I had pretty awful pp hair loss from about 3-6 months. I was just looking at my very empty hairbrush the other day realizing I am in store for more mommy pattern baldness this round, hooray! It does suck and can affect how you feel about yourself but after a while once you nail how to hide your bald spots it isn't so bad.
I think I may be the hospital bag laggard. I am waiting until my 35w appointment to do mine. I am weirdly paranoid that if I do it too early I am going to jinx myself and wind up with a scheduled c/s. Hi, my name is WombThereItIs, and I am a crazy person. I did just travel last week though so all my toiletries are ready and in order, it shouldn't take long between that and STM giving no f-cks.
Its funny that the pp hair loss got brought up because I was just talking about that the other day with DH. I remember showering and I would have handfuls of hair just falling out. It's pretty crazy. I never got any bald spots though. Why is it that hair falls out of your head but it doesn't on other parts of your body? other parts of my body would be perfectly ok with me...
I didn't bring my vitamins to the hospital, I just resumed them once I got home. Most hospital pharmacies will not accept your pills and package them for the nurse to dispense. You can keep them in your room and let the nurse know if you take them. Most vitamins make me sick so I just refused the ones that were offered at the hospital.
Sitting in my hospital bed with a recommendation...pack a small bag (like cosmetic size) with things you might want easy access to all of the time at your bed--here's what's in mine: super long phone charger, mints, a mini brush/mirror combo, hair ties and bobby pins, tiny hand lotion, tiny face cream, lip balm, Visine, hand sanitizer. It's just nice to have it all on hand but not necessarily spread out all over.
That is a really good idea @Kipperoo. Especially this time when I expect to have more time alone since husband will be on toddler duty. Would never have thought of that until I was stuck in bed and trying to use jedi powers to mvoe my bag closer!
Late to the party, but reading through all of this talk of feet made my stomach turn. I have a strong (and probably unreasonable) foot aversion, so the thought of taking a shower in the hospital sans shoes freaks me out. Plus, *TMI* I remember all of the liquids that were coming out of me during my hospital showers last time, and since it's the mother/baby unit, that's the case for everyone who showers there. I'd rather wear cheap plastic flip flops than walk around where other women's bodily fluids have been.
I brought my vitamins with last time, but never told the nurses...I didn't even think that they'd need them for anything. I don't have any Rx meds though that might interact badly with anything I took at the hospital, so I'd guess it's fine. I just kept them in my bag and took one each morning without the nurses knowing- or maybe they didn't care?
My hair is just now recovering from the postpartum loss from my 17 month old. I mostly noticed it along my hairline when I'd put my hair up. I eventually got a "mom bob" which I actually really loved and I think it helped since I wasn't able to put it up (so no one could see my weird hair line) and when it started growing back, it was able to catch up with my shorter 'do. Now, I've been growing it out so I can put it up and out of grubby baby hands. I haven't decided if I'll mom bob it up again. I tend to grow my hair out until I get bored and then chop it off.
Fur daughter: 02/2011 Human sons: 11/2015 & 05/2017 *formerly kayemjay*
@WombThereItIs I haven't given any thought to my hospital bag either. We live pretty close to the hospital, so if I happen to go into labor before I can do it I think I'll be okay. I will probably start putting it together at 37 weeks.
I'm 35 weeks. I just occurred to me that I'm more concerned about getting my hospital bag together soon than I am about getting my mom down here to watch DD. I think she'll come down right around 39 weeks. I should probably figure that out.
I'm 35 weeks. I just occurred to me that I'm more concerned about getting my hospital bag together soon than I am about getting my mom down here to watch DD. I think she'll come down right around 39 weeks. I should probably figure that out.
We haven't figured out that yet either! I'm playing the "we will see how it goes game". Ideally I'm thinking 39wks but this LO could throw a wrench in our plans at any point now...
Married 03.09.09 Sweet Baby H 12.21.11 Sassy Baby P 03.26.14 Little Brother Due 05.22.17
My sister will be here the week of my due date, and my mom is coming up the week after that to stay with DS while we're at the hospital. If this baby comes beforehand, my MIL will be coming over....so I'm really hoping this baby doesn't come early. She insists on taking him to her house because she "doesn't like" spending the night at other people's houses. Not only would that be so much more work for us to pack up DS's stuff, but it's so disruptive for him! He's never spent the night at my MIL's house and I really don't want to start that right now on top of all of the other changes in his life.
