It’s safe to say I didn’t use half the things I packed in my hospital bag with my first baby boy (yeah you probably won’t have time to read that book…), and wish I had known about half the things I actually needed. Thanks to the experience of a few babies, but also talking with friends, and reading up on recs, I finally got it figured out. You don’t need much, but it sure helps to have a few lifesavers stowed away for the hospital! I’d love to hear your favorites as well.
Hospital bag breakdown: Socks – they keep rooms pretty cold, and bringing your own blanket probably wouldn’t hurt either.. Phone & charger Camera Bag – My personal favorite due to all the pockets and padding. (c/0) Camera & Charger Robe – You really want to get out of the itchy hospital gown as soon as you are able, so I usually bring a few comfortable pieces to change into when I get back to the recovery room. This robe was so soft and is convenient for nursing. Blanqi Support tanks and leggings– Fantastic for post partum support. I wear these for weeks after. Nursing bras Diffuser & Oils – my friend Christina made me a few mixes that helped with labor contractions, post uterus contractions, milk supply, etc. and I was able to use them in roller bottles and in a diffuser. It filled the room with an incredibly calm aroma and also made a big difference in labor and post delivery. (You can message her to get a hold of some!) Larabars – I always crave hearty healthy food and those fill you up and give you much needed energy. I also find myself dreaming of ways to take home the hospital ice machine. THE perfect ice pellets. A bag to fit everything in. – Mine pictured is old, but here is a similar one. Your own pillow. – Because you guys, hospital pillows…
In addition to your standard toiletries, these are a few things that really come in handy: Lip balms – you tend to have really dry lips during pregnancy and post birth, so pack your faves! Lansinoh Gel pads & Lanolin – because holy smokes it’s painful to breastfeed the first few days. Bottom spray – oh the wonders…and things they don’t tell you about post delivery;) Disposable nursing pads
For baby: Swaddle blankets – (The few I brought from here and here. Personalized name blanket from Swell Forever) Pacifiers – (The hospital provides these! Although my favorites are Natursutton) Sleepers – I love sleepers and baby caps for those first few days. The white gender neutral outfit is from Flora & Henri. The hospital takes care of everything else, unless you have preferred products. They really only need diapers, onesies, and a whole lot of skin to skin time with mama!
Meet Rocco Samuel.Already proving he has got his own rhythm on life, he arrived 8 days early, on a hot summer night, July 26th. I now have three sons, and a wildflower. Wait, what?! It’s all quite surreal, and just like the birth stories I have tried to share before, there are no adequate words to be found to describe what meeting your child for the first time is really like. Here is just a summary of one of the best days of my life…
Before it all started…
All three of my children before Rocco were born on their due dates, so I wasn’t expecting much different this time around. It wasn’t until I arrived to Friday night after a long hot week here in Atlanta, I started to think this babe might be a different story. I was a few days short of 39 weeks, and I was beginning to have very strong braxton hicks contractions anytime I attempted beyond a snails pace level of activity. Legs occasionally going numb also might have been a clue? I started to frantically organize my house as would be the bazaar and accurate thing to do when you sense a baby about to arrive. (Someone should really figure out how to bottle that mysterious nesting energy that gives you all kinds of motivation to complete avoidable tasks.) I wrote out directions for my sister who would be caring for our little ones, packed the last details of my hospital bag, went to the store and stocked up on food, tied up some last minute projects, and began to pray for strength to overcome some of the anxiety I was battling. To be honest, barely making it to the hospital and having a fast natural birth with Max made it hard to feel calm about everything. I had an appointment scheduled with my midwife for Monday that we had planned a month prior to see if we could catch pre-labor signs before my due date. I knew that would be my reassurance of timing and when to prepare. However, as I am always quick to forget, God had other plans, and they were much better than my own. My gut instinct was I wouldn’t quite make it to Monday. I really wanted my midwife to deliver this baby since she delivered my first son as well. I was driving 45 minutes just to see her throughout the pregnancy, but we knew though that with my history of fast labors I had to be open minded with no real birth plan but to make it to the hospital on time.
Here he comes…
After a long brunch with family on Sunday and a calm afternoon, I began to think this baby was just fooling me all along, and I would just have to put up with braxton hicks contractions another week. We were all packing up to head out the door to a friend’s going away party when I had my first contraction. I immediately downloaded the full term app and started timing. (Because surely I wouldn’t be able to time them on my own as I had done for the last three!) I half second guessed myself. Was it really a contraction? You think you would know the 4th time around. After just a few they were getting a little stronger. Gabe looked at me and knew it was time. He went into mission mode and started loading the car in between phone calls. Behind teary eyes I took each of my children and held them and kissed them one more time before a new chapter would begin. My contractions were already 5 min. apart and I begin to panic that I wouldn’t make it up to my midwife. When I called her we both agreed it was best to head straight to the nearest hospital….
Fast forward to the delivery room ten minutes later, I made sure the nurses and doctors knew my body doesn’t know how to pace itself very well, and they very well could be catching a baby with a baseball glove momentarily. Luckily this time around, there was more of a steady pace of progression that actually gave us enough time to get me gowned and tubed up before things got really painful. Ladies who have given birth…. it’s that 5-6 cm mark that really does it right?? I needed Gabe’s hand on one side, and my rosary in the other. I felt God near. I knew He was in that room, as with the birth of every new life that He creates. I felt the world pause as I was about to take part in one of the greatest gifts given to a woman…the ability to be a vessel of new life.
The birth…
I held my breath as the doctor asked me to stop pushing. I had only pushed once and the baby was flying out. The cord was wrapped around his neck, and he needed to cut it quick. I was given the go ahead to give my last push. He was out in a flash, and they stole him away to the other side of the room.With my heart racing and begging God to hear that first cry, I waited in anticipation. There was a minor complication they were looking into, and so my heart felt like it was inside of my throat. It wasn’t until I heard that first little wail that my entire body breathed again. I looked at Gabe through teary eyes in a moment of complete gratitude. We had a son, and he had a healthy pair of lungs!
