Adapting and adjusting

Today was Saturday. It was mom's and dad's usual day for tiding and organizing the house. It was that time to dust every nook and cranny, de-clutter, arrange, and put away.

It's hard to feel good in a space that isn't neatly organized, don't you agree? 

Sometimes we let the mess build up a little too long. Then the mess begins to slowly nag us, until we're finally fed up. We're forced to roll up our sleeves and do something about it. 

Since Arabella's been home we haven't had much time to do a whole lot. So today we made time.

We're used to living in a clutter free home. We have a relatively tiny house so we're forced to optimize our space to ensure we get the most out of it.

That means less "stuff" so the space feels more open. It means having less "things" around so that we could enjoy more counter space, for instance.

But now we have a new addition to the family, and as lovely as she is, she brought a ton of stuff with her on move-in day 😄

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the cutest of them all?"

"Yes! You are!" 😁

We're almost done organizing Arabella's things. It's just a ton of stuff! We're talking all sorts of toys, various clothes and accessories, a slew of hospital supplies, stacks of documents...it goes on and on. 

You'd be astonished at the amount of storage bins a micro-preemie can accumulate! 😄

Surprisingly, it takes a long time to sort through things and dedicate a specific "home" for certain items. It also takes a while to figure out your own space. 

How do you want to use your area to best suit you and your little one? What items need to be within reach? Which items can be stored out of sight? What makes the most sense?

We ran into all of these questions on day one. 

For example, where do used bottles, nipples, and syringes go? In the sink with the dirty dishes? Or a dedicated space?

It's not the prettiest solution, but at least it keeps things neat and sorted. Once used items are washed with soap and hot water, they are placed into a 'washed only' bin where they are ready to be placed into a steam sterilizer. There's no more confusion, it's much more sanitary, and everything has its place. 

We're finally getting into a groove. We're slowly starting to figure everything out...

We're figuring out this little princess, too. She's adjusting nicely to life at home with mom and dad, and we've seen her make awesome progress with her bottle feeding. Today she finished two entire 65mL bottles!

I think she likes it here...

And we love having her here 😊