Hospital Bags, Pregnancy Talk, and Maternity Items

The final couple weeks of pregnancy feel like an eternity, especially during the second pregnancy when things hurt worse, edema kicks in, you are chasing a toddler, and the pressure is unbearable. What is even crazier is that right now I am upstairs trying to relax the best I can because we are currently locked in the house during a winter ice storm. The roads are all closed, school and church are shut down, and going into labor any minute does not sound delightful (or safe.)

Luckily, we still have power, knocking on wood, and hopefully it stays that way as we get more ice throughout the day. I figured I would hop on here and cover some pregnancy and maternity things.

Baby Prep I Have Completed:

Bags are packed
Baby clothes are organized and washed
Baby changing station is set up
Bassinet is set up
The house is ready for baby
Lactation cookies are baked and frozen

And now I just try my best to wait it out. I am due the first week of February, but I went early with my first. I am hoping history repeats itself because I am so ready to go. But if I go over, there is a chance I may have a Valentine’s Day baby. And Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays.

I wrote an entire blog post on everything I packed for my first pregnancy and then went back in and edited it to share what I used and what I did not use. I used that blog post as my guide this time when packing for the hospital. I shared everything below from my shopping carts just in case you need some ideas on what to pack in your hospital bags if you are getting ready to do that soon.

Items I’ve Packed in My Hospital Bags

I have also packed some random T shirts, tank tops, oversized sweatpants, shorts, and anything else I may need. The hospital provides a lot of the postpartum necessities, but it does not hurt to overpack with some of your favorite items just in case.

Packing Snacks

I was not able to eat during the 24 hours of labor last time, which stunk. But I was able to have things like Jello, clear soda, popsicles, and whatever the hospital provided. I will probably rely on them again for those types of foods.

This time, I focused on packing a lot of high protein and healthy fat snacks to help bring me back to life after birth and hopefully support a future milk supply. Last time, my supply was not great, considering my placenta was left behind. You can read my birth story for that one. But eventually, I was able to breastfeed and formula feed for a few months until it was no longer worth the stress for me.

My plan is to try again, but we have formula ready at home just in case, and I am putting zero pressure on myself. I loved having high protein foods ready to go, so here is what I packed. And of course, remember to pack some for your husband too, since mine devoured my stash while nervously snacking last time. I also packed some of my favorite candy, too

RxBars
Beef Sticks
Trail Mix
Muscle Milk
David Bars
Mints
Junior Mints
Jolly Ranchers
Shirley Temple Poppi (i’m obsessed)
Liquid I.V.
Oatmeal Packets

All the extra snacks we do not get through go home with us and get eaten up during all the long hours with a newborn.

Prepared Postpartum Recipes

I have made a few recipes that I am keeping in the freezer, some in jars, and I am making sure to stay stocked on coffee and hydration packets.

My favorites so far are these chocolate chip oatmeal lactation cookies. They are so good even if you are not making them for breastfeeding. I also made my homemade granola for my morning fruit and yogurt parfaits.

I have also made some energy balls, but they have not been lasting long because my toddler keeps reaching into the freezer and finding them to eat after dinner. I would rather him eat them though since they are super healthy and great for him.

A Gift for Big Brother

So many people told me to make sure I had a gift ready at the hospital for my son to give him from his new brother, and I loved this idea. I got him a little Lego set, since Legos are his favorite thing in the world, and a bag of his other favorite thing, gummy bears.

I also bought a lot of cute matching outfits and sweet things for him to wear. My parents will be bringing him to the hospital to meet his brother, so I laid out an outfit for him to wear. I am thinking this cute sweatshirt I got at H&M will be perfect with some jeans.

Nurse Gifts

I do not like the idea of putting together a bunch of things for the nurses since so many come in and out, and it is just more stuff to bring to the hospital. Last time, I ordered a huge batch of Crumbl cookies for the daytime nurses and then ordered another batch for the nighttime nurses. They kept them in the nurse station for everyone to enjoy, which I think was perfect and so much less stressful.

Beauty Bag:

In my beauty bag, I packed:

Shampoo and Conditioner
Moisturizing face lotion
Mascara
Under eye concealer
Bronzer
Tweezers

My FAVORITE Maternity Clothes I’m Living In:

Let me know if there’s anything you think I’ve missed!