Fur daughter: 02/2011 Human sons: 11/2015 & 05/2017 *formerly kayemjay*
@kayemjay2 my MIL is obsessed with the idea of having out son stay at her house- for a week- and she lives 6 hours away!! She even has a creepy kids room set up in her house- we visit once or twice a year. My son is 2! Maybe he will go to her house when he's 8 or 9.
@kayemjay2 my MIL is obsessed with the idea of having out son stay at her house- for a week- and she lives 6 hours away!! She even has a creepy kids room set up in her house- we visit once or twice a year. My son is 2! Maybe he will go to her house when he's 8 or 9.
My friend's parents live across the entire country and she's left her kids with them for a week 2x a year since they were over a year old. I have no idea how she does it. Her kids are not super sociable either, so I can't believe they don't get homesick. My parents and ILs also live in the same state as hers and it's too far away for me to send my 3 1/2 yr old for that long. Maybe when she's older?
I had pretty awful pp hair loss from about 3-6 months. I was just looking at my very empty hairbrush the other day realizing I am in store for more mommy pattern baldness this round, hooray! It does suck and can affect how you feel about yourself but after a while once you nail how to hide your bald spots it isn't so bad.
I think I may be the hospital bag laggard. I am waiting until my 35w appointment to do mine. I am weirdly paranoid that if I do it too early I am going to jinx myself and wind up with a scheduled c/s. Hi, my name is WombThereItIs, and I am a crazy person. I did just travel last week though so all my toiletries are ready and in order, it shouldn't take long between that and STM giving no f-cks.
36w and haven't even really thought about it, bought some toiletries but haven't even put them in a bag yet, I occasionally throw items of clothing or something I buy into a pile in the corner to pack, but I haven't got a clue what's actually in that pile
Me - 22 | DH - 32 | Married - 24 May 2014 DS - January 2014
TTC#2 - December 2015
BFP - 6 March 2016 | MC Confirmed - 21 March 2016 TTCAL | April 2016 CP | June 2016 CP | July 2016
OMG I can't wait to ditch my kids at Grandpa and Grandmas! That was very normal for us growing up, every summer we went to my aunts/grandmas for 2 weeks and it was so much fun! DD LOVES her aunts and uncles (and grandparents) so I know she will think it's a blast. However on the other hand I would never send DD to stay with ILs, just because they both work and they don't really know what to do with kids. When they came to visit after DD was born if she started fussing while they give her back. They also held her like they had never held a baby before. So strange.
We've left DS with my MIL and FIL at our house for 1 week when we went to Mexico last March. It was glorious and he was totally fine (1.5yo). We have left him for a night or two a couple of times with my parents/inlaws. It's always been at our house though. The grandparents are a total novelty because they live cross country, so I think that's part of the success. Also the familiarity of home...
I could totally leave them in the grandparents' care in our house. But across the country to a place DD only sees 2x a year seems a bit daunting. I can't wait to do it when she's older.
@NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot it does seem appealing!! I actually considered it this winter after he had been sick and up all night screaming for two weeks. But I started reading about it from a psychological perspective and it was saying that kids can get confused and dont understand why you're sending them away- even if they seem fine it could impact them negatively and that got stuck in my mind and then the more I thogutb about it it was like eh I'll wait until he's old enough to ask to go. But to each their own- I'd be fine with leaving for a few days if someone wanted to watch him at our house!
+1 to giving no thought to my hospital bag. I just today started thinking about all the stuff I'll need post-mastectomy and that's in a little over a week. I will probably start worrying about my baby hospital bag around 37 weeks. I'd like to do it a bit sooner but with my mastectomy at almost 35 weeks I don't see that happening.
Also, I can't wait to leave DS and this baby with family down the road. I am already planning a big post-cancer treatment vacation for DH and I to take. It may be a few years away but the idea of going away just the two of us and relaxing on a beach is the stuff of fantasy right now.
My mom is local so DD is very familiar with her. But she frequently spends the night over there (at least once a month) and has spent the weekend a few times, 10 Days when she was 1.5 years old while DH and I were on vacation, and then will spend a month there this June/July. She loves going to nana and pop-pops house and I'm glod she is getting to make these memories.
