Hospital Bags

Packing a hospital bag is one of those things that you start doing as you enter your last trimester hoping to finish by the time baby is born. I wasn't finished when I had Jenna at 35 weeks, so this time I was ready way too early :) I did a lot of looking around on Pinterest of what others packed and found a lot of good ideas, and a lot of overdoing it. I tried to fit somewhere in the middle though I tend to prefer being over prepared than under. I know there will be things I don't end up needing and something that I will forget, but I am positive this will end up being such a wonderful experience and I wont mind one bit. 

Sibling Bags

To start a made hospital bags for Thing 1 and Thing 2. Seeing I don't know what time of day this will all take place I want to have a plan for them to be entertained if they end up spending time in a waiting room. I also wanted them to have something special to remember the day, and stuff to do for the days after while we are in the hospital and they are staying with family. 

Each bag has:
-A change of clothes
-Money for food with a note from dad
-A water bottle
-A new chapter book to read
-New crayons and colored pencils
-A work/coloring book
-Card games
-Snacks
-A Bib decorating kit to make a gift for their new brother

-A photo book made by mom of their baby pictures until now, so they can see how much they have grown!
-A letter from mom telling them how awesome they will be at being a big brother/sister!

Baby's Bag
Next is Thing 3's stuff, and for being so small he sure needs a lot :)

We are bringing:

- His Carseat and base

- Grey Chevron Carseat cover

- A Whale Program Kit (We have a little Emergency) to fill out and put on his carseat before we leave the hospital. If you don't have this on your car seat no matter your child's age please see the link, and get one they are free through the Idaho Transportation Dept. 

- A small travel bag for any special things I want to save from the hospital like our id arm bands etc. 

-Our Medela Breast Pump Metro Bag 

-His Boppy Pillow for nursing and being held by brother and sister

-His denim Thirty-one Diaper Bag (Cindy tote) with clothes for baby to wear home, a nursing cover, swaddle blankets, the soap we want him to use in the hospital, pacifiers, socks, and burp cloths.

Mom's Bag

I have 3 bags actually, but thanks to Thirty-one they all fit into one large utility tote I just put them all into one. 

My Bags:

1. My Labor Bag

-A copy of our birth plan (though mine is not very detailed... I had no plan at all when having Jenna, and it was a perfect experience. So I don't feel like over planning is necessary with something woman do so naturally. There are things that I specifically don't want like vacuuming my baby's head and things I want for sure like Delayed Cord Clamping...but I have already told my midwife and she does it that way anyways. I feel like it is setting me up for disappointment to have things too planned out, and making it so that I don't have the flexibility to change my mind depending on how I am feeling. Mike and I sat down and talked about what we want and what makes me comfortable, so that he can advocate for me and help me to stay with my ideals. If outside of perfect scenarios come up then we put in our birth plan we want everyone to leave the room, so we can decide together what comes next) 

-My labor gown 

-Robe

-Flip flop

-Slippers

-Comfy socks

-Massage oil and massage tools

-Lotion

-Mikes swimsuit for if I use the Jacuzzi 

- Headphones (Mike made me 2 play lists on his phone for when I am in labor. One of my favorite songs, and one of calming ocean and piano mixes. So that I can choose based on how I am feeling what I want to listen to. We can play them through his I-phone speakers, or headphones depending on what I need)

-A small travel bag 

   -hair ties

   -head band

   -chapstick 

   -gum

   -deodorant 

   -sour candy for nausea 

- My favorite card game

-A Book 

-My favorite tea

-Gluten free crackers 

-Kind and Quest bars for Mike (and me depending on how I am feeling)

-Photo book paper to get baby's footprints 

2. My Cosmetics bag

-travel sizes of 

   -my shampoo and conditioner

   -toothbrush / paste for Mike and I

   -deodorant for Mike and I 

   -make up (knowing that this was coming every time I bought makeup the last year I would do it when Benefit was doing a sale that you got mini sizes of make up with your purchase, so that I could stalk up. Now I don't have to worry if it is not packed when I go into labor while we are not at home)

   -brush

   -face wash cloths 

   -lotion 

-razor

-floss sticks 

-Mikes vitamins 

-My meds / vitamins 

-Pads and panties (I know that the hospital provides them, but I would be way more comfortable in my own, so I got some larger sizes panties that I can throw away later and some Always Overnight pads)

3. Clothing Bag

-Nursing Bras

-Nursing Tank tops from Undercover Mama 

-2 nursing nightgowns that I can wear instead of clothing while at the hospital seeing pants will be less comfortable. (I got dark colored ones, so they don't get ruined during recovery) 

- My favorite sweater 

-Socks

-Maxi Dress that fit great in 2nd Trimester to go home in, so I am comfortable. 

-My phone charger 

Other Stuff 

This is all of our bags packed into one side of our trunk, so no matter where we are we have it. 