Gabe got to gaze at him first as they made sure he was okay. We kept shouting at each other across the room…He has dark hair! Does he have the signature family birthmark? He has a whole new look! When they finally brought him over to me, a dam of tears broke inside, and I wept uncontrollably as I got to feel my baby’s skin for the first time against mine. He was the smallest of all of my babies so far, and his tiny body felt immediately like he was always meant to be. Psalm 139 came rushing into my mind…
You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works! My very self you know. …Your eyes saw me unformed; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be.
I am thankful for this indescribable joy just as much as I am thankful for the pains and aches that paved the way for this reality. It has been a blissful few days of complete exhaustion, and baby snuggling, and lots of feeding and diaper changing and a little noisy chaos in between. Gabe is taking care of our other three little ones as we adjust to life with four. I can’t even describe how much Gabriel and Veronica love their little brother already. They won’t leave his side. Max is somewhat clueless, although we have high hopes for their future bond;) Gabe chose the name Rocco after a catholic saint who spent his life in the service of the poor and sick. We always like to choose names that are role models for our children to turn to as they grow:)
Thank you to each of you who have shared your congratulations, and love. We are so grateful for you!
A little video Gabe and my sister took when the little ones met Rocco for the first time:) Song by Coldplay.
*We didn’t know the gender of the baby so we had two names picked out. Swell Forever so kindly sent the keepsake blanket a few weeks before he was born. You should check out their company and support of adoption and loss!
Rocco’s little bonnet is from Flora and Henri, and striped blanket I found from Little Unicorn.
Well I am completely flattered to be sharing our home tour on Joss & Main this week! Joss & Main is an online flash sale site for home goods. Some of the deals you find are unreal! They are featuring different rooms from our home and offering similar decor, furniture, and rug pieces that you can shop at a flash sale price! Head over to see the full tour.
Here are a few examples of what you can get your hands on! You can find all of these pieces, and a slew of others under the In Honor of Design home tour.
Pulling together our house into a home has been a piece by piece, room by room project this past year. We are currently working on our living room, and the little ones room will be next. I don’t feel the need to make our home perfect, just a place where each of us feels at home. It took us years to settle into a place we can call home, and I don’t even know how long we will be here, but it has been so good to watch my children grow here, spend evenings with family, and some backyard bashes with friends. My favorite thing might be Saturday morning coffee and convo with Gabe while the kids dance to music:)
I have stubbornly refused to give up bringing live plants into our home even though I know their survival rate is comparable to a lamb among wolves. HOWEVER, with the help of my good ole pen and ink planner, I am remembering to at least water them for a chance of survival. It reads something like this, “WATER THE PLANTS OR THEY WILL DIE!” Written a few times across a weekly calendar might appear disturbing to the average over-the-shoulder glancer, but I tell you it is the only way!
I usually pick up planters in the $10-$15 range from Lowe’s, and especially love when they are melamine for indoor or outdoor use. Since I move things around from room to room like a nesting spaz these days, I was having difficulty getting a few to flow together in varying height the way I was hoping. I had originally wanted to use these pretty pegs for a couch upgrade, but since I ended up not needing them for that purpose, I decided to use them to give me a lift in the plant department. So my awesome large sized planter sprouted a set of pretty peg legs in the perfect height and color. It immediately gave it a modern swedish vibe ( I say swedish because they tend to have the upper hand on home design, and just sounds cooler). I feel the need to make twenty-three more and fill my home with unrealistic goals of keeping that many plants alive through the winter.
Pretty pegs offers an insane amount of cute color and size leg options for coffee tables, couches, end tables, armchairs, etc. I think it highly imperative you take the time to swoon today and see what I am talking about:) They are all custom made! It comes with the hardware you need to attach to your piece, and for the planter, I just used the same method from The New Boho book I used for the wooden bowl planter. Just need a good power tool.
Additional Tips for DIY Planter Upgrades:
– I also just used a light coat of bronze gold spray paint on the previously dull brown wire planter which allowed it to sync well with the rest of the room. It just takes a little tweaking here and there to make things work for your home, without having to buy new things.
– Trash cans can make great planters! I had a woven wastebasket I wasn’t using that ended up being the perfect planter for my aloe vera. They are getting along swimmingly.
*The rug is from Rugs USA. Looking forward to sharing our Living room makeover in a few weeks. Just adding the final touches:)
I’ll be back tomorrow with a fun home related announcement!
I am at the end of the third trimester friends. How has this happened? I know…
Three very busy little ones is how it happened….distracting me and keeping me on my feet until I ran into a wall the other day and realized I was about to have a new little person amongst us! It’s really all I can think about these last few days… I am more than ready to just have this baby in my arms…. VIEW FULL POST
When you are so busy you barely have time to brush your teeth and get dressed, a skin care routine almost feels overwhelming. Up until this past year, I was crashing at night not even washing my face, and maybe taking my makeup off. It wasn’t good friends. Mid-winter my dry and patchy skin was a little wakeup call to put in more effort to take care of my skin, even if more effort was just a few minutes a day!
When I started the search for a good skin care routine, I had a few goals… VIEW FULL POST
Melyssa of The Nectar Collective is back today! We thought it would be helpful to share how we stay organized in the online social media world. You could easily spend your days glued to a phone or computer, especially if social media is part of your blog or business. These tips will hopefully free up your minds and time. It just takes a little organization to get your content out there for the week, without you having to spend hours on social media. So here are our tips for organizing an effective social media calendar… VIEW FULL POST
