I hit the 9 month/36 week mark on Saturday, and last week was a frenzy of shopping and errands in an attempt to cross some baby prep items off of my to-do list. I showed you my apartment just a few weeks ago, and already it’s looking very different!

I finally made my way up to Ikea, and then stopped by a resale shop called Kid to Kid, TJMaxx + Ross, and Walmart. All of my shopping was done over a period of two days, and I came home absolutely exhausted each time. Why did I put all of this off until I hit 9 months? This is not something I would recommend to others. :)

My very favorite purchase is the chair I found in the as-is section of Ikea for $45. It rocks just the tiniest bit and looks so cute in our bedroom (I really wanted to avoid buying something hideous off of Craigslist if I could help it, as I like having a clean, well-decorated bedroom). The blue stuffed giraffe is going to be used for T1′s month by month pictures, and the super soft mini rug thrown over the back of the chair was a splurge I couldn’t resist after my friend Bethany wrote about how much she loves hers. I’ve already spent a lot of time in this corner and I’m in love with the setup.

Our biggest baby related purchase to date is the futon. Our couch is broken (I sat on it a little too quickly and my 200 lb pregnant frame was more than our discount store couch could handle) and so we purchased this both because we are expecting a lot of guests within the next few weeks, and because we are thinking we’ll swap out our broken leather couch for this dorm-room style fabric covered futon from Ikea. Not ideal for me but it works.

Although I’m not sure it will stay in this area, I have a diapering station set up in the corner of the office, with pad, cover and basket from Ikea, and drawers filled with cloth diapers. I’ll write up a post soon detailing what I’ve purchased for cloth diapers so far (I hope it all works out!).

Of course my favorite activity was folding and hanging up the baby clothes. T1′s wardrobe still seems a bit small, but I’m guessing those attending my baby shower will help round things out a bit, and that my mom will want to contribute as well when she comes down. Walmart only had pink hangers so that’s what I bought! The two red outfits and the yellow one were bought at Kid to Kid for a dollar each. Amazing, no?

I also bought a dresser at Ikea, which we’ve put in our closet as I realized it made the most sense to just have baby share with us instead of relocating everything from the office closet. Ohhh, and that stack of white you see on top of the dresser on the left side? That’s That 1′s first outfit! I bought a layette, hat, and blanket, all matching, at the Farmer’s Market this weekend. Our new baby will look so sweet wrapped up in it!

Another as-is Ikea find was this wooden shelving unit, for $30. I stocked up on towels and washcloths for the birth, and I”ll fill the basket on top with baby wash and other such necessities. The trash can to the left? Our cloth diaper pail! I’m still not sure this is the place we’ll want to keep it, we’re going to play it by ear and see what spot is the most convenient for us when we start changing diapers.

Also, how adorable are these booties? Erin sent them to me and I guarantee you they will be making an appearance in one of the many newborn shoots I That 1 will be experiencing in the first few weeks of life.
I still have a really long list of things to buy, but after a full weekend of shopping and organizing I’m feeling closer to being ready. I’ve crossed off all the items on my must-have-for-birthing list, and now it’s time to focus on tubs, saline solution, a play yard, and a few other things. What a process!

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