@nda_roxybabe I just wanted to say thanks for the details regarding the Milkmaid robe! I just ordered one and I am so excited! This is exactly what I was looking for!
Just adding another real time hospital tip...it was pretty heavenly to change from what was like the 10th johnny robe I had destroyed with birth goop into some pj pants BUT now I've got goop on those, too! So if you want to wear your own clothes, maybe just plan at least 1 extra set. And dark colors.
@kayemjay2 my MIL is obsessed with the idea of having out son stay at her house- for a week- and she lives 6 hours away!! She even has a creepy kids room set up in her house- we visit once or twice a year. My son is 2! Maybe he will go to her house when he's 8 or 9.
Oh man, I agree with you! My sister lets my mom take my niece up north about 5 hours away ( we live in Michigan) with her for like a week at a time and the first time she did this my niece was 6 DAYS OLD... she is now almost 2 and has probably been up north without my sister at least 10 times. This is definitely a UO to some people, but at this young age I don't see a need for my child to spend the night somewhere without me. I have no problem missing out on things to make sure this happens. Now, certain situations like giving birth are obviously unavoidable. A family member will come to our house to stay the night with DS while I am in the hospital.
We have never left DS (16 mos) overnight with anyone (at our house or theirs), and I am wondering if it will come back and bite us when we are at the hospital for 3 or 4 nights after my C-section. He's been around my parents plenty, but I just wonder if not having us there for so long will rock his little world.
In contrast, my best friend has left her son (also 16 mos) with her parents - for a week at a time - probably 5 times since he was born. They live 9 hours away. It's a relationship she really wants to foster, and she is glad for quality time with her husband while the baby is away. I guess it's one of those 'to each his own' kinds of things...
It is so interesting to hear everyone's perspectives on LOs spending time away. Our families are both close, my parents are 5 blocks away (and he sees them almost everyday) and ILs are 15 minutes. I couldn't do the ship off to grandma's for a week thing until much older. DS spent 1 night at my parents at 4 mo and we have had to be away overnight two other times since and they stayed at our house. DS is not upset about us not being there, but is very attached to his crib. We tried a couple weeks ago to see if he would stay the night at my parents house and ended up picking him up at 10:00. MIL has been pushing for an overnight for a while and all I can think is "Do I make this look fun or something?!" I mean if all goes to plan he is asleep from 8p-8a, its not like a sleep over when they are older and they could stay up watching movies and stuff.
It's so interesting to hear about other perspectives, like @Louise_Belcher said.
My parents (who live about 15 min from our house) have kept DD on and off since she was about 6 months old. We lived with them for about 4 months while our house was being built about 2 years ago. Now DD spends the night with them at least 1 night a week. Last weekend I went to pick her up Friday after she had spent Thursday and she ended up not wanting to leave and stayed another night. My parents have a dress up station with all the Disney princess costumes. Not to mention she gets donuts for breakfast and basiclly rules the roost there. I'm just so happy that my parents love her as much as she loves them. Plus fiancé and I get alone time together even if it's just watching a movie in bed on a Thursday night. I've always been extremely close to my family, especially my mom, so this factors into it as well.
I would absolutely trust our babysitter to stay overnight with our son. She has handled bath/bedtime several times when we've gone out with no problem. We always planned on escaping overnight somewhere close and having her babysit, but we never got around to it. My husband turns 40 this fall, and we're hoping my mom can fly in and stay overnight one night with both kids. All that said, I can't imagine my son sleeping somewhere else without me, if only because he is a creature of habit, and we've worked really hard on a consistent bedtime routine. If we lived closer to my mom, I bet things would be different.
I agree, it's super interesting to read how personal and different the overnight thing is for everyone. We are fortunate enough to have my parents and our in laws all live within 15 minutes of us. My son's first overnnighter with my parents was at about 3 months to let us get a full night's sleep and it was a godsend! He probably stays with them about once a month or every other, usually just for a night. The longest stretch has just been for a long weekend. Now FIL takes him for the night sometimes too, but that didn't start until he was about 2. I agree with @BeachMommy2B that it's so fun for him to have the opportunity to stay with them and have that special time. I will say though, if we were talking a week and it was a distance away I would have a much harder time.
