org).

Oh Happy Baby Days! =)) My little surprise is now almost 15 months...his older brothers are 15 and 16. I will say hs'ing has been a challenge...we all just adore this little guy and have a hard time paying attention to our work instead our little guy. My olders guys adore him and I would have it no other way.

I love our pack-n-play. We use it for a playpen each morning for about 1 hour. We started when he was just laying down in it and now he plays...we worked up to an hour. My older guys did this as well.

Hope all goes well.

Blessings,
Barb