the purge has begun

And when I say "purge", I mean make room for all the stuff we need for Bertha. Yesterday evening and today were spent cleaning out our bedroom to have space for the pack&play where she will sleep for the first few months. I got rid of enough clothing to enable us to donate one of our dressers (and the clothes, too) to the local battered women's shelter. My rule was if that item of clothing had not touched my body in the past year, it was out the door; and for the most part, I stuck to it. We then rearranged (and by we, I mean Timon and one of the youth from church) the other dressers and lo, there is room for the pack&play. I feel good about what got done. I now feel like I can go on my trip next week with a sense of having done something to get ready for Bertha.

And then I look at the rest of our to-do list and feel sadly behind. Let's take a gander:
build platform for Henry's bed (Timon's going to do this next weekend while I'm gone)
move bookshelf into m&t's room
clear shelf in H's room for baby clothes
move changing table
assemble crib
move Living Room bookshelf to Dining Room
assemble swing
unpack unisex newborn clothes
prepare freezer meals for after baby comes
meet with doula Robyn again
And the doozy - purchase the rest of the baby items we need.

That one basically needs its very own list:
carseat & extra base
carseat swing frame
prefold cloth diapers & covers
a few all-in-one cloth diapers
a couple of bottles
nursing bras
rent breast pump from children's hospital

I'll keep you posted on our progress, which is sure to be slow and steady, since we'll have to fit this all in with work (several big events and extensive preparations for maternity leave), my last bit of travel for quite some time, Timon and Henry's vacation, and who knows what on earth else will come up between now and Bertha's arrival. I am predicting a birth on September 20. 2 months and counting.