Hospital Bag Packing List for Planners and Procrastinators

As anyone reading this blog can collect, I am a planner. I like having control, and I use that as a means of managing my anxious tendencies.  Knowing details and preparing for different situations always helps me focus on the bigger picture when it comes to handling stressful situations.

The "hospital bag" question is all the rage on forums, in pregnancy groups, across blogs.  We definitely aren't going to reinvent the wheel here, but rather I hope to give some hope to others who are grappling with the need to prepare, but also realize that a lot of things will probably be superfluous or impractical to pack ahead of time.

2 Phase Approach

So, I offer you the solution I've settled on:

Break your "hospital bag" prep into two phases or stages. Phase 1: Bug-Out Bag. Phase 2: Full-term bag.

This approach works best for me, but that is given that I have had a very low-risk pregnancy (following my fight with hyperemesis gravidarum). My doctor, insofar as doctor's predict, doesn't foresee pre-term labor happening in my case.  Baby has measured on track from the beginning, my tests and screens have all been normal, and I've maintained a healthy diet and exercise routine following getting my sickness under control.  Of course these things can all change instantly, but given these circumstances, I am comfortable with prepping in the way I'm going to describe!

Phase 1: "Bug Out" Bag

I really wanted to pack a glorious bag to share with everyone at the start of this achey, breaky third trimester. I did, but even inside my deepest over-planning fantasy it struck me that more than likely I had another 2 or 3 months left in this pregnancy. 

So, after some frustration with myself, I decided that instead I would prep a bag in case something did happen unexpectedly-- i.e. in case I ended up in a pre-term labor situation. 

In my case, it's my "bug out" bag, because there is no way predictable but there are definitely some essentials that would be necessary. In my mind, this situation would occur prior to 36 weeks, and in those cases the baby is almost always kept in NICU for a longer period than the mother is admitted to the hospital.  In my mind, that means that there's going to be way more driving back and forth between the hospital for my husband and I, so the need for many things we'd otherwise want is irrelevant.

My essentials in this bag are:

• a phone charger
• deodorant
• insurance cards
• pair of cozy socks
• pajamas (old pair for post labor)
• change of clothes
• Bible
• toothbrush and toothpaste

Phase 2: Full-Term Bag

This is the bag I plan on packing around 36-37 weeks.  It'll have some of the things that I seek more out of comfort than anything as well as things for my husband and baby.

Clothing

• 2 sets of maternity pajamas to wear after giving birth
• nursing bras
• nice-ish robe to wear over pajamas when we have visitors
• fuzzy, non-skid socks (these are in my shopping cart)
• super cozy (big) underwear
• loose dress (to wear home) 
• maternity leggings to go under dress 

Baby Items

• baby girl's homecoming outfit
• cute receiving blanket to take pictures of her during hospital stay
• cute hat
• breast pump! I'm going to take advantage of the lactation consultant my hospital provides and get help with it

Misc. Items

• Bose Bluetooth Speaker: to play music through while laboring
• multi-USB plug in: for phone chargers and other electronics
• Camera: (I have a Canon that I love to use for actual memorable moments); this may or may not get used very much, but if I'm feeling well enough I hope to get some decent photos of her during our stay
• Laptop: either for my husband or myself; check ahead to see if your hospital has internet! We have a birth announcement template that we plan on filling in and using for social media

Beauty/Toiletries

• Coconut oil has been my go to during the pregnancy because a) I've been stretch-marking like wild,  b) coconut oil doesn't have a smell like most other lotions and moisturizers, and c) I hate the feeling of dry skin and lips! I'm sure that after that first shower post-labor I will want to slather it on.  Usually I just use a giant container we got on sale at Kroger, but I'm running out of that and we have a backup container of this from amazon!
• Ponds cold cream cleanser and moisturizer: my go-to's for washing and moisturizing my face
• Basic makeup: foundation, powder, blush, mascara; I know people are of different camps about whether or not this matters/should matter, but I know I will feel so much more confident and comfortable if the inevitable pictures don't feature me with a blotchy face. Particularly, I know my sensitive skin and I'll probably be 7 shades of red and uneven following labor 
• Deodorant, Toothbrush kit, Shampoo, and Conditioner: I'm not too picky about these things, and will probably switch over the travel sizes from the bug-out bag when I get close to time. 
• Also, I picked up a super cheap toothbrush kit like this from Was-Mart for around $.97!!! 