Gearing up for our release in a few hours (yay!) and figured I'd do a best/worst list of our hospital bag...sorry this is a little long, my mobile editing skills could use some help... Best/most used: -my personal care items--making me feel more like me has been very helpful in my overall happiness levels during this stay. Specific winners: illuminating face balm from Stila, tinker lip balm (Maybelline Baby Lips), some random blush, mascara, Visine (huge help for making me look less tired plus hospital air seems really dry to me), scented lotion (ok, this varies person to person, but I had a sample size swanky hand cream of the Jo Malone fragrance that I wear daily and it was nice to freshen my skin AND the stuffy hospital room). -small bag at my bedside that I mentioned in my earlier post: I just rotated things in and out that I wanted on hand (including snacks, gum, nipple shield, etc) -extra long phone charger: seriously, game changer because I could keep my phone plugged in all the time, lend it to visitors, no one ever felt tethered to the wall and I could keep it plugged in behind my bed. -comfy cardigan: after getting transferred to my PP room, changing into sweat pants, a nursing friendly tank/bra, and a long, drapery cardigan made me feel less like a hospital patient and more like I was at home. It also served as a nursing cover up when there was suddenly a man outside my window fixing something on the roof, haha... -canned iced coffee: I know this is also a personal thing, but I hate hot coffee and love iced coffee. I picked up a bunch of cans of various brands at Whole Foods and have taken great pleasure in testing some new flavors while caffinating my sleep deprived self and having them on hand for visitors (and DH) since the hospital coffee sucks.
Least used: -all of the baby stuff...we put DD in a couple of cute swaddle blankets to snap pics to send to relatives/for Facebook, but then immediately took them off. Newborn poop is no joke and I would not be happy if I was toting home poop covered blankets that have been sitting in my room stewing for the past few days. Hospital blankets aren't the cutest, but they do the trick.
Freaking out a little about the hair loss discussion. I already have spider silk fine hair and thinning due to PCOS so my hair is already like brown smoke. Ugh.
@sweaterboots I didn't have any hair falling out after either of my daughters, but I also didn't have the thick "pregnancy hair" that some people get. Maybe if your hair didn't really change during pregnancy it's not likely to change post pregnancy either.
I couldn't decide if this was best asked here or in the randoms, but since we're talking about hair- does anyone have any specific brand of headband they'd recommend? I can never seem to find one that doesn't either give me a headache or constantly slip off of my head. Anything that's comfy and stays put would be awesome!
Fur daughter: 02/2011 Human sons: 11/2015 & 05/2017 *formerly kayemjay*
@Squirtgun my hair and nails definitely did not get thick or luxurious. They feel the same to me. Also my arm hair got really thin? Maybe because of my initial hormone imbalance I never went through the thick phase so it won't be so drastic. Crossing fingers so hard...
@kayemjay2 if you're like me and missing that crucial bump on the back of your skull, keeping headbands on makes you want to kill by the end of the day. I got some cheapie black cotton wide ones at the drug store that don't have the aggressively strong hold. For me the tighter the hold, the faster they squeeze off the back of my bumpless head...
... @kayemjay2 if you're like me and missing that crucial bump on the back of your skull, keeping headbands on makes you want to kill by the end of the day. I got some cheapie black cotton wide ones at the drug store that don't have the aggressively strong hold. For me the tighter the hold, the faster they squeeze off the back of my bumpless head...
@sweaterboots This is me! I thought maybe my head was just weird, cause none of my friends have this problem. Headbands just shoot off the back of my head, so I've given up on them.
@sweaterboots & @starphish18 - I had no idea this was a thing! Haha...as far as I know, I have all of the expected skull bumps. Headbands usually just gradually slide off my head. It's not an immediate thing, but I can definitely feel it happening. It would be amazing to find one that I can wear during labor that wouldn't drive me nuts, since I have a bunch of weird length hairs that don't fit reliably into a pony
Fur daughter: 02/2011 Human sons: 11/2015 & 05/2017 *formerly kayemjay*
@kayemjay2@starphish18 luckily right now I just have a long pixie so only my bangs need to be managed. But I can't tell you how many times people are like "you should wear a headband with your pixie!!!" and I want to slap. :P I have a collection of like 10 collecting dust because I'll love one, think "this time it will be different!" and quickly the disappointment sets in.
