Well, I haven’t made good on my promise to write every week. I’m sorry. To tell you the truth, I have been doing other things. Namely cooking up a baby and preparing our home to receive that baby in as much comfort as possible. I knew you would understand.

People who know we live in an RV often ask me lots of questions about where we will put the baby. This makes me smile inside because newborn babies are so tiny, you can really put them anywhere. I used to say (only part jokingly) that baby would be sleeping in the laundry basket. I didn’t think it was such a terrible idea, but it definitely got me some weird looks.

You may be relieved to know that baby does have a bassinet and that everything has come together quite nicely for his or her arrival. I’m amazed at how little we have needed this time around. I don’t know if it’s because this baby is our third or the fact that five people will be sharing 280 square feet of living space, but I just don’t feel the need to fill our home with baby stuff. About half of our small renovations have been for the big kids, to help them be more independent.

It’s been really freeing to keep it simple and only bring in the baby items that will truly add value to our lives. So, for those of you who are curious about how in the world we are making room for baby #3, here are some pictures of what we’ve done. It’s not much, but it makes life comfortable for us and that’s really all we need.

My mom handcrafted these beautiful ladders so we could move our two big kids up to the top bunk and give them more independence. They love being up top together and having the freedom to come down when they need a drink or potty in the night. You can also see we adjusted their bookshelf down a few inches so both kiddos can easily reach it. It’s amazing how a small adjustment like that makes my world so much better. No more crouching down to fetch books or put them away!

bunkladders

bottombunk

The bottom bunk will be baby’s when he or she gets old enough. For now, we will use it for changing diapers and storing stuff. I got each kid a set of three plastic bins that house their folded clothes: undies, pj’s, shorts. This has also given the big kids more responsibility for picking out and putting on their own clothes.

rv_baby_cosleeper

My friend Chelsea gave me this tiny co-sleeper that fits PERFECTLY between my bed and the window. Baby will sleep here for the first few months. My mom built a shelf that goes all the way down my side of the bed for the bassinet to rest upon.

rv-storage-hooks
On the back side of my bedroom door, I have employed an arsenal or command hooks to hold various baby necessities out of the way: diaper bag, Ergo carrier and nursing pillow. The beaver bag holds diapers, wipes and burp cloths.
I hope you enjoyed this little “tour” of our home. Now all we need is baby!