My 12 Must Have Baby Items

1. Fisher Price My Little Snuggabunny Swing 

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This has been my favorite item of Zoey's. It provides a safe, snuggly place to put her when I need to grab lunch or get something done. It will also put her to sleep about 9 out of 10 times.

The swing plugs in or runs on batteries which is fabulous because baby toys eat through batteries like you wouldn't believe!

2. Diaper Pail 

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I like the Munchkin Diaper Pail but they're all pretty much the same. The refills are expensive but we can have a stinky diaper in the house for a week and not smell it. Worth every penny.

3. Chicco Stroller Caddy 

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I didn't want to buy this but it's easily one of my favorite items. It's more secure than the car seat attachment on the city mini and it's lighter for those early postpartum days. It's a necessary evil.

4. Multi-Use Waterproof Pads 

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We haven't once changed Zoey on her actual changing pad upstairs. These awesome pads go anywhere and have saved our carpet and sheets MANY times from pee and poop mishaps.

5. Diaper Caddy

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This holds our waterproof pads, wipes, diapers and more. It keeps everything together and follows us around the house so we don't have to make the trip upstairs for her many diaper changes.

6. Activity Gym

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My sister was sweet enough to mail me the one her boys used because they're expensive! This gives Zoey something to stare at besides the ceiling and I feel like she really started enjoying it pretty early on.

7. Bouncer 

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This is how I'm able to shower when I'm on my own and another safe place to put Zoey when I need to do something around the house. It's more mobile than the swing so I can have her with me in whatever room I'm in.

8. NoseFrida 

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I swore up and down that this was the grossest thing ever and I would never ever buy one. Let me tell you, it's amazing. Still gross but it works every time and I'd do anything to help my baby breathe. Plus the snot never makes it past the entrance to the blue tube anyway. Get one.

9. My BrestFriend

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This is better than the Boppy for nursing. It provides a flat surface and buckles on for proper support while breastfeeding. I do still want the Boppy for general lounging though - the My Brestfriend isn't really made for anything other than breastfeeding.

10. Aden and Anais Swaddle Blankets 

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These are great for swaddling, keeping a summer baby warm indoors, covering the car seat, or as a nursing cover. They're expensive but there is no substitution. They're so soft and beautiful. I love them.

11. Motorola Video Monitor

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This is completely necessary for me. Zoey is a very vocal baby so it's nice to see if she's distressed or just making noise without running up and down the stairs to her room. This one is secure since it's a closed system with it's own monitor. You can pan, tilt, zoom, talk through it, play lullabies and view the temp of the room.

12. Skip Hop Diaper Bag

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I love this diaper bag! It's lightweight, has lots of storage pockets and it clips to the stroller for added convenience. Plus it's pretty but not TOO pretty so Chris doesn't mine carrying it.

What are your must have baby items? 

Zoey's Birth

39 weeks

I had my weekly appointment that Wednesday - I was feeling great, no contractions and it was confirmed that there was no progress. My OB kind of chuckled at the fact that I was closed and high and said next week we'd talk about our induction date (likely June 3rd). I left work on Friday looking forward to one last relaxing 3-day weekend with Chris before baby. 

However, I woke up around 4 am and noticed a few "things" were happening. It was incredibly unnerving considering almost exactly a year ago, I woke up early to the start of a miscarriage. Needless to say, I didn't sleep after that. 

That morning as we were getting ready to have brunch with friends, I started feeling some unpleasant contractions but after eating they disappeared. We enjoyed brunch, ran some last minute baby errands and saw the much anticipated X-Men - Days of Futures Past. 

Chris had been anxiously awaiting this movie, unsure if we'd get to see it since it was released so close to Zoey's due date. I was having contractions off and on during the movie but managed to enjoy it thoroughly. We grabbed some groceries afterward and headed home. 

As soon as we laid down for bed Saturday night, my contractions came back. I walked around, did some stretches and bounced on the yoga ball but they didn't go away and seemed fairly regular. I decided to start timing them with the app on my phone. I was sure they'd timed out at the correct 5-1-1 so we made the call to head to the hospital around 3 AM.

3 hours later...we were sent home. My contractions stopped and I was only 1/2 cm.

Chris spent the next two days walking around the neighborhood with me, timing contractions as I laid in the tub, and distracting me with episodes of Warehouse 13 and Merlin on Netflix. That man deserves sainthood for being so amazing to me. 

