So, in light of all of that, the bringing-my-son-into-this-world adventure has finally begun.  He isn't even due to arrive till December, however we've got A LOT of things to coordinate in the next 6-9 weeks.  Since we thought we'd be moving to Oregon, we'd been in talks with a doula up there, but it looks like we'll still be in the SF Bay for Julian's arrival, so I have to find one here.  I also need to find a VBAC refresher course on birth so as to calm DH's rattled nerves (he's afraid if I try for a vaginal birth I WILL rupture and explode).  The only thing I DO have is a competent, experienced midwife, who came highly recommended not only by people I know here IRL, but by Elisa as well (thank you!).  O, and I know the hospital he's coming at.  There's still the "fun" of paying for all this nonsense since we've been in a battle with our insurance provider over family-out-of-pocket caps and prenatal  payments since I got pregnant in March.

We're not having a shower this time around (I don't really need that many blankets or cutsie clothes, and I have all the slings and diapers I could every ask for...and besides, I've got no one to throw me one).  A good friend's mother made DD (2) a sling for her "babies" as a birthday gift and my mom did buy me one new sling since one of mine crapped out last year:  The lack of shower does mean I've had to spend some time on Craigslist, but I've managed to procure a co-sleeper, infant car seat (one for the car and one to attach to my bike) and a few other things I didn't have last time at reasonable prices.  Our registries are full of cloth diaper-ing solutions, milk storage bags and the one diaper bag I CRAVE because it is a lovely color and huge enough to tote cloth diapers for two and a sling.  There's also a few cute little things I think might be helpful, but nothing major.

The one thing that's killing me, though, is the amount of crap we have. Not just the baby, although that really does add up, but this move has made me realize how much STUFF we have.  DH and I are avid readers and we chose not to unpack all of our books this time, so we've got 20 boxes of books in storage, along with the bookcases and rugs that simply won't fit in this little-tiny apartment.  We also have boxes of pens and clothes and...oh god, there's so much.  Thing is, we TRY to keep our consumption to a minimum, get most of our stuff off craigslist and freecycle (except books, which we buy new, and gifts we receive) or used off of Ebay.   We also donate BAGS of clothes and toys every month (DD has "given  away" in her two years over 12 hefty bags of stuffed animals, and I'm sure it's not affecting her in a negative fashion).  We TRY to keep ur consumption to a low level, I mean, really make a concerted effort, and we've got boxes of CRAP just sitting in a storage until we move up North.

Ick.

So, what can be done to curb the amount of stuff?  We've BEGGED the grandparents to stop buying her random crap (especially in light of the death-due-to-stuff-from-China), and while my mom is getting better, DH's family can't really seem to help themselves.

Also, anyone got any ideas or tips on what to ask my potential doulas in an interview?