The cheap black ones I got are about 2" wide though and soft cotton so they definitely grip better! If I wear them to sleep though I still wake up with them either in the bed or around my neck!
@kayemjay2 I have very thin, fine hair that is a pain with headbands but these work relatively well. If I grit up my hair with some beach spray or dry shampoo they work even better. The velvety backing grips my hair better than most.
This is the brand's website but you can find them on Amazon and at running stores too. https://www.sweatybands.com
Question to all of you who send their kids across the country to visit grand parents. Do you actually go with them by plane and then go back? We live far from both families and the idea of flying so much isn't appealing, though we want this baby to know his families. How does it logistically work?
Question to all of you who send their kids across the country to visit grand parents. Do you actually go with them by plane and then go back? We live far from both families and the idea of flying so much isn't appealing, though we want this baby to know his families. How does it logistically work?
At age 5 most airlines allow children to fly "unaccompanied" which is basically by themselves. They have an airline representative that takes them from gate to gate if there is a layover and waits with them. You have to wait with your child at the gate until the plane physically takes off and someone on the other side has to be waiting when it lands and prove identification/sign off when child disembarks from the plane.
I personally would never imagine sending my 5 year old (or even older) on a plane by themselves.
Married 03.09.09 Sweet Baby H 12.21.11 Sassy Baby P 03.26.14 Little Brother Due 05.22.17
Question to all of you who send their kids across the country to visit grand parents. Do you actually go with them by plane and then go back? We live far from both families and the idea of flying so much isn't appealing, though we want this baby to know his families. How does it logistically work?
I haven't done this yet because DD is only 3, but on one of my flights a few years ago I sat next to a woman who was flying to meet her grandkids and was going to be flying right back with them so they could stay at her house. She was essentially never leaving the airport, they just didn't want the kids flying by themselves. My dad travels a ridiculous amount for work, so I imagine this is something my parents would do as I don't see my mother thrilled with the idea of letting DD fly by herself.
Re: Hospital Bag
I think I may be the hospital bag laggard. I am waiting until my 35w appointment to do mine. I am weirdly paranoid that if I do it too early I am going to jinx myself and wind up with a scheduled c/s. Hi, my name is WombThereItIs, and I am a crazy person. I did just travel last week though so all my toiletries are ready and in order, it shouldn't take long between that and STM giving no f-cks.
May '17 labor memes
Its funny that the pp hair loss got brought up because I was just talking about that the other day with DH. I remember showering and I would have handfuls of hair just falling out. It's pretty crazy. I never got any bald spots though. Why is it that hair falls out of your head but it doesn't on other parts of your body? other parts of my body would be perfectly ok with me...
I didn't bring my vitamins to the hospital, I just resumed them once I got home. Most hospital pharmacies will not accept your pills and package them for the nurse to dispense. You can keep them in your room and let the nurse know if you take them. Most vitamins make me sick so I just refused the ones that were offered at the hospital.
May '17 labor memes
I brought my vitamins with last time, but never told the nurses...I didn't even think that they'd need them for anything. I don't have any Rx meds though that might interact badly with anything I took at the hospital, so I'd guess it's fine. I just kept them in my bag and took one each morning without the nurses knowing- or maybe they didn't care?
My hair is just now recovering from the postpartum loss from my 17 month old. I mostly noticed it along my hairline when I'd put my hair up. I eventually got a "mom bob" which I actually really loved and I think it helped since I wasn't able to put it up (so no one could see my weird hair line) and when it started growing back, it was able to catch up with my shorter 'do. Now, I've been growing it out so I can put it up and out of grubby baby hands. I haven't decided if I'll mom bob it up again. I tend to grow my hair out until I get bored and then chop it off.
Human sons: 11/2015 & 05/2017
*formerly kayemjay*
May17 Siggy Challenge
Labor
Sweet Baby H 12.21.11
Sassy Baby P 03.26.14
Little Brother Due 05.22.17
Human sons: 11/2015 & 05/2017
*formerly kayemjay*
Human sons: 11/2015 & 05/2017
*formerly kayemjay*
May17 Siggy Challenge
Labor
DS - January 2014
TTCAL | April 2016
CP | June 2016
CP | July 2016
However on the other hand I would never send DD to stay with ILs, just because they both work and they don't really know what to do with kids. When they came to visit after DD was born if she started fussing while they give her back. They also held her like they had never held a baby before. So strange.
