On this day last year Zac and I had our bags packed and were on a plane headed to Maui for a 10 day honeymoon getaway. Things are a little different this year....
As things are progressing nicely, our little Zane could make his big debut at any time. In preparation, we have our bags packed for the hospital so that we are ready when the time comes. I've looked up various lists online and watched several youtube videos to get a good idea about what to bring with us to the hospital. I'm sure that I've overpacked our bags but I guess I'd rather be safe than sorry.
I didn't want to pack carry on luggage and I don't own a duffel bag so I opted to buy a new bag to take to the hospital. I found this cute bag by Big Buddha at Ross For Less for $30. To be honest, I've never heard of Big Buddha before. I googled the company when I got home and apparently I got a good deal at Ross since the bag is normally $90. Thank you Ross.
Here is a general look at what I packed in my bag. There are a few things missing that will be added last minute but for the most part we are ready to go.
Shown above:
- Button down pajamas from Target (here)
- Gray cotton robe from Target (here)
- Black yoga pants
- Gray drawstring lounge pants
- Purple sports tank from Forever 21 (here)
- Gray long sleeve, loose fit tee from Forever 21
- Full coverage brief underwear
- Nursing bras (2) from Target (here)
- Ankle cut socks (2) from Target (here)
- Maxi pads
- Purell hand sanitizer
- Lifesavers and Jolly Ranchers
- Cosmetics bag
*Missing from bag: nursing cover and flip flops*
Here's what's inside:
- Hair brush
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Razors
- Q-tips
- Nursing pads
- Lip balm
- Nipple cream
- Deoderant
- Shampoo and conditioner
- Body wash
- Nail clippers
- Makeup remover wipes
- Mouthwash
Since I use my makeup everyday I haven't packed it all just yet. I also need to add some hair ties and bobby pins.
Zac and I shopped around together for a diaper bag. Both of us are going to have to use it so we wanted something that we would both be happy carrying around. We have different tastes and kept gravitating towards different looks so while shopping in Buy Buy Baby one afternoon we opted to each pick out a bag we liked if we weren't going to share. Although we realized that we didn't have the same taste in bags one thing we had in common was that we both had expensive taste. The bag that I found was the Charlie bag by Timi and Leslie (check it out here) for $159.99. Zac's bag was a black tote by StorkSak (check it out here) for $210.00. We left the store empty handed. We couldn't justify spending the money on a diaper bag when we still had other things to get and we certainly weren't crazy enough to drop $400 on two bags.
We thought that we would check around at other places for bags that were less expensive but discovered that these bags were often cheaply made, equally expensive, and didn't look nearly as nice as the ones we had picked out at Buy Buy Baby. After getting advice from some of my mama friends Zac and I decided that he would use his backpack as a diaper bag. He uses that bag for everything and feels more comfortable toting it around than a one shoulder bag that looks more like a purse than a messenger or diaper bag. Since we weren't buying two diaper bags I felt a little better about splurging on a bag that I really liked. All of my mama friends reminded me that this would be my purse for the next two years (even longer if we have another baby) and it should be something that I love as well as something that will last. A 20% off coupon for Buy Buy Baby sealed the deal. I'm super happy with the decision to pick up this Timi and Leslie convertible bag. Isn't is beautiful?
So here's everything that we've packed in Charlie for our little Zane:
I fell in love with this little frog outfit from my girl Kim. It was my first choice of outfits to bring home our little man in.
Just in case our little guy doesn't fit in his frog outfit, we brought a second outfit that is slightly bigger.
I did include newborn shoes to complete the outfit which probably seems a little ridiculous and crazy...but they are so cute!
Zac and I went to Carter's and picked up a few newborn sized sleepers. We're not sure how long our visit in the hospital will be so we decided to pack our favorite racoon sleeper just in case.
Most people will tell you that you don't need to pack diapers with you because the hospital will supply you with plenty. Zac and I have chosen to cloth diaper our little man from the very start so most of the space in Zane's bag will be taken up by diapers. We packed 10 newborn prefold diapers (found here on Amazon) along with two Rumparooz newborn sized covers (found at Kelly's Closet.)
To go along with the prefolds we packed this light blue snappi.
Since we don't know how long we'll be in the hospital or how big Zane will be, we also packed a few different diapers for some additional options. All of the other diapers are all in one newborn diapers. Three of the diapers are Rumparooz Lil Joey diapers that have snap downs for the umbilical cord. The last diaper is a Grovia newborn diaper in the print Bicycles. Between the all in one diapers and the prefolds we hope that we'll have enough to last our hospital visit. If for any reason our stay is extended and we need a few more diapers we can perhaps send a member of our family or a friend to our home to pick up a few more. We also made sure to pack a wet bag for all of the dirty diapers. *The wet bag is by Itzy Ritzy in the print Social Circle Blue found here on Amazon.*
With cloth diapers we aren't able to use most diaper rash creams because over time they will have a negative impact on the absorbancy of the diapers. The biggest recommendation we've had for a diaper cream substitute is coconut oil. I picked up a small bottle at Whole Foods and we have a little bit packed in a small Tupperware container for travel in the diaper bag. Cloth diapered babies tend to have less instances of diaper rash due to the lack of chemicals found in most disposable diapers but we figured it was never too soon to start moisturizing Zane's little booty.
It was also highly recommended to us that we use Vaseline in the beginning with Zane to prevent the meconium from sticking to his tush. We're not too sure if Vaseline is cloth diaper safe so we will also be packing some bio degradable diaper liners to prevent the Vaseline from absorbing into the diapers.
Along with cloth diapers, we're going to be using cloth wipes. We're not opposed to disposable wipes but it just made more sense to use cloth wipes in conjunction with cloth diapers because we are already doing the laundry. What's a few washcloths added to the load? Plus it didn't seem functional to have a diaper pail and wet bag for cloth diapers AND a garbage can for disposable wipes. We packed a travel case with dry wipes (baby washcloths) and will use a spray bottle with wipes solution made from water and baby bath wash to get them moist before use.
Along with a blanket we also packed a SwaddleMe wrap to keep our Mister Zane all snuggled and cozy.
Hopefully we have everything we need and haven't overpacked TOO much. If for any reason there are things that we have missed and will need for our stay, our home is not too far from the hospital so it shouldn't be an issue to make a quick trip to get what we need.
We are taking one more little package with us to the hospital:
Zac and I will be taking a gift basket for the labor and delivery nurses. My brother and his fiance are both nurses in a hospital and Zac and I know how hard they work, the difficult days they sometimes have, and how underappreciated they can be. We thought that it would be nice to let our labory and deliver nurses know ahead of time how much we appreciate their hard work. I found the idea on Pinterest and the link led me to this blog post.
I loved the idea. I picked up an apple basket from Michael's Craft Store with a 40% off coupon, created a label using Microsoft Word, and attached the note with some yellow ribbon. The basket is filled with some goodies that I picked up at Target: 100 calorie pack Oreo wafer packets, Strawberry filled Nutrigrain bars, Quaker Oats chocolate chip granola bars, peanut butter filled cracker sandwiches, single serving strawberry lemonade drink packets, and a bunch of Hershey's hugs and kisses.
We hope the nurses enjoy their basket of treats.
Notice anything we're missing from our hospital bags? Have suggestions or recommendations? I'd love to hear what you packed in your own bag(s) for the big day.
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