I went into premature labor at 30w4d. I had absolutely nothing packed. My husband just grabbed my gym bag since it already had all my toiletries in it. It served its purpose and was big enough for all random stuff I came home from the hospital with after giving birth. I guess for me there’s already so many other things to buy, why purchase a special bag.
This go round I will have my bag packed at 29 weeks since I’ll likely have another preemie although the goal with my team of medical providers is not to!
My good friend bought me the most adorable bag ever with the cutest print and dropped way more money on it than I ever would have for myself. I’ve used it every time. But otherwise I would have just used an old duffle.
@baseballismyfavoriteseason 😭 I absolutely love that bag!! I was looking at the mom kindness bags recently, I think they're a similar weekender style but yours is definitely way more practical! It's totally a mental thing, but buying a cute bag is just something I really want to get, as silly as it sounds! Our carryon is realistically just as fine as a pretty weekender bag, and I know I won't care once I'm in labor... I actually had the opposite experience in the hospital, I was %100 comfortable temperature wise the whole three days, but since I'm going to a different hospital this time I'm for sure going to remember the sweater tip, thank you! I don't even know if I'll end up in the hospital or not, I'm hoping for a a birth center birth, but I need to be prepared for a hospital stay after my history.
I just used a gym bag but if a nice bag makes you feel good, treat yo self! Mine was mostly packed around 32 weeks and I kept it in my trunk because I work at the hospital I delivered/will deliver at and it’s an hour away from our house. MH ended up needing to bring a few things for me and he forgot stuff (toothbrush and toothpaste!) so I was glad to have most of what I needed. I will do the same this time.
I brought a duffle bag the last 2 times, but I saw some moms had a carry on suitcase that could be wheeled and that seems smart to me. I’ll probably do that this time.
@calliah that's an amazing plan, I will for sure be doing that too, thank you!! Are there any cons to delivering that far from where you live, or did working there make it more convenient?? @coldbrew my SO keeps bringing up that our carry on bag wheels around and he thinks that's going to be so convenient for him, I literally never even considered that before 😳
@kalesix3 I remember having a lot to carry when discharged. Your bag, car seat, all of the supplies they give you. YH will likely have to carry the car seat so it’s making it easier on you, really 😉
@kalesix3@coldbrew I was reading your comments thinking I don’t remember carrying much... but I remembered that’s because the second night I made my husband go home to sleep. I said it was for his back (he was recovering from an injury) and so at least one of us could get a good night’s sleep, but the truth is, I was so frustrated waking up every two hours to attempt to nurse the baby while he continued to sleep through it all!! 🤣 So we ended up only having my bag plus the baby... which by the way was super terrifying lol. But we also were sent home with a lot of supplies, and actually a rolling bag sounds genius.
I did the same thing as @calliah where I packed early and kept the bag in my husband’s truck. I was off work and not going anywhere, but sometimes we would go for drives on weekends.
Working moms—is there anything you wish you would have known about maternity leave, or anything you wish you would have asked your company (HR rep or boss) beforehand?
What did you use for pain medication after birth (especially at home)? My first 2 births were in Minnesota, and I was prescribed 800mg ibuprofen and a form of Percocet. We moved to Michigan and had a baby in 2019, right after MI changed their laws concerning opioids. My OB gave me the high dose ibu and told me they can't even give the stronger stuff for C-sections. I was a little sad (because I had a good routine with meds for my first 2 births) but I didnt complain. However, the next 2 weeks were terrible. The ibuprofen upset my stomach and tylenol didn't help at all... I had such tense muscles and was constantly in pain. I really want to avoid that this time, so I'm wondering if you ladies had other options? I'll ask my OB too, but I'm not hopeful. Thanks!
@baseballismyfavoriteseason I would make sure to check on how your insurance coverage works if you are the cardholder. Every employer is different. Some employers keep paying their percentage of your benefits and some don’t. In my case they didn’t and my mat leave was 100% unpaid minus the very few sick days I had. So I had to write two checks to the district for what they usually cover on my insurance while I was on leave. Yes, I paid to go on Mat leave! Still bitter. Anyways....It’s better to find that all out now to help budget and save.
Yeah I had 2?(ish) doses of an opioid post delivery and then just ibuprofen after that, and just standard strength ibu at home. I didn't have a C-section though.
I had Vicodin and Florocet but I think those were more for my head. I had a wet tap during my epidural and subsequently felt like my head was literally going to explode for about 9-10 days after birth.
@coldbrew@baseballismyfavoriteseason sorry I'm just getting caught up on replies! What supplies do you mean? I'm trying to remember, but I think my mom brought home formula samples and threw them out... I don't remember anything else.. I brought a few pads home with me after my postpartum hospital stay last time, I wish I had grabbed my giant awesome water cup though..