Chris took these horrible photos of me in labor to show me later. This was Sunday.

This was Monday.

I slept on the couch Sunday night for about 10 minutes at a time. Contractions were non-stop but never consistently spaced. Monday night, we decided Chris had to go to work so after putting in a call to the hospital for sleep advice, Chris loaded me up with Benadryl so I could sleep and left me on the couch with old episodes of How I Met Your Mother. Around midnight, I realized my contractions were 4 minutes apart and I was so tired and in so much pain that I woke Chris up. After showing him the app, Chris insisted we head to the hospital. Although, in my sleep addled state, I was sure that we'd be sent home again.

This time the drive was painful and the contractions did not stop. The nurse's even reacted more seriously when we arrived. They led us straight to an L&D room and had me change into a gown. The nurse checked and told me "you're going to be so happy, you're a 3! I'll go call your doctor but I think you're going to stay and have a baby today." 

Another hour went by and a nurse came in to hook me up to the IV for fluids; that was our clue that we got to stay and have our baby on her due date!! Chris alerted the family and I progressed to a 4 during that hour. I had been loosely planning to go natural but after the weekend of no sleep, pain and the nurse telling me it gets "one million times worse", I ordered the epidural. 

Best decision I ever made. By 3:30 AM I was a 6, pain free and getting the most beautiful 2 hours of sleep ever. The epidural wasn't painful at all. I had full control of my legs and never had trouble walking afterward either.

After the epidural

When I woke up at 5 am, I had progressed to an 8 and the nurse broke my water. After teaching me how to push (only downside to the epi), the nurse and Chris were coaching me through pushing by 6 am. My contractions never regulated and despite upping the Pitocin, I'd push and have to wait 5-10 minutes for another contraction to push again. In between contractions we chatted about 19 Kids and Counting with the nurse and my OB. The whole delivery was an AMAZING experience, very relaxed and quiet the whole time and the epidural really allowed me to fully enjoy the experience.

The first thing I learned about my daughter was that she had hair and it was brunette. The nurse pulled the little alfalfa tuft (she still has it) out for Chris to see. I'm still kind of jealous about his vantage point of the whole deal. I never thought I'd want a mirror but maybe next time...or maybe it's better that I just imagine what's going on.

Finally, at 7:50 AM, she came out into the world and proceeded to poop all over my OB. I heard her cry and my world stopped for a moment. Then I had to make sure she was a girl...I'd been so worried about that for months! I had a few stitches which I didn't feel because my daughter was looking up at me as she lay on my chest. Best moment of my life.

I couldn't have asked for a better experience and as soon as I saw my girl's face, those 48 hours of painful early labor melted away. I'd do it all over again immediately. 

My Hospital Bag

I'll preface this post by saying, every hospital is different and usually provides a suggested list of items you need. I'd stick with that list - I nearly went insane reading all the lengthy lists on Pinterest. Does anyone actually think they NEED all that stuff?

We packed 2 bags, one for all three of us and one for the camera, chargers and devices. 

I also brought the My Brestfriend but left it in the car. The hospital pillows worked fine for breastfeeding. We did bring our own pillows. You just want that little familiar slice of home with you.

L&D Bag:

iPad (we didn't even use this but maybe if my labor had been longer)
iChargers (my battery was constantly drained from texts and photos)
Camera
Nurse Gifts (You want to do these - our nurses LOVED them, especially our L&D nurses who I'm pretty sure jumped up and down when I told them we had chocolate. Plus we adored our nurses and wanted to thank them on the spot.)

Overnight Bag:

Chris:
gym shorts
an extra t-shirt
undies 
a pull over (He was really glad to have the pull over - those rooms are chilly!)

Me:
undies (I ended up just using the mesh ones the hospital provided)
a nightgown
a robe
maternity yoga pants
a nursing bra
a nursing tank
a comfortable maternity dress for going home 
toiletries for both of us (for that first delicious shower)
lip balm (your lips will get dry!)

Zoey:
special going home onesie
a back-up onesie (in case she turned out to be a boy!)
socks
a blanket 
the car seat

The hospital provided everything else we needed.

We also brought an extra bag for the hospital "swag" - paperwork, booklets, postpartum stuff, extra diapers, wipes, etc. You'll come home with a lot more than you brought.

This is truly all you need and the less you have to unpack when you're exhausted and you've got a newborn at home, the better! 

Happy Packing!