As I type this post, it is hard to believe that we are now a family of four. It all seems a little surreal. Sometimes it is hard for me to believe that it isn’t just me and Brian any longer now either!
We are parents to two daughters and it is humbling and magical and oh so tiring right now.
I am still in postpartum confinement and nearing the end of it. I have lots of cabin fever and am ready to tackle all my projects once again.
But right now I am trying to enjoy my children. Bunny is a very active toddler, and keeping us on our toes. Nagini is showing signs of being as feisty as her sister.
Before Nagini was born, we joked that we would not be able to wake up with her soft baby cries. Well, she must have realized this in the womb because this kid has a set of lungs on her. She cries like a one and a half year old! The volume on her is amazing.
I think this time around we have felt more prepared and less anxious. Yes, life is still stressful with a newborn, and I have cried a couple of times, but everything just feels a lot better this go around.
I have recovered a lot quicker than when I had Bunny, and for that I am relieved.
I am so grateful to have a partner like Brian. He has unending patience with us all and with a house full of females that cannot be easy. He has been so good with everything and our children are so blessed to have him as a father. I am blessed to have him as a husband.
So, we are happy and in love and adjusting to a new normal around here.
I’m taking the week off from blogging so I can do a little catch-up in our daily life. I’ll be back next week!
I thought having a baby the second time around would make me and Brian better prepared for packing our hospital bag. Although we did do a lot better this time around than our first time around, we still ended up overpacking.
Brian took this photo right before we left for the hospital. We packed two games and the iPad and some magazines. Ha! We didn’t play any games, read, or use the iPad but for a few minutes to Skype with family.
If I was going to do it all over again, this would be my list. This would be for a regular birth, I’m not sure what you would need for a c-section other than a longer hospital stay:
For Mom
- Change of clothes/comfortable pjs: The hospital provides you with a gown, which is what I opted to wear until the second day because of mess potential. After birth, I was sweaty and hot and it was much easier to wear the gown than work through layers of clothes.
- Comfortable underwear to dispose of later: Same as above. The hospital will provide you with these mesh undies, but I think it would be easier to have your own underwear that you won’t mind getting messy and can toss.
- Going home outfit
- Nursing or comfortable bra
- Basic toiletries: Toothbrush, toothpaste, contacts/solution/glasses, deodorant (make sure it’s antiperspirant). I would skip everything else!
- Slippers (non-skid): The socks the hospital provided was not very comfortable. Actually, both times I delivered in two different hospitals, the socks were awful.
- Sanitary pads (optional): This is totally up to you, but hospitals provide you with maternity pads. I found them really really bulky and wish I had packed my own stash of thinner pads. FYI.
- Lanolin, or nursing pads (optional)
For Dad
- Camera/video/phone chargers: We brought a camera. True story: At one point when I was pushing Nagini, Brian snapped a photo and the nurse told him to put the camera down to help me push! Too funny.
- Cardstock/paper (optional): After giving birth, they will take the baby’s footprints. Of course as a scrapbooker I need to have my baby’s footprints too! I made sure Brian knew to get it out as soon as they started the footprints.
- Change of clothes or two: Depends on where you stay and the hospital’s space. Brian actually left to go home and