May17 Siggy Challenge
Labor
Also, I can't wait to leave DS and this baby with family down the road. I am already planning a big post-cancer treatment vacation for DH and I to take. It may be a few years away but the idea of going away just the two of us and relaxing on a beach is the stuff of fantasy right now.
Oh man, I agree with you! My sister lets my mom take my niece up north about 5 hours away ( we live in Michigan) with her for like a week at a time and the first time she did this my niece was 6 DAYS OLD... she is now almost 2 and has probably been up north without my sister at least 10 times. This is definitely a UO to some people, but at this young age I don't see a need for my child to spend the night somewhere without me. I have no problem missing out on things to make sure this happens. Now, certain situations like giving birth are obviously unavoidable. A family member will come to our house to stay the night with DS while I am in the hospital.
In contrast, my best friend has left her son (also 16 mos) with her parents - for a week at a time - probably 5 times since he was born. They live 9 hours away. It's a relationship she really wants to foster, and she is glad for quality time with her husband while the baby is away. I guess it's one of those 'to each his own' kinds of things...
DS2 5/17
#3 Due 9/20
My parents (who live about 15 min from our house) have kept DD on and off since she was about 6 months old. We lived with them for about 4 months while our house was being built about 2 years ago. Now DD spends the night with them at least 1 night a week. Last weekend I went to pick her up Friday after she had spent Thursday and she ended up not wanting to leave and stayed another night. My parents have a dress up station with all the Disney princess costumes. Not to mention she gets donuts for breakfast and basiclly rules the roost there.
Best/most used:
-my personal care items--making me feel more like me has been very helpful in my overall happiness levels during this stay. Specific winners: illuminating face balm from Stila, tinker lip balm (Maybelline Baby Lips), some random blush, mascara, Visine (huge help for making me look less tired plus hospital air seems really dry to me), scented lotion (ok, this varies person to person, but I had a sample size swanky hand cream of the Jo Malone fragrance that I wear daily and it was nice to freshen my skin AND the stuffy hospital room).
-small bag at my bedside that I mentioned in my earlier post: I just rotated things in and out that I wanted on hand (including snacks, gum, nipple shield, etc)
-extra long phone charger: seriously, game changer because I could keep my phone plugged in all the time, lend it to visitors, no one ever felt tethered to the wall and I could keep it plugged in behind my bed.
-comfy cardigan: after getting transferred to my PP room, changing into sweat pants, a nursing friendly tank/bra, and a long, drapery cardigan made me feel less like a hospital patient and more like I was at home. It also served as a nursing cover up when there was suddenly a man outside my window fixing something on the roof, haha...
-canned iced coffee: I know this is also a personal thing, but I hate hot coffee and love iced coffee. I picked up a bunch of cans of various brands at Whole Foods and have taken great pleasure in testing some new flavors while caffinating my sleep deprived self and having them on hand for visitors (and DH) since the hospital coffee sucks.
Least used:
-all of the baby stuff...we put DD in a couple of cute swaddle blankets to snap pics to send to relatives/for Facebook, but then immediately took them off. Newborn poop is no joke and I would not be happy if I was toting home poop covered blankets that have been sitting in my room stewing for the past few days. Hospital blankets aren't the cutest, but they do the trick.
Human sons: 11/2015 & 05/2017
*formerly kayemjay*
@kayemjay2 if you're like me and missing that crucial bump on the back of your skull, keeping headbands on makes you want to kill by the end of the day. I got some cheapie black cotton wide ones at the drug store that don't have the aggressively strong hold. For me the tighter the hold, the faster they squeeze off the back of my bumpless head...
Human sons: 11/2015 & 05/2017
*formerly kayemjay*
The cheap black ones I got are about 2" wide though and soft cotton so they definitely grip better! If I wear them to sleep though I still wake up with them either in the bed or around my neck!
This is the brand's website but you can find them on Amazon and at running stores too. https://www.sweatybands.com
May '17 labor memes
Married:09/14/13
Baby 2 - Due: 5/4/17
I personally would never imagine sending my 5 year old (or even older) on a plane by themselves.
Sweet Baby H 12.21.11
Sassy Baby P 03.26.14
Little Brother Due 05.22.17