my bags are packed, i'm ready to go

First things first: congratulations, Marissa and TJ on the birth of your beautiful baby girl, Carly!! Mike and I are so excited to announce that our new niece has finally made her grand arrival into the world. We can't wait to meet her, and have been oohing and aahing over the adorable pictures of her that have come our way--isn't she just gorgeous?


Look at those cheeks!! Right now I think she looks like Marissa, but we'll see how she looks after more than a few hours out of water.

Other than waiting anxiously by the phone for news about how new mommy and baby are doing, Mikey and I have spent our weekend doing some light baby preparations of our own. Baby Moohoo's car seat is in the Jeep and ready to take her for a ride, and one of the wonderful nurses from our birthing unit even made a special trip to meet us in a local Rite Aid parking lot to give it an official safety check this morning. It's a good thing, too... we had completely screwed up the installation process and probably would have sent Moohoo flying out the window if we hadn't received a second opinion. Thankfully, we're now good to go.

Our other project this week was to get our bags all packed up for our upcoming trip to the hospital. Seems like a simple task, but it took a lot of time and thought to make sure there was nothing essential that we were forgetting... and now that Marissa has freshly gone through a couple of nights after childbirth, I'll be waiting for her recommendations so we can squeeze some more essentials in there!



First off, Baby Moohoo's bag o' birthing vitals. She was pretty easy to pack for--while we're at the hospital she'll be diapered, clothed, and swaddled without any interference from us. The above bag has a few extra diapers, her going-home outfit (including hat, mittens, and fleece outerwear), a spare receiving blanket, and my boppy pillow to help us get comfy while we figure out breastfeeding together.

My bag was a little more complicated... Most importantly, we have a folder of all of the random paperwork we need to have with us. We've already filled out our admission paperwork, but there are some random privacy forms and insurance papers that we needed to fill out at home and bring back with us. The above folder has all of those essentials along with an extra copy of our birth plan, several hypnobirth guided imagery scripts, and some of the printed materials we got during our labor support and breastfeeding classes that we thought would be good to have as references while I'm in early labor and after Moohoo is born.

The biggest recommendation we got from both our midwife and our hypnobirth instructor was to make sure that we packed plenty of stuff to keep me hydrated during labor. In fact, Mike's role during labor was boiled down to the following tasks: get me to pee, move, and stay hydrated. We think we've got the hydration stuff covered with a big case of water and my favorite flavor of vitamin water, which I have avoided during pregnancy because it's so sugary... childbirth seems like a good excuse to treat myself to something deliciously sweet, so in the bag it goes!

Above is the pile of stuff I jammed into my hospital bag that will hopefully be all I need to keep relatively comfortable during and after labor. A big bag of mini-toiletries, including lots of chapstick; fluffy socks with grippy soles (and slippers courtesy of my friend Renee!); pajamas; loose-fitting stretch pants (a must-have according to my friend Tylea); a nursing bra that should fit me through the first couple of days before my milk comes in; nursing bra pads; humongous overnight sanitary pads to add to the pile that I'll get while in the hospital as my body essentially drains itself of lochia, a post-partum mixture of blood, mucus, and placental tissue; a deck of cards and a box of Trivial Pursuit quiz cards to keep me distracted and entertained when necessary; and, finally, a big pile of cd's to help keep me relaxed and motivated through labor. The music I have on hand is a pretty random mix--several relaxing cd's courtesy of my father (nature sounds, blues, and easy listening), as well as a bunch of mix cd's that range from low-key (Ray LaMontagne, my girl Jewel, and James Taylor) to high-adrenaline energizing (Jay-Z, Michael Jackson, ODB, and, of course, Salt'n'Pepa's "Push It").

We'll have some last-minute items to throw in once I'm actually in labor, like our cameras, laptop, and extra pillows. We're definitely ready for baby girl to get here, and now I think we are more than ready for the 48 hours with her that we'll spend away from the comforts of our own home. I can't wait to see the looks on the OB staff's faces as we lug in all of our "essential' labor items and start blasting rap while I make myself at home in the delivery room.