Hello my Gals! 😁😘

⏳⌛It’s getting so close! I can’t believe soon we’ll be welcoming little Michael Antonio into our family! 👪👨‍👩‍👦‍👦💙💚

I’m excited, but also nervous! I’ve been through it all before, and my first delivery went more or less perfectly, but just like each pregnancy is different, every labor is different, so I can’t be sure how this time will go. 😐😐

(btw if you read the link, so sorry about the formatting! Haven’t had a chance to fix it yet…)

I’m also petrified of c-section rn. 😰😰😰 Of course dying in childbirth is still a concern, but for some reason this time I’m particularly worried about having to have a c-section. I really don’t want to have to go through that. 🙏🤞

But I know I’m in God’s hands and He will carry me through regardless. 💖💯

So having been through this once before, I thought I’d do a post on my hospital bag.

Because you know, there’s a shortage of those types of blogs/vlogs. 😂😅🤷‍♀️

But hey, maybe I have something they don’t? I think it’s good to get a few different perspectives on things anyway!

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👀Looking Back🔙

They say it’s better to be over-prepared than under-prepared, but in the case of the hospital bag, sometimes less is more.

👶💐🎁I actually overpacked the first time, and we ended up getting a lot of flowers and gifts from visitors at the hospital, not to mention free swag from the hospital itself. So all of this combined with the new baby we had in tow, we ended up needing to make a few trips to and from the car. 😪😪

We’ll be going to the same hospital as with our first, and we actually moved to a place that’s literally a 30 second drive from it, 🙌🙌 so we are fortunate that if we forget something my husband can quite literally walk to our house to get something and be back within 15 minutes. 😄😄

Still, I’m tryna be as prepared as possible, you know?

‼Quick Pro Tip: I recommend calling ahead to the hospital or center you plan on delivering at and asking them if they provide any supplies for you and/or the baby, and then plan on having some extra space in your bag, or a separate tote entirely to be able to bring home some extras. 👜🎒🧳

Or if you really don’t want to end up lugging additional things home with you, just gently let people know if you don’t need/want anything extra, and that their presence is present enough! 😘😘

🏥I also highly recommend seeing if they offer a tour of the maternity ward. My husband and I did this with Vinny and it really helped me feel more at peace when the time actually came. 😌☺

Anyway, on with it!

👜The Bag💖

I found this little guy on Poshmark, a used clothing app that I’m currently obsessed with! (#notspon) It was super cheap, and I only had to pay half shipping after using credit I had from selling clothes on the app! 🤩🤑

Supposedly it’s a an original throwback PINK dufflebag, which I took to mean one of the first promotional totes they give you with a certain dollar amount in purchases. 👍 I haven’t been able to verify this, but that wasn’t a huge deal to me anyway. I just thought it was spacious and cute, and would fit everything I need this time, with even a little bit of room to spare. 😊😊

🤱Mama’s Essentials✅

💘I got a cute little Valentine’s Day robe/top from Poshmark–another Victoria’s Secret piece (I’m a little bit of a sucker for VS/PINK 😅😅). It was only $5! 🙌🙌 I know it’s going to be way too short to wear as a robe, so I plan to wear it as a nursing top with some leggings. I just thought it would be cute to wear since we’ll likely be meeting our newest little cherub around Valentine’s Day💝

I also have my robe from the first time I went to the hospital if I need something a little warmer. It’s also very comfy. I got it on sale at Motherhood Maternity the week before I had Vinny.

I brought just a couple pairs of big, old underwear I don’t mind having to say goodbye to worst case scenario just in case. My hospital provides a pretty generous amount of disposable underwear, so I’m just bringing a couple pairs as backup.

I also brought a comfy nursing bra. It’s not very supportive, but it’s comforable and that’s top priority after having a baby and your bewbs are sore af. 😖🤕

I have these IceWraps cold/hot packs for pretty cheap on Amazon for my b00bz as well, in case they get sw0l.