@KaileyBri I’ve only ever used 800mg ibuprofen but I’ve never had a c-section. They did offer me Norco after my last baby but I declined.
@kalesix3 my biggest worry was going into labor at home and needing to drive an hour to the hospital. I was slightly worried MH wouldn’t make it since I ended up going into labor at work. Other con was not having a place for him and DS1 to sleep since the don’t allow kids overnight at the hospital.
Definitely hoping to go into labor at work again this time. It worked quite nicely.
@kalesix3 It was a year and a half ago and very much a blur, so what I remember getting is... a few diapers, a blanket, and some postpartum mom supplies—a perinatal bottle, super absorbent pads, disposable underwear, maybe even some tucks-like pads and numbing spray like dermoplast? And then some paperwork... like how to retrieve babe’s birth certificate, what to expect on night 2, etc. Also some gifts people brought to the hospital.
Does anyone have any experience with the breast milk collection shells? There's an add that keeps showing up on my Facebook and I'm wondering if any of you have used them and can give a first hand review.
Also, about strollers, did yours have a bassinet or did you just used the car seat? We are planning on traveling back home when the baby is around 2 months old so getting a stroller with a bassinet that is overnight approved might be a good idea since we will be visiting family and moving to different cities every couple of days. Any recommendations?
@glupglup I’m only a FTM so there may be better advice out there, but our stroller we got is just one that the car seat snaps into. DH’s family lives 3 hours away and we need something for overnights since we stay for Christmas. My best friend recommended we just get a pack n play that has a bassinet feature! She has 3 girls so I always take her advice lol. They have them at target so it’s on my registry.
@glupglup I didn't use the breast milk collection shells with my first. I thought about it, but I could figure out the practical logistics--like how long I could wear them without washing, would they be comfortable, and would all that work be worth it for the little bit of milk? The majority of my leaking happened when I nursed on the other side (as both breasts would let down). I used a hakaa pump which is basically a light suction silicone collector on the opposite side to collect that milk at that time. I just used the generic nursing pads in my bra other times for the small amount of other leaking. Happened more the first few months than later on.
Less of an opinion on the stroller as I just had the car seat version. We didn't travel a lot though. There are pretty basic travel bassinets (that don't connect to a stroller) if you want a different travel option.
@mamahosch thanks for the suggestion! I have not seen exactly those play and pack sets with a bassinet but I found something similar that we could probably use. I will have to ask our families to buy it and have it ready for our arrival but it should work, I'm definitely not traveling with that from western Canada to Europe. Once there we'll be traveling for 1-1.5 months and cover about 2000km, I hope to be able to stop at my parents' for at least 2 weeks before I go crazy.
@carrotsandpeas3 I guess this is more like something to figure as you go then? It will probably change from woman to woman. I literally had no idea if the leaking would be all the time or just at certain moments (I just feel like those men who think we can hold our period and just let it flow when we use the toilet). I'm going to need lots of learning!
@glupglup definitely a learn as you go! You are right in that it's not something you can control, but for me, major leaking was predictable. I still leaked other times randomly (mostly in the first 3 months) but not so much that I thought it was worth it to try to collect the milk. I think we had a previous product spotlight post about books that someone brought up breastfeeding resources. My biggest suggestion was kellymom.com which has great recommendations and troubleshooting tips. If you are able to make exclusive breastfeeding work, it will make your traveling easier (in my opinion). No packing food for baby and an easy way to soothe on the plane! We traveled with DD at 4 months, and that was a relief to me.
@mamahosch@glupglup Be careful with those pack n play bassinets. I thought it was genius, bought one for baby 1, and the first time we put him in it, it tilted and caused him to roll into the sidewall. (Yes, I freaked!) This was 2 years ago so hopefully they have improved the design by now. The feature I DID use for the first few months is that ours had a little insert that raised the bottom up higher so it was easier to reach, like this.
@glupglup I had some of those shells. I used them a couple of times. I only used them while nursing to capture the letdown leakage, and for me it wasn't enough that made it worth it (because then you have to wash and sterilize the things).
@baseballismyfavoriteseason thank you! I actually had that exact one in my amazon registry but I wasn’t sure if it was what I needed so I found the ones at target! I’m going to go back and put it back in my registry and take off the target one!
@glupglup I tried using shells and hated them, but someone recommended a Haakaa to me and I absolutely loved it. I had a stroller with a bassinet for our 3rd baby and far preferred it to using the car seat/stroller combo because we could use it for sleep as well. We took a few short trips and it was awesome not to have to pack our pack and play or worry about renting one from a hotel.
