The Bag
Baby #4 will be delivered via C-Section in June. There will be no crying, whining or arguing about it...this time. Although I'd prefer a natural water birth (maybe even at home), I've had 2 previous C-Sections and I trust my doctor. I believe his concerns are these: 1. He did not perform my first C-section, and therefore does not know the integrity of the "repair work", 2. He knows from my medical records that their was a small emergency during or right after that surgery that involved lots of blood and 3. I have had 2 previous C-sections which makes another C-section the safest option.
For baby #3 I asked I begged for a VBAC, and he gave me a stern "NO!" and I challenged, "You are going to give me a hard time about this aren't you?!" To which he calmly replied,
"No, I'm not going to give you a hard time...but I'll be there to save your life when you hemorrhage almost to death." CRICKETS... ... ...
YES, many moms have successful VBACs, YES, I'm sure it's possible....YES, I know you may not agree. YES, I'm still a holistically minded mother...Moral of the story: He wins...He's right...the risk isn't worth it considering 2 previous surgeries, a miscarriage and...my age. I'm going with my gut (quite literally) on this one.
I have had 1 vaginal delivery and 2 (almost 3) C-Sections. It's much easier to pack when you know that a C-Section is in your future.
I'm in that stage (28 1/2 weeks) where I feel like I NEED to be doing something, but packing is ridiculous. Aside from that, we are planing on putting our house on the market in the next couple of months. So I don't want to put the crib back up (it just came down 3 months ago) only to have to take it back down for staging the house.
So instead of packing...I plan. I'm making lists, stashing things in my baby registry on Amazon and pinning my head off on Pinterest. Call it nesting....it's all I have right now!
I've broken my hospital bag list into 5 sections...for my own purposes, I've highlighted the things I need or want, but don't have yet. It will make shopping that much easier. So basically, I'm sharing my packing and shopping list.
I'm packing each group of items in those awesome plastic zipper bags that sheet sets come in. This will make it easier for me (or Hubbs) to find anything needed, quickly. I picked up this idea from Kandice at A Cotton Kandi Life (she has an amazing Etsy shop). Go check her out!
So instead of packing...I plan. I'm making lists, stashing things in my baby registry on Amazon and pinning my head off on Pinterest. Call it nesting....it's all I have right now!
I've broken my hospital bag list into 5 sections...for my own purposes, I've highlighted the things I need or want, but don't have yet. It will make shopping that much easier. So basically, I'm sharing my packing and shopping list.
I'm packing each group of items in those awesome plastic zipper bags that sheet sets come in. This will make it easier for me (or Hubbs) to find anything needed, quickly. I picked up this idea from Kandice at A Cotton Kandi Life (she has an amazing Etsy shop). Go check her out!
MY bag:
but first.....Disclosure: (because all the bloggers I read do it!)
I am not a doctor, nor am I medically trained. I use common sense and reading skills to make my own decisions about what is healthy for myself and my family. Anything written here is purely my opinion and is not intended to be medical advise of any form.
Toiletries
- Dr. Bronner's 18-IN-1 Hemp Baby Unscented Pure Castile Soap. You can purchase a 2oz bottle perfect for a hospital bag for $3.19 here. Truthfully, I have not tried this yet, so I'm still researching, but I love all things Dr. Bronner's. If I find something better, I'll replace it on the list later...
- Organic Coconut Oil I'll be using this rather than traditional nipple cream as many popular brands can actually block the milk glands and cause mastitis. OUCH! If you've never had it, trust me....bringing a new baby home is hard enough without fever, chills and extra PAIN. While it doesn't have to put the breaks on your breastfeeding plans, it certainly will not make things easier. Coconut oil is naturally antibacterial/antiviral and a nutritious food....win...win...win. I'll also use the coconut oil on my skin and on baby's skin! No baby cream in pink bottles here! Want to know why I say no to those little pink bottles? You can read about it in an article from HEALTHY CURES. SNOOPS this one all you want too, and you might just find the rebuttal you are looking for, but there is no justification for this in my eyes...but, SNOOP away if you must!
- Lip Balm (I'll probably make my own)
- Make up
- Hair Ties
- Hair product
- Hand/foot lotion
- Toothbrush/toothpaste/floss
- Deodorant Right now, I use Herbal deodorant from Melaleuca and it works great, but I'll be making my own next week. Maybe it will be great!
- Essential oils- I'm still doing my own research about which I feel best about using on myself and our baby, so I'll add more about that later. But, they will be in the bag.