I’m bringing my pair of kitty slippers I wore last time so I have something to walk around in. I have a pair of–you guessed it–Victoria’s Secret slippers from–you guessed it again–Poshmark.  😂😂😂Last time my kitty slippers didn’t fit quite right from swelling, so I picked up some actual slippers in a slightly larger size than I typically wear for shuffling around my recovery room.

💄I will be grabbing my makeup/toiletries bag filled with my makeup essentials, hair ties, chapstick, a small hairbrush, and some hotel-sample sized shower stuff. I have some delightful tea-tree shampoo and some calming lavender body wash to help soothe my nerves once I’m able to take a shower. 😌✌ I’m also going to bring my VS PINK (LOL) sponge to help me feel more at home.

 

 

I also have a couple pairs of dark leggings and tank tops to go with my nursing robes/tops, along with my going home outfit, which consists of a loose tank top, comfy shawl, and my nicest maternity leggings. Something comfortable and flattering for my postpartum body. You still look pregnant when you leave, so don’t bring your goal outfit with you! Trust me, comfort over everything! 👍💯

I have three days worth of prenatal vitamins to take at the hospital to take as I begin my nursing journey. I’m determined to make it work this time…

👶Baby’s Essentials✅

Of course I have his going home outfit that I showed you in a previous post but I also brought a couple more warm things just in case. 😙😙

I also brought some extra scratch mittens because newborn nails are little but fierce! 😬😬Vinny ended up scratching himself up pretty good the first few months of his life when I was too afraid to clip his nails and filing didn’t work very well. 😰😓

The hospital provided a few white half-onesies with scratch mittens on them last time, and I’m going to actually take these home with me because now that I think about it, I don’t think they reuse them and I put them in the linen basket last time. Missed opportunity! 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

I brought a few pairs of socks for his little feet, too. 👣

I will also be bringing a couple of swaddles from when Vinny was born. The hospital provided us with a sleep sack last time, but we already have so many I’m going to tell them to hang on to it for someone who might really need it.

I have a blanket and some burping cloths as well for nursing and in case he needs a little extra warmth.

We’re taking a Boppy with us to help make nursing a little bit more comfortable. I just wrap it around my armpits and cradle the baby to me in a football hold, 🏈 as that’s the most comfortable for me. I might do a post later on about how nursing went the second time and what I wish I knew before. Hit like if you would be interested in reading about that! 😜

I brought a couple of newborn diapers and a travel pack of wipes just in case, but again the hospital provided all of that for us so I didn’t go too crazy.

🧔Daddy’s Essentials✅

🤷‍♂️Generally speaking, the husband’s hospital bag is pretty low maintenance–a change of clothes, pajamas, his wallet, and maybe some snacks and water. But it depends on the person! Your husband or boyfriend or whoever your support person is might feel like they need more than you do! It’s up to them what they bring, but generally, the aforementioned will just about cover it. 👍

👜My husband always has this “bug-out bag” prepared for himself in his trunk in case he gets stuck somewhere, with a change of clothes, a towel, and a bag of toiletries. I don’t have a picture, but if you can imagine an old, beat-up green dufflebag with leather straps, that’s it! 😅

👝👛We’ll both have our wallets on us and they will both be in this bag as well. I’m also having him take an extra towel for me. 😙

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I think that’s about it! It seems like a lot, but it’s about half of what we brought last time. We mainly overpacked the baby stuff because we didn’t realize our hospital had the hookup, so I didn’t bring much for him this time. 🤷‍♀️

💬Hope this helps a bit! How many of you are getting ready for the big day for the first time? 🤩😍 How many of you have been there, done that? What other sorts of things have you brought with you? Think I’m missing anything? Can I ask any more questions? Let me know in the comments!

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Upcoming content: My Son’s “Home Nursery School” curriculum, Why Time Away From My Son Makes Me A Better Mom, and My (Stay-At-Home) Mom Guilt.