Prepping for Baby, Part II-Nesting

Everyone always talks about the intense urge mothers-to-be get when they are pregnant to "nest"-making a comfy home that's baby-friendly. This can also be a symptom of labor. It seems so random, but it's your psyche's way of finishing up any last minute to-do's before the baby arrives. I can't say it happened to me though. Sure, I organized and put things away but I never had any obsessions with getting the apartment ready. If anything, I put things off as late as I could.

Let's be honest, when your baby comes, you really only have to meet certain needs. The baby doesn't care if the jumperoo is set up. He won't be using it till he's 5 or 6 months anyway! He doesn't care if his 12-month size clothes are washed and folded. Babies eat, sleep, poop and cry-if you meet these certain demands, you don't need much else.

• Eating-know how you want to feed your baby but have backup. You don't really need to do anything to prep your boobs for breastfeeding, but if that doesn't go as planned, it's essential to have a plan. Make sure you have a pump and know how to use it or formula if you plan to go that route. You need to have bottles because unfortunately babies don't have the coordination for martini glasses just yet.

• Sleeping-have a plan on where you want your baby to sleep. Chances are it won't work until at least a few weeks or months in. Landon had a crib right next to our bed (it's a one-bedroom apartment), but he still slept in the bed with us for the first few weeks. A lot of people use bassinets or co-sleepers. The likelihood of having your newborn baby sleeping in a crib in a bedroom by himself is slim-to-none, don't fool yourself.

Putting together L's crib. Labor for the price of pizza. I'll take it!

Landy's little corner

• Pooping-have diapers! and wipes! A changing pad is useful too.

L's changing area. Essential for having a clean bottom

• Crying-have a few tricks up your sleeve for dealing with it, although it may take awhile to learn these. I've never watched it, but The Happiest Baby on the Block uses the 5 S's method: Swaddling, Side/Stomach sleeping, "Shush"ing, Swinging and Sucking. Apparently it works!

One last thing I wanted to add for nesting is make sure you have the right wheels! I had a Ford Escape, a small SUV, before Landon. It would've been a great family car except that it had a ton of miles on it. We decided to upgrade to a slightly bigger Ford Edge.

I'm so glad we did, because I don't know how we'd fit a car seat, stroller base, other baby gear and the dog in the car all at once. Even the Edge feels small sometimes.

Did you have any intense "nesting" urges?