@glupglup this is the pack and play we have. It has a bassinet. It was great but the bassinet isn’t super big. It was good for the first few months. She napped in it in our living room. I also have the bassinet piece for Uppa Baby Vista stroller. That was amazing! I used that when I shopped with my DD so she just slept. And if we went anywhere like to visit family she’d sleep in it and it was reassuring knowing she was nice and safe.
@anitamargarita_82 those are the ones that I was trying to find yesterday but could only locate them in Canada, not back home. Maybe there are some European regulations against them. I did find a similar style to the one that @baseballismyfavoriteseason shared.
The Uppa Baby Vista + bassinet is one of the top strollers in my list so if I end up getting it that's all I'll probably need for sleeping while traveling.
@glupglup I traveled back home to Italy with a 2.5 month old and let me tell you, the stroller bassinet wasn't the best for him. I think it's ok for a couple of nights but I would not recommend it for more. I love the Vista but I also think it's crazy heavy and wouldn't travel with it ever. Do you have family in Europe? Is there a way they can get a gently used stroller for when you are there? That's what we did when we traveled and my mom still has that stroller to this day. I wore the baby on the plane and didn't need a stroller at all.
To this day we have never traveled with a stroller, we keep a summer lite at my in laws in Texas as well. If you can invest in a travel crib, I would go with the Guava. It's expensive but lightweight and everyone raves about it. Might be worth it if you're planning to travel that long.
@morethanamama I think I'm going to travel with the stroller but will get a travel crib there. The plan is to spend Christmas with the family there, have all the new great grandmas meet the baby and stay for 1-1.5 months. I'm not too worried about getting there because my mom will be in Canada with me (covid permitting) and we'll most probably travel together in mid December.
Most of the outdoor time for the first 6 months is going to be in Europe so I really want to carry the stroller with me. I don't expect good weather in Canada until April once the snow melts.
Will definitely get a travel crib too, do you know if the Guava is sold in Europe? I've seen similar designs from other brands at around 100-150€ so I'm not too concerned, just need something that folds into a small size for easy transportation.
Re: Ask a STM+ March Addition
It's totally a mental thing, but buying a cute bag is just something I really want to get, as silly as it sounds! Our carryon is realistically just as fine as a pretty weekender bag, and I know I won't care once I'm in labor...
I actually had the opposite experience in the hospital, I was %100 comfortable temperature wise the whole three days, but since I'm going to a different hospital this time I'm for sure going to remember the sweater tip, thank you!
I don't even know if I'll end up in the hospital or not, I'm hoping for a a birth center birth, but I need to be prepared for a hospital stay after my history.
Mine was mostly packed around 32 weeks and I kept it in my trunk because I work at the hospital I delivered/will deliver at and it’s an hour away from our house. MH ended up needing to bring a few things for me and he forgot stuff (toothbrush and toothpaste!) so I was glad to have most of what I needed. I will do the same this time.
@coldbrew my SO keeps bringing up that our carry on bag wheels around and he thinks that's going to be so convenient for him, I literally never even considered that before 😳
Also, about strollers, did yours have a bassinet or did you just used the car seat? We are planning on traveling back home when the baby is around 2 months old so getting a stroller with a bassinet that is overnight approved might be a good idea since we will be visiting family and moving to different cities every couple of days. Any recommendations?
Less of an opinion on the stroller as I just had the car seat version. We didn't travel a lot though. There are pretty basic travel bassinets (that don't connect to a stroller) if you want a different travel option.
@carrotsandpeas3 I guess this is more like something to figure as you go then? It will probably change from woman to woman. I literally had no idea if the leaking would be all the time or just at certain moments (I just feel like those men who think we can hold our period and just let it flow when we use the toilet). I'm going to need lots of learning!
DD - 12/28/17
TTC #2 3/2019
BFP 5/2019 || MC - D&C 5/2019
BFP 2/2020 || EDD 10/10/2020
The Uppa Baby Vista + bassinet is one of the top strollers in my list so if I end up getting it that's all I'll probably need for sleeping while traveling.
To this day we have never traveled with a stroller, we keep a summer lite at my in laws in Texas as well. If you can invest in a travel crib, I would go with the Guava. It's expensive but lightweight and everyone raves about it. Might be worth it if you're planning to travel that long.
Most of the outdoor time for the first 6 months is going to be in Europe so I really want to carry the stroller with me. I don't expect good weather in Canada until April once the snow melts.
Will definitely get a travel crib too, do you know if the Guava is sold in Europe? I've seen similar designs from other brands at around 100-150€ so I'm not too concerned, just need something that folds into a small size for easy transportation.