back to pre-baby thoughts
My friend, Sarah, is due any day now with her first baby. On Facebook, she has been asking for advice on some topics: diaper bags, when you can fit back into pre-baby pants, etc. I thought maybe I would help her out and see what advice you guys have!
Well, here are my answers:
1. Walmart diaper bag(s). I got brown ones that were boy-ish. Big A carried it often. I did not carry a purse; I still often do not (remember, I still have one in diapers).
2. I didn't fit into pre-baby pants until after I lost all of my weight. I lost about 20 pounds after Moose was born but that wasn't enough to fit into them. Women who magically fit back into their pre-pregnancy pants make me completely, utterly jealous and I think some of them lie about it. So approximately 3 years after my son was born (and his brother), I fit back into pre-pregnancy pants (that I had thrown away by that time so I had to buy new ones). I stayed in maternity for awhile afterward...what else was I going to wear?
3. Favorite diapers are Huggies but I like Pampers (and Pampers Points). I dislike Luvs but we use them bc my MIL buys them sometimes. I don't care about wipes. Big A prefers brand-name but I think they are all the same.
4. Moose slept in our room in a bassinet one night. He slept in his bassinet in his room for one week. And Squirt always slept in his crib, in his room. Big A was always really nervous about babies in our bed - nervous he'd squish them. So they stayed in their room and I really prefer it that way, so my room is my space. Our kids still sleep in their own room, in their own beds (although Squirt desperately wants to sleep with Moose but he is all 'Squirt in his crib').
5. Moose made a public appearance about a week after he was born to church. Squirt was the following Sunday, also to church. We don't keep our kids under wraps - germs are good for their immune systems.
6. I appreciated diapers as gifts! Boring but SO useful. I also appreciated a meal those first few weeks - and visitors.
7. We didn't find out either gender beforehand. If we were to have another, I would.
8. I stayed in the hospital 3 days with each. Actually a little longer with Squirt because I went in the night before to be induced. Our hospital provided a nice meal for us parents - so yum!
9. Moose = naturally went into labor, epidural, then water broken. They turned off my epidural bc I wasn't pushing correctly.
Squirt = induced (loved it), used some (awesome) drugs, also had an epidural but (again) they turned it off. However, the drugs were enough to keep away the pain. Almost had a c-section, had we stayed in Virginia, the dr. wanted to give me a c-section bc of my fistula from Moose. Our doctor in Nebraska said it was small enough that I'd be fine - and I was/am.
10. I love when people come to the hospital. Friends, family! I like to show off our new additions. Nursing is a little awkward but if they don't mind, I don't mind.
What about you?
1. What kind of diaper bag did you use? Purse-type? Diaper-bag type? Did your husband carry it? Did you use the straps to hold it on to the stroller? Did you also carry a purse?
2. When did you fit back into your pre-baby pants? Did you buy larger pants or stay in maternity pants after baby?
3. Favorite brands of diapers? Wipes?
4. Where did baby sleep those first few weeks (or longer)? Your bed? Bassinet? Crib? In your room or his/her own?
5. How long until baby made a public appearance? Where was baby's first public appearance?
6. Most useful baby item? I ran into a girl shopping for a baby gift in Target & she was looking at hooded towels. I said they were useful but should have thought of more useful items!
7. Did you find out the baby's gender beforehand?
8. How long was your hospital stay? Did your hospital provide any cool services (special meal, spa treatment, etc)?
9. Were you induced? Have a c-section? Use drugs? Epidural? Or au natural the whole way?
10. Do you like when friends come to the hospital to congratulate you or would you prefer that time just for your family (extended or immediate?)?
Well, here are my answers:
1. Walmart diaper bag(s). I got brown ones that were boy-ish. Big A carried it often. I did not carry a purse; I still often do not (remember, I still have one in diapers).
2. I didn't fit into pre-baby pants until after I lost all of my weight. I lost about 20 pounds after Moose was born but that wasn't enough to fit into them. Women who magically fit back into their pre-pregnancy pants make me completely, utterly jealous and I think some of them lie about it. So approximately 3 years after my son was born (and his brother), I fit back into pre-pregnancy pants (that I had thrown away by that time so I had to buy new ones). I stayed in maternity for awhile afterward...what else was I going to wear?
