This is the most pregnant I’ve ever been and I’m simultaneously elated and undeniably FULL of baby.
My doctor commented last week that I have a “sizable guy” (which I’ve chosen to ignore) and my husband lovingly pointed out that over the last few days I’ve developed “marshmallow feet.” Mmmm, marshmallows. I might look like a weeble, but I’m so happy to have made it this far–on my feet and still enjoying weekly prenatal yoga classes.
But even as I grow bigger and more uncomfortable and the days on the calendar tick down to my due date, I cannot believe we could be bringing home another baby any day now. I’ve shared about my superstitions and minimalism so we’ve done very little to “get ready” for this baby aside from cleaning the apartment, digging out the newborn clothes, and making room in some drawers.
I decided that I should probably pack a hospital bag. I remember with my firstborn I read a million blogs about what to pack in a hospital bag and showed up looking like we were spending a month in a remote camp with no running water, only to schlep most of the completely unused items back home again, in addition to our new baby.
I’ve tried to keep things simple this time, limited to some comfort items for me and few things for Dad and baby to wear. Here’s what I’ve got:
1. A going home outfit for Mama
2. Nursing tank/Nursing bra
3. 3-4 pairs of (really stretchy) underwear you don’t care about.
4. Toiletries for Mama (shampoo/conditioner/face wash/ shower gel/toothbrush/toothpaste/hair band)
5. Toiletries for Dad and a change of clothes/underwear for Dad
6. Going home outfit for baby
7. Baby nail clippers
8. Swaddle blanket for baby
9. Hats and kimonos for baby–we like to use these for the first few weeks.
10. Camera/battery/compact flash card/iPod/phone/chargers
11. I also bring gum, lanolin, chapstick, a nail file, a pen, a copy of my birth vision, and eye drops (hospitals tend to turn my eyes into the Sahara!)
12. Gatorade and protein bars
Next up on my list is to finish our birth playlist. The first time around, we listened to a playlist on the iPod and once things got intense we turned it off because it was annoying me. This time, I’ve tweaked the playlist a little and was given some wonderful meditation music from my yoga instructor that I hope to use during transition just for some calming background noise (birth playlist #1 “fun and sassy”, birth playlist #2 “shut up and don’t talk to me”).
My favorite song from the playlist is “This Woman’s Work” by Maxwell. It really speaks to me and I love to listen to it when I need a Mama-boost. And “Beautiful Boy” by Ben Harper will forever be the anthem for my firstborn son. I listened to it on repeat during bed rest and it really summed up everything about how I felt at that time. You can listen here to my full playlist:
Now I guess we’re just waiting for me to go into labor, eeeek! We are so incredibly excited to meet this little guy. We continue to pray that he is born strong and healthy. We hope that our son adjusts well to having to share my attention with the baby and that we can all eventually get some sleep.
I want to hear from YOU! What are your hospital bag staples? Do you have any suggestions for our birth playlist?
