As I’m sure you know, we’re busy getting ready for Teeny Peep's arrival around here and I’ve done everything I can think of to do to get our home and family ready for her debut. I have lost my toes, packed our hospital bags, documented the bump growth, sterilized pump parts and bottles, washed new clothes, swaddles, sheets, etc., bought a new car seat and all the new gear we'll need for 2 babies in the house, reread all of my birthing books, pulled out the older baby gear to help get Dutch used to the baby equipment……… Today, I thought I would round up some previous posts about baby prep that I’ve written. But I also wanted to add my amendments to these posts since having a baby AND add to them the things we have done to try and prepare our toddler to be a big brother. I think this update and roundup would probably be beneficial for first-time mamas as well as mamas adding to her chicks.
To start, I posted this picture over the weekend to Instagram and Facebook that we were packed & I wanted to share these packing updates with you.
I remember that I over-packed for the hospital in preparation for Dutch's arrival, but I would not changed a thing about that.
I'm glad that I felt more than prepared for our time at the hospital.
This time I have packed everything on this list, but I have also done a few things differently.
Amendments: Last time I packed labor and postpartum stuff together, but this time I made sure that they were in different bags. Even though I like to labor at home I still have corralled everything into a central location and bag so that I know where everything is for the big day.
Amendments: Last time I packed labor and postpartum stuff together, but this time I made sure that they were in different bags. Even though I like to labor at home I still have corralled everything into a central location and bag so that I know where everything is for the big day.
-In my labor bag I still have everything on the original list (e.g. my scripture cards, birth plan, hair ties, etc.), but I have also added my essential oils (lavender, clary sage, peppermint, en-r-gee, joy, ylang ylang, frankincense, peace & calming, stress away, gentle baby, & valor), my Gentle Babies book, my extra diffuser, and my rice socks & tennis ball socks for pain management.
-In my postpartum bag I have also added my baby wrap so that I can wear Teeny Peep in the hospital, my mothers milk tea so that I can start drinking that right away, and a special new robe.
-For daddy’s bag I have also added sweat pants (because he froze the last time we were in the hospital- oops sorry my love!) and some more organic snacks for the hospital. I also put a post-it note on top of daddy’s bag of the last minute items for him to grab before we leave (e.g. phone chargers, camera, wallets, etc.).
-For the new baby bag, I didn’t remove anything that I packed last time, but I have added special little girl hats and headbands, a natural pacifier, the outfit that big brother picked out for her, a couple gifts for big brother from baby sister when he comes to meet his sister in the hospital (and for entertainment if he is not interested in her at all), little sister’s matching shirt for meeting big brother, a winter hat for going home, and her “just born” sticker for tracking those milestones like we did with big brother. I also washed the car seat cover, added the infant head support, added the completed car seat safety information sheet to the car seat, and the winter car seat cover in case the only day in Houston that it’s cold is the day we’re leaving the hospital.
-This time I also needed to pack a big sibling bag for Dutch to have while we’re in the hospital, and in this bag there is a plan with emergency numbers for while we’re gone, a matching shirt for when he comes to meet his sister, diapers, jammies, his special bear (I have three copies of his bear in case one gets lost that I rotate so that they’re equally “loved” so I can easily pack one without having to worry about forgetting it on labor day), bottles, outfits, shoes, & socks.