3. Favorite diapers are Huggies but I like Pampers (and Pampers Points). I dislike Luvs but we use them bc my MIL buys them sometimes. I don't care about wipes. Big A prefers brand-name but I think they are all the same.
4. Moose slept in our room in a bassinet one night. He slept in his bassinet in his room for one week. And Squirt always slept in his crib, in his room. Big A was always really nervous about babies in our bed - nervous he'd squish them. So they stayed in their room and I really prefer it that way, so my room is my space. Our kids still sleep in their own room, in their own beds (although Squirt desperately wants to sleep with Moose but he is all 'Squirt in his crib').
5. Moose made a public appearance about a week after he was born to church. Squirt was the following Sunday, also to church. We don't keep our kids under wraps - germs are good for their immune systems.
6. I appreciated diapers as gifts! Boring but SO useful. I also appreciated a meal those first few weeks - and visitors.
7. We didn't find out either gender beforehand. If we were to have another, I would.
8. I stayed in the hospital 3 days with each. Actually a little longer with Squirt because I went in the night before to be induced. Our hospital provided a nice meal for us parents - so yum!
9. Moose = naturally went into labor, epidural, then water broken. They turned off my epidural bc I wasn't pushing correctly.
Squirt = induced (loved it), used some (awesome) drugs, also had an epidural but (again) they turned it off. However, the drugs were enough to keep away the pain. Almost had a c-section, had we stayed in Virginia, the dr. wanted to give me a c-section bc of my fistula from Moose. Our doctor in Nebraska said it was small enough that I'd be fine - and I was/am.
10. I love when people come to the hospital. Friends, family! I like to show off our new additions. Nursing is a little awkward but if they don't mind, I don't mind.
What about you?
Comments
2. I fit back into some looser pre pregnancy clothes right away. My maternity clothes were huge. I suggest loose skirts and dresses at first. Much more comfy on that postpartum tummy :)
3. Huggies, if I'm going for disposables. Both wipes and diapers. I highly suggest researching the chemicals in them first though, to make an informed decision on disposable vs cloth.
4. In his own crib, in his own room. I'm a very light sleeper, and as a new Mom, my baby senses were in overdrive. Any tiny movement made me jump out of bed. So farther away was better for us.
5. About a week or so? Maybe a little more or less. It was always at church :)
6. Well, a good carseat cannot be beat. It protects your child's life! And a good baby carrier, as those carseats are not meant to be beds :)
7. We did not find out the gender of any of our babies. Our local hospital says it's against their policy to tell the gender. I'm mostly OK with that :)
8. My hospital stay was usually 2 or 3 nights. My doctor was insistent that I get enough rest, and send the baby to the nursery for nights. That was a huge blessing!
9. I had Demerol for my first. Would never ever do it again. It was horrible. Second baby I had the laughing gas, which was fine. Third was totally natural! I highly prefer the later two births. Recovery was way faster, and I bonded with my babies far quicker too. Nursing was also easier.
10. I was sad that I didn't have more visitors. The hospital gets very lonely and boring without people!
2. I wore maternity pants for a little bit...then borrowed some larger sizes until I was down to normal..everyone is different...it usually takes me 3 months...
3. I have used Luvs diapers and wipes...I buy them off of Amazon in bulk...free shipping and no tax...I hate having to keep buying them at the store every week.
4. My 1st slept in her crib. My 2nd slept on the couch with me fir the first 6 weeks...I know dangerous...she was a horrible baby overnight...my 3rd & 4th slept in a bassinet for the first 3 months...my 3rd then moved to a crib...my 4th then moved to a pack-n-play for the next 6 months...