- Naturacare Pads- You can get them for a great price from Thrive Market HERE....please believe me when I tell you these are important....Yes, EVEN with a c-section. No TMI here...Just pack them! You can even wet and freeze them slightly to help with soreness...Padsicle, anyone?!
Clothing
- Pj's
- Socks
- Granny Panties (Trust me on this one)
- Nursing bras/Nursing Tanks- JUST GOT NEW ONES!
- Kangaroo Tank (I'm
consideringjust got this one from HIP MOMMY- Thanks Mema and Pop!) - Belly Band
- Organic, reusable nursing pads (I need to buy new ones, so I'm considering THESE.
- Flip Flops (for the shower- YUCK!)
- Slippers (You WILL BE walking as soon as that epidural wears off and the cath comes out!)
- Sunglasses- For the ride home As much as I hate it, having had my guts cut through twice already, I know that I will need something to take the edge off. Pain killers even in minor doses make me motion sensitive. The sun glasses will help me not to puke on the car ride home.
- Comfortable go-home clothes The rule is: Wear something that would fit you at 6 months pregnant. (You will be swollen and sore even if you deliver vaginally). I'm delivering in late June, so my plan is yoga pants, a nursing tank, flip flops.
Baby
We are letting our baby's gender be a surprise. So neutral colors will probably be most of what I pack. I do plan to pack:
- A hat (neutral)- Although the hospital volunteers usually knit some pretty adorable gender specific hats you can choose from after baby is born!
- Swaddling blankets with velcro (neutral)
- Hand mittens (neutral)
- Socks (neutral)
- Onsies, long sleeved (hospitals are cold), short sleeved (June is hot)
- 1 go-home outfit (girl)
- 1 go-home outfit (boy)
- Receiving blanket (neutral)
- nursing pillow- I never brought this before, but I can see how this should have always been on my list.
- Natural baby wipes
from The Honest Co.-(I'm rethinking this brand after a recent article about the company's lack of testing on certain baby items.) I may just make my own. At home, we use cloth wipes, but while in the hospital, I don't want to use their wipes full of alcohol and other ingredients that can dry out our baby's perfect new skin.
Diaper Bag
- Natural disposable diapers- This will be the ONLY pack of disposable diapers our baby will use, however, it's not very realistic to expect Hubbs to cart our cloth diapers home to wash and cart back. I'll probably try something from Seventh Generation.
- Cloth diapers- For going home. I'm considering a change in brand. Until we know our baby's gender, I'll use some of the more neutral colors from #3.
- Doublers
- Diaper liners
- Wet bag
- Extra go home outfit (neutral)
- Nail clippers
- Natural wipes
Other Stuff
- Camera/charger
- Phones/chargers
- ipad/charger
- Notepad/pen
- Matted picture frame/ markers (for visitors to sign)
- Insurance Cards/info
- Snacks for me (granola, my favorite organic vanilla yogurt from Aldi, hummus, pita)
- Sport Burkey water bottle (I bring my own clean, filtered water EVERYWHERE!) You can buy one HERE. This is one of my FAVORITE things. These filters are so powerful, you can literally filter stagnate pond water in an emergency. My family is fluoride free,
so this will make me feel better about yucky hospital water.UPDATE: THE SPORT BURKEY DOES NOT COME WITH A FLUORIDE FILTER. WHILE ONE CAN BE PURCHASED FOR THE OTHER BURKEY WATER FILTERS, A FLUORIDE FILTER IS NOT YET AVAILABLE FOR THE SPORT BOTTLE. - Large jug of filtered water (I'll send it home with Hubbs for refilling when needed)
- Nurse/Dr. Favors (I'm planning a whole post on this later)
- Gift bags for the siblings (coloring/activity books, crayons/pencils, small toys, juice boxes, snacks. I'll do a post about this later)
- Big brother, big sister shirts (Last time I made these....I may do that again....or maybe I'll buy them...)
- Money (in case I want real food and to pay the photographer)
- Birth Plan (believe it or not, this is probably the most important thing to me so I've already written it and emailed it to Hubbs for his input. If anyone is interested, I'll do a post about that too. I may post my own. ** Click to see our Family-Centered Birth Plan and to find out how to build your own!
OK- That's my bag! When it's all packed and ready, I'll post pictures of it....maybe sometime in May!
Feel free to leave a comment! I'd love to hear your experiences with any of the items listed above or if have specific items you love too!
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