Other stuff:

The blue small suit case is Daddy's Bag

-3 Changes of comfortable clothes (we only expect to be there 2 days, but if he is coming from work he won't want to stay in his military uniform the whole time) 

-Comfortable shoes

-slippers

-His phone changer

My comfy blanket and pillow so that I can relax easier 

Mike's Zip up hoodie (we want baby Reece to start his life with skin to skin contact. Ideally that will be with me. but if for some reason like a C-section that can not happen Mike will be in a zip up so baby can snuggle in close with daddy)

-Thank you cards for Dr and staff 

-Wishes for the baby cards for anyone who comes to visit to fill out for his baby book 

Picking a hospital- Part 3

Last night was Sushi dinner and Tour St. Luke’s Night! Romantic Right lol ;)
We are still really glad that we did the hospital tours now for a few different reasons ranging from the obvious getting to compare pros and cons to free loot :) Mostly though it helped to see the hospitals in person, because both of them had a lot more to offer then their websites described, and we feel much more prepared to make the best decision for our family!
It was one of Mike's few requirements that we choose a hospital with a NICU, so that narrowed our search down to the 2 main hospitals. Boise does have a few other options that we decided not to visit.

St. Luke’s offers a lot of the same great things that we liked about St. AL’s. They definitely are very different though, and each has a kind of family that they are a better fit for.

Things Jacqui likes~
• The # 1 pro that St. Luke’s offers it familiarity! The doctor’s office I have gone to since I was 15 is at St. Luke's, so if we pick Luke’s we get to skip the finding an office part when we pick our new OBGYN
• It is also where Jennabelle was born, so I know my way around
• Double Beds, so dad can sleep in the same bed if wanted
• The Nursery will take baby if mom needs rest, but otherwise they allow/encourage you to keep your new love in the room with you
• They stress the security of the baby, and have multiple rules in place to keep your family safe
• They have a Jacuzzi in every birthing room
• They have a lactation specialist team that you can see to help with nursing even after you have gone home from the hospital.


Things Michael likes~

• Experience- Luke’s Boise has more babies born daily than anywhere else in the state
• St. Luke's Children's Hospital is home to Idaho's largest and most experienced Level III NICU!
Their NICU is close to Labor and Delivery and they do "Crib Notes" to keep parents informed & part of what is going on with baby
• Each mom has their own nurse during Labor and Delivery to give one on one care
• They are flexible about visitation time
• Parents get the final word on who is in the room, and how things go during the birth process.

We did decide what hospital, and thankfully it was clear to us which one was the best fit! Now we are on to the next step of picking an OBGYN/ Midwife! Again I loved hearing everyone who contacted me with input about the hospitals, so if you have any doctor suggestions please message me!!

Picking a hospital - Part 2

Mike and I went to the Perinatal Tour at Saint Alphonsus Family Maternity Center this last week, and I must say I highly recommend that any newly expecting parents out there do this at your local hospital! It was fun to hear about all the different classes out there are, and all the options for pregnancy care there is. We were with couples from all different stages of the baby making process, and  kind of felt like a snobs with pen and pad taking pros and cons notes... We are not stuck with a hospital! We have time to make the best choice for us still! Not everybody gets that, because they wait until their last trimester to go to the tour, and their doctor only delivers at one hospital. 

So anyways we really did like St. Als, but Mike says that we have to see what St. Lukes is like now before deciding...especially seeing I am comparing 2013 St Als to my memories of having Jenna at St. Lukes in 2006.

Things Jacqui likes~

• Lots of education for all stages of pregnancy to post birth
• One room for triage, labor, and recovery
• They stress that the parents are in control
• The bed can change into lots of different positions so mom is not just laying on her back the whole time
• Large recovery rooms with a pull out couch for dad
• Lactation specialist available at all times

Things Mike likes~

• Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) that is right above the maternity ward, and encourages families to be with baby (encourages nursing)
• That they do everything possible for the baby to never leave the room
• Celebration meal for the parents after birth
• That the whole maternity ward is locked going in and out with very few staff able to give the permission for people to come and go, so baby is safe
• Valet Parking! 

The Little Extras we think are cool~

• Mom gets a massage 
• They have 2 gardens to walk through just for the maternity ward for walking off labor and family to relax it
• They have a playground for siblings
• They play a lullaby through the whole center when a baby is born
• A professional photographer is available to come take cute picture of baby while you are still in the hospital 
• Really nice, inviting, and calm facility! 

Picking a hospital - Part 1

My favorite part of this whole thing is that we get to do, and be excited for EVERY SINGLE STEP! With our older kids we didn't get that! Mike didn't have a say with Kade, and I was so young I just trusted my mom with a lot of the big decisions for Jenna, but this time it's all ours!

Once we decided to take this journey of becoming new parents I started the obvious take prenatal vitamins, replacing my morning coffee, and Mike and I put our Wine Tour on hold!

Now to start month 3 in a positive light we are looking into what hospital we want to have our baby at, and what kind of doctor we want to use.

I have had the same OB since I was 15 years old. However this last spring she became the main OBGYN on-call at St. Luke’s Boise, so she is no longer taking non-emergency clients. This means that I get to pick a new doctor... We decided to pick a hospital 1st, so that it narrows down who we pick.

That being said, we scheduled private appointments with all of the local hospitals and birthing clinics over the next weeks, so that we can decide where we want to spend our babies "Birthday"! I had Jenna at St. Luke’s, but haven't even seen what others have to offer, so I am ridiculously excited to weigh all our options!!

If anyone has any pros or cons I'd love to hear them, so comment or message me personally :)

I can't wait to tell this to my sweet baby one day!