Things I Catch Myself Thinking: 2nd Trimester Edition

I thought I'd bring in a little update on my current thought process for everyone while I prepare more posts on what I've been up to (gardening, yard work, baby prep, and school).

The second trimester has brought way more good days with it than the first one did, so I am thankful. However, these are the common thoughts of my days:

Can I take another bath today?

Self-explanatory.

All I want when I am tired and cranky is to hop in a bubble bath with a little snack and a cold drink. Snack and drink since becoming pregnant are typically grapes and a Diet Dr. Pepper, but it's still heavenly. 

Recently on days when I don't have all of my classes (remember me talking about how smart I was for scheduling all of my classes so that I had constant 4 day weekends? Go ahead, say "we told you so"), I've been succumbing to a bath by 12 or 1 pm, and then desperately wanting to take another as 7 or 8 rolls around.  I don't want to waste more water than I already am, but geez is it tempting.

Where is the energy burst?

Articles talk about the heavenly 2nd trimester. The trimester where you go back to not really feeling pregnant.  I call BS, like, major BS. 

A) my morning sickness is never going to go away (melodramatic perhaps, but we're at week 20 and going strong), and B) I'm as tired if not more exhausted than I was during the first trimester outside of the whole puking all the time thing.  

I don't know if it's just the hormone fluctuations and these are just the awesome headaches that people warn you about OR if it is compounded by the Zofran I take so that I can eat and not look like a starved, pregnant zombie, but these headaches send me running for a pillow.

Why won't you move?!

This one really preyed on my impatience. It wasn't until Week 19 that I felt anything for sure, and then it was just what I described as a little bubble popping.

A lot of people on my Facebook pregnancy group seemed to be feeling strong consistent movement way before then, and it drove me crazy that I wasn't feeling anything.

Why won't you STOP moving!!

I said the movement started at 19 weeks, well it did and it never stopped.  Ever since she started making herself known each day brings stronger little kicks and nudges.  This week my husband was finally able to feel one of the kicks, and it was amazing! 

That being said, I'm so happy she's active and happy.  Sometimes she catches me off guard while I'm in class and I can't help jumping just a little bit. I imagine as the third trimester gets here and progresses this may get a little annoying, haha. 

My Favorite Free Baby Things!

Confession: I love a good deal. I love promotional items, I love sales, and I absolutely adore free things.

A few months ago we walked into the newly opened War-Mart and greeters were handing out free bottles of Vitamin C gummies.  It totally made my day despite the fact that I was extremely morning sick and hadn't been able to stomach anything but saltines in at least 3 days.

That's how much I love getting free things, and it is what brings me to my favorite aspect of baby prepping so far......

Samples and boxes of free baby items. 

There are lots of sites and click bait out there advertising free products and give aways.  A ton of them are fake, but I am here to tell you the easy to get and proven offers! I even took pictures of what I received! 

My Slice of Paradise: Starting a Garden

Our first year of marriage was tumultuous.

Not because of personal conflicts or dealing with the mythical honeymoon phase, but because in the span of that year we moved 4 times (5 if you count both of us moving into the studio apartment we started in).

We set up roots in a tiny studio apartment the size of our bedrooms. 3.5 months later we packed everything up and journeyed off for my husband's first round of training as an officer. 5 months after that we found ourselves in my mom's house (she is a saint) as a sort of layover until we received law school offers and made our choice.

Finally, as a matter of fateful coincidence, we were able to move into my in-law's rental home. They are great landlords, and we're so thankful for the deal we get on our little home. We're lucky that we have a short drive to school, a huge backyard for the pups, and plenty of room-- especially with our new addition on the way.

Parting Ways with Your Childhood Best Friend & All the Ways It Sucks

I'll apologize slightly for the tone of this if you're looking for some cheer, but the world doesn't seem to be dishing much of that out currently.  You know what they say, when it rains it pours.  I've been going through a pretty big underlying shift over the last few weeks regarding this topic, and I realized a lot of people deal with it.  I wanted to get some of the emotional baggage off my chest when it comes to very consciously cutting the string to your childhood best friend.