Hospital Essentials

Hospital Essentials

I am by no means an expert on childbirth/child rearing but I feel after 3 children I have something to share with other mommas.  Also, my sweet friend recently asked me for a list of hospital essentials for childbirth and I felt a blog post would sum it up perfectly.  With my first child I had no idea what I needed and ended up bringing a lot of stuff I really didn't need and didn't have a lot of stuff I actually could have used.  I was probably most prepared for my second child but my third little angel came most unexpectedly and I really had nothing packed or prepared but I knew what I needed and was able to get those few things to make my stay (which ended up being 4 days) more comfortable.

Essentials For mom-
Nursing Tanks/Outfits for 3 days-I had some really great nursing tanks that had a shelf bra and allowed me to nurse without removing.  They are no longer available but this shirt is very similar.  I really liked that I could wear them in the hospital, sleep in them and wear them out.  I also loved some button front pajamas hubby got me with my third baby.  They allow for nursing while being covered up (nice for winter months).  These are the sleeping bras I really liked (from Target)

 

 Nursing Bra                                           Nursing Shirt

Nursing Pads-I just packed a few disposable ones

Toiletries-Shampoo, razor, soap

Nursing Pillow- I am in LOVE with this Mombo from Babies R Us.  It is very supportive and also is good for tummy time.  My littles love the taggies, too.

Mombo

Chapstick, Gum, Hair Tie/Headband-These are great comforts while you're laboring.

Camera
Phone Charger
White Noise-This is an absolute MUST for me and makes sleeping the hospital so much nicer!  I used a white noise ap for my cell phone and it worked great.

Nice Additions for Mom-
Blanket-This was really more of a necessity for me but since technically the hospital does have blankets I put it in this category.
Music-Maybe add headphones too?  I really needed a distraction with my first but didn't have time with the other two.
House Shoes/Socks-The hospital will give you some of those itchy socks with rubber bottoms so it's not necessary to pack your own shoes but it's really nice to have shoes so you can slip them off easily when you get in bed.
Snacks-After giving birth I seriously have the appetite of a teenage boy.  Nothing seems to satisfy (especially that awesome hospital food).  With my second, my mom bought a dozen doughnuts and they were a life saver between meals and at 3am when I was feeding little bug and I was starving.  So you might want to pack some granola bars, crackers or something that will fit in your suitcase.

Essentials for Dad-
Something to do- (this was all Tarzan had to contribute to this post) but it's really true especially if you are going to be nursing.  They can change diapers and help you move around but mostly he was sitting still.
Change of clothes, Pajamas

Essentials for Baby-
Our birthing facilities had everything we needed for our new bundles.  Diapers, wipes, formula, shampoo, blankets, a little outfit, and a hat.
Baby Gowns-Knowing the hospital had a little shirt for baby and they were bundled in a blanket I still brought a couple gowns for my babies.  I love the little ones with covers for their hands like these gowns.  They make changes easy and since our babies had security anklets other sleepers weren't really an option.
Blanket-I liked having one of our blankets in the little bassinet.  You will also want a blanket to put over baby to go home.
Hats/Bows/Socks-I made sure to bring bows and hats for my girlies and snapped a few pictures of them in the hospital.
Homecoming Outfit-I'm sure you already have something picked out I would just recommend something with legs instead of a gown or dress.  These are difficult to get into the carseat.
Carseat-Go ahead and install the base in your car, this will make it much easier when you get ready to leave.

I'm pretty sure that's it but will update if I remember any thing.

A little note: I am just a mom sharing what worked for me with other moms.  I have not been 

asked to advertise the items above, they were items I purchased for my personal use while I was pregnant.

My First Sewing Post

Well, I've kinda fallen off the organizing wagon but I will be posting pictures of what I'm working on.  Here's my first sewing post:

I have the most precious dress with little ruffled capri pants she wore for Christmas:

I still love the dress but wanted to do something that was for Valentines day. And ended up adding an owl:

It's so adorable!  I can't wait for her to wear it.  So, if you have an outfit that has a monogram on it you can make it a brand new outfit!  I keep this in mind when I'm at a consignment sale.  Often times outfits that are already monogrammed are much cheaper.  Another option is to embroider a patch then add your little one's outfit!

Lauren

Happy Birthday Monkey!

Happy Birthday Monkey!

2 years ago today we met for the first time.  You weighed 8.5 pounds and were 22 inches long.  You came out fist first and have been surprising us ever since. 

But I have to say I was in love with you before then!

You captured your daddy's heart from the beginning.

Your energy and enthusiasm for life makes me smile and I cherish the time we have together

You have always been a curious little boy and I pray you continue to pursue what you love!

Even though Daddy was gone for your first year he has become your best friend, wrestling buddy and #1 juice maker

You're messy

You're the sweetest big brother

And if you want Cheerios instead of cake...it's your day!

And I love you to pieces.  Happy 2nd Birthday buddy!!

Momma

Day #14 Under The Bathroom Sink

Today we're working on under the bathroom sink at A Bowl Full of Lemons.  This was much needed!  Monkey LOVES to unload this area so keeping it organized is pretty difficult.  So, I organized it again and we'll see how long it lasts...

Before:

And After:

 Join me!