5. We took my first to a garage sale on our 2nd day home...for the others it is usually church after the first few days.
6. Most useful item...bouncy chair that swings..some babies don't like them..but mine have always enjoyed them.
7. We found out the gender for all 4 of our kids. I just like to plan ahead. That is just me though.
8. Our insurance only allows 2 days if you have a vaginal delivery without complications...but if you have an early morning baby then you can go to that 3rd day...I personally hated being in the hospital and would have left after a few hours...too many interruptions...and it is very hard to rest with the nurses asking you a million questions....even in the wee hours of the night.
9. All natural...all of the way... I figured it was a temporary pain and went away instantly after the baby was born...that is for me though. For my 3rd the placenta was fused to my uterus so I was taken to the ER and they had to put me under...for my 4th he was 11 lbs and was by far my easiest baby to delivery. I would HIGHLY recommend giving your Dr. a birth plan to put in your files...this helped us a ton so we didn't have to deal with idiot dr's and nurses when our's wasn't present.
10. We like visitors....but decide on a time that you need to rest...maybe tell people you will accept visitors from this time to this...otherwise you will never get any rest. Good luck...babies are such a blessing...I would have one every day if I could...I love the process of delivery...but I guess having one every day isn't really possible:)
2. With my first, about a month after I had him, with my second, well, never. :(
3. Huggies! Love them. They NEVER leak for us! The overnight diapers are a must for our boys.
4. My boys have never slept with us. They both slept in their car seats in the living room for the first couple of weeks.
5. With my first, church when he was a few days old. I can't really remember with my second.
6. Bumbo seats, baby monitors and lots of sleepers.
7. Yes. With our first, we kept it a secret from everyone.
8. One night with out first. I requested an extra night with our second. I had a really rough delivery and was exhausted.
9. Drugs, drugs, drugs. Although, they did not work correctly and caused complications with my second.
10. I liked having a few people, but with our first, there were 16 people in the room a few hours after delivery. I had a horrible tear (TMI, I know) and I was in so much pain and I wanted everyone to go away. :) With my second, we didn't call anyone until the next morning, so it was just us the first evening.
Purse and diaper bag combined. The more pockets the better so you can stay a little more organized!
2. When did you fit back into your pre-baby pants? Did you buy larger pants or stay in maternity pants after baby?
This answer depended on what baby. #1- pretty soon after- a couple months
#2- a long time, a really long time! :-(
#3- not as long but still take more time than I want! But, then again I'm doing nothing to get the weight off either, I just keep eating and eating.
3. Favorite brands of diapers? Wipes?
Diapers- Pampers swaddlers then just reg. Pampers- then once they are in 4's- I like the Target brand- cheaper and pretty good diaper.
4. Where did baby sleep those first few weeks (or longer)? Your bed? Bassinet? Crib? In your room or his/her own?
We've slept baby in a bassinet in our room for the first 3-4 months. I can't sleep with the baby in the bed with me- plus that's not wise at all.
5. How long until baby made a public appearance? Where was baby's first public appearance?
#1- soon probably a week
#2- we went to eat Mexican on Saturday night and he was born at 3am on Friday. I'm not kidding
#3- she was born on Thursday and she was in church on Sunday. I keep them in the carseat where they are pretty sheltered from germs etc. Now, if it's germ season that's a whole nother story!
6. Most useful baby item? I ran into a girl shopping for a baby gift in Target & she was looking at hooded towels. I said they were useful but should have thought of more useful items!
That's hard- there are a lot of useful items out there. I really like our exercauser and the kids have too!
7. Did you find out the baby's gender beforehand?
Yep, yep and yep!
8. How long was your hospital stay? Did your hospital provide any cool services (special meal, spa treatment, etc)?
#1- 2 nights
#2- 26 hours
#3- 24 hours
9. Were you induced? Have a c-section? Use drugs? Epidural? Or au natural the whole way?
#1- water broke on my own
#2- contractions sent me to the hospital
#3- induced
10. Do you like when friends come to the hospital to congratulate you or would you prefer that time just for your family (extended or immediate?)?
Yes I like it- but only if there visits are short and sweet.
There you have it girls! :-)
These were fun to think about RS!
Couldn't get an epi bc I went too fast but I did get
A block and that helped some.