The Nursery

When our son Casey was born, we were completely unprepared. Don't get me wrong-- we were emotionally more than ready. But we didn't have anything set up. No crib. No basinet (no idea if I spelled that right. . .). No diapers. No baby carrier. No stroller. No toys. No clothes. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero. You see, Casey's arrival was such an unknown-- if it was going to happen and when-- if he'd be a boy or a girl. I couldn't stand the thought of having a nursery all set up to stare at as I passed by every day with no knowledge of whether or not it would ever be filled. When Angie, his amazing birthmother, told us she wanted us to parent her child, we were leaving for a vacation the next day (literally, I think). So off we went. She wasn't due until a week after we returned, so we figured we had time to get things cleared with our employers and to set up a nursery. But Casey arrived a week early-- while we were still on vacation. And most of you know that story. Needless to say, we were a little underprepared for his arrival. Jason returned to San Diego before me, and my brother loaned us his basinet. We bought the stroller and carrier/carseat in Ohio, and generous relatives provided us with the basics while we waited approval to leave Ohio to return to San Diego. So all was fine.

Enter adoption #2. This time we put off setting up the nursery. Sort of. We did paint the room last summer (in August, actually). Well, we mostly painted it. I still have to finish the corner where the two colors meet. And this time we put it off because, well, we use the room as a guest room/ station for wayward clean laundry. (You know, the clothes you pull out of the dryer but don't bother to fold. Or the ones you actually fold but then don't put away. It's become sort of a dressing room for us at times.) Plus, not knowing when Marcie would come-- or if Marcie would even be a girl . . . so we put it off.

Here we are, though-- probably about a month away from traveling (or perhaps a little less), and the room still isn't ready. But we're making definite movements. We had the carpets cleaned on Saturday. Today we bought a new crib mattress, a pack n play (which Marcie will sleep in, next to our bed, at least for the first few weeks), a pack n play mattress (they come with such flimsy ones), and a diaper champ (I'm not a huge fan of the diaper genie, so I figured we'd give this one a shot). I have washed the curtains and the quilt from the crib set. I still have to wash the bumper and the crib sheets. And I can't find the crib skirt. But I think I probably will.

We still have to put the new moulding in (read "we" there as "Jason"). I still need to wash all the fantastic clothing people have generously gifted us. And we need to rearrange the furniture. Truth be told, though, I want the nursery done just so I don't have to worry about it when we return. Since Marcie will be sleeping in our room, I doubt she'll care if her bedroom has a hamper and a diaper genie-- or even a crib. But it's nice to make some progress.

When we get it finished, I'll be sure to post some pictures . . .