 

My day(s) off

I took a couple days off because the last two posts I've already organized.  I know Toni over at A Bowl Full of Lemons has told us to organize something but I needed a few days to catch up.  All that snow kept us cooped up in the house and we needed to get some basic cleaning and errands done.  I HAVE been working though!  I'm trying to figure out what clothes to make for my kiddos this spring/summer!  Here are a few of my inspirations.  These are a few outfits I'm in love with and have patterns similar to:

 I'm hoping to talk Tarzan into wearing this little collection from Kellys Kids for a family picture at the beach...we'll see

I already have a pattern to make something similar to this:

I'm hoping to have several outfits that are similar or matching for the kiddos!  This is precisely the reason I had two kids...haha!!  Well we're off to supper with some friends tonight.  I hope everyone enjoyed their Sunday, it's beautiful here!

Lauren

Day #11 21 Days of Getting Organized

Wow!!  I'm over 1/2 way there and I've been blogging every day!  Today we're in the freezer at A Bowl Full of Lemons.  My freezer wasn't that bad but it's something I've been thinking about for a week or so.  I'm planning on doing once a month cooking (probably will start with just a week) here soon so I need to organize my freezer to make room for those meals until we can get the stand up freezer God blessed us with.  When we get the freezer though I plan on using Toni's method of labeled containers to keep it organized!

My main purge was the breast milk I worked SOOOOO hard to pump for doodlebug but she can't eat because she's got some sort of allergy (we're working on it).  She hasn't eaten any of it in a while but I just didn't want to throw away all that work.  Here's my before:

Here's the after...

We have the I-C-E C-R-E-A-M up on top so monkey doesn't see it every time we open the freezer door.  (Thanks Mimi)!  I also got all the "bread" on the bottom, then veggies, then meats (found some ground beef I forgot about), some random unhealthy stuff then fruits/ice cream on top.

Join me!!

Day #10 The Laundry Room

Woohoo!  It's day #10 at A Bowl Full of Lemons and we're in the laundry room.  Our laundry room  is a pass through from the garage to the kitchen and though we're able to have a dirty clothes basket in it which is more than our last laundry room it's not quite the huge mud/laundry room of my dreams.  So, keeping it organized (and laundry folded) makes it feel much larger!
I didn't get a very good before picture because I was excited to jump in...

 After:

I already had these great bins that I use for medicines and they're all separated (first aid, allergy medicines, pain medicine, lil medicine, misc, sunscreen/bugspray).  Then I have my detergents off to the right.  Further past the picture I have starch, stain treatment and mesh bags (for little socks) in a basket.  I just didn't get them in the picture.

Well, that's my laundry room reveal.  Join me!!

Mom gets inspired!

So, after reading my blog, my mom was inspired to clean out her pantry as well!  Tarzan and I usually tease her about her fridge but I've refrained from mentioning the pantry.  But seriously I'm not sure she's given the pantry an overhaul since moving into her house several years ago.  We give my mom a hard time but honestly she's one of my best friends and my biggest fan!  Here's what she started with:

Here is all the expired food!  Some back from 2004...

The finished product.  Doesn't it look GREAT???

So have you been inspired??  What are you holding on to that someone else could use?  Jump in at any time and any day!

Lauren

Day #9 Toy Organization

Day #9 at A Bowl Full of Lemons is (cue the Jaws theme music) the Play Room!  This has been coming for quite some time now.  After Christmas we were on a mission to purge some toys and organize the play room (and the den).  Since we have two stories toys are mainly upstairs but they also take over the downstairs.  As one of Dusty's friends said "you can tell a toddler lives here".  At first I was kind of hurt but then realized that yes you can tell as soon as you walk in our house that we have kids.  And I know this won't last long.  Pretty soon we won't have tonka trucks and trains all over the floor because my little guy will be grown up.  I'm going to cherish and embrace the "toddlerness" of our house but in a bit more organized fashion!

Here's the before:

And the after:

My sewing/crafting area is even still clean!!

Have you started organizing?  Jump in any time!  Join Me!

Day #8 21 Days to Getting Organized

Day #8 at A Bowl Full of Lemons is the coat closet.  We kind of have a coat closet but it's really a space under the stairs with a door.  And it wasn't that unorganized so this is kind of a lame post but I'm still organizing daily!

Before:

And After:

The main part of my organization was placing all our guest linens in a laundry basket.  Since we don't have a guest bedroom my mom, mother-in-law and various guests stay downstairs on the couch so we keep those linens down here.

I also keep Monkey's playdoh and art accessories in a tupperware container that snaps down so he can't get into it and make a huge mess while I'm not looking.  Wonder how long it will take him to figure out how to open it??

Join me!

Day #7 21 Days to Getting Organized

Day #7 at A Bowl Full of Lemons is the pantry.  I had all weekend to work on this and boy I needed it!  When I moved in a few months ago things were pretty organized but little Monkey decided to rearrange it for me.  So here goes...

I really needed to clean the floor in here!!  And after:

All my spices and marinades are organized in these bins, too!

We got lots of snow here in Atlanta!!  About 6 inches in the back yard and a few inches on the road.  We've stayed in, had chili and cookies! 

 

 Hope you are warm wherever you are!!

Join me!