Everett’s physical therapist is out of the country for a few weeks, so we are at home a lot more than usual – which is sooo nice! I am hard-core planning for this new babe set to arrive in April/May 2014.

I want to go with a cradle instead of a co-sleeper in my room this time around. I love the idea of the co-sleeper, but I found it super annoying to not be able to get into my bed easily when I used one with Adele. Plus I don’t like plastic. And, I had to get up on my knees to lift the baby up to put her in, so I might as well have put my feet on the floor to put the baby in a cradle. I also love that the cradle rocks! But I want a white one since it’ll be in my room. I have found several on craigslist for around $50. Plus, Adele would LOVE to put her dolls in it when the baby’s moved to a crib.

And I think I want a rocker/glider/recliner like this one. I know, third baby, I should already have everything I need. And, I do actually have a rocking chair. But, it’s in Everett’s room (this one would be in our room for the first few months) and I don’t totally love it – it’s a vintage rocking chair and the springs are always falling out. I think this one could legitimately go in the living room when it’s not in a nursery. Now, if you know me in real life you know I don’t buy new furniture if I can help it, but I just haven’t seen any cute reclining gliders on craiglist (except for the crazy people who are selling their USED recliner -in an ugly print- for $400!!!), so we may have to actually buy this one from a store. But it’s not as expensive as some. And I think I can use a coupon to make it a lot cheaper.

And then there’s the rocking/gliding ottoman. I already have an ottoman that I use with my rocking chair, but it doesn’t rock with the chair. I got my ottoman for about $10 on craigslist, so I don’t feel bad wanting another one. And, the fabric is in terrible shape but i never got around to replacing it. I actually paid to have a white slipcover made for it, but I cheaped out (tried to save money, but actually wasted money) and bought used fabric for the slipcover, so it shredded after only a few washes.

OK, crib. We already have one (which we bought used when we had Adele and now Everett sleeps in it), but now we need two. And I just really think they should match. I don’t totally love the one we have so I’d like to sell it and get two white Jenny Lind spindle cribs like this one.

I’ve decided that I want to the Bumbleride Indie Twin stroller, which is about $700! Ouch! I know, but I think it’s the best option. I mean, I just can’t picture carrying a newborn and a non-walking 30-pound Everett for any distance. I might be able to sell my almost-five-year-old Phil & Ted’s double stroller to offset the price, but we’ve traveled with it a lot and it’s been stored outside (although in the shade) for several years, so it’s a bit bleached from the sun.

This is the “carrycot” accessory for the stroller, which I think I can find for about $50 used (almost $200 new!!!) for when the baby is a newborn and not sitting up. I know this seems unnecessary but I don’t think it’s healthy to keep the newborn in a carseat (I admit that being a mom of a severely-brain-injured kiddo has made me hyper-sensitive to not hindering brain development in other kids). The carrycot certainly complicates the folding and storage of the stroller – you have to remove it before putting the stroller in the car. But it’s cute, right?

And then there’s the issue of the quilt. Every child of mine (all two of them) has had a baby quilt completely sewn and quilted by momma before they were born.

Here are a few designs that have struck my fancy lately:

This is courthouse steps (I think) or maybe log cabin, but I want to make the mine a little different than in this quilt. Here the greys form the top and bottom of one square while the yellows form the right and left. I would like to have the same group of fabrics touching to form a sort of diamond where the squares meet like the beach pic below. Still not sure what fabrics and colors I would use (especially since we aren’t finding out whether this one is a boy or a girl!!)

I really really really really like this vintage quilt too! I love the solid red and the polka dots mixed with the little patchworks.

I REALLY like this simple and random patchwork. I love the bright colors on this particular quilt in the picture, but maybe that would be hard to replicate???? At least the pattern looks like it would come together really quickly for this busy momma!

OK, I’ve got a grand plan!

I think I could do this (last pic) patchwork for the new baby quilt (before birth) and the courthouse steps for Everett’s big boy quilt (Everett doesn’t have a full-sized quilt yet – since he’s still in a crib). And I could recreate the vintage quilt (with the pinwheely-design mixed with patchwork) for the new baby’s older (big-bed-sized) quilt — like a coordinating set — and I could even use the same size patchwork squares — since I always have extra. This would give me several years to complete the large, more complicated quilts. And I could get the baby quilt done quickly now. awesome!

Any ideas/suggestions/reproofs? Share them in the comments section. I’d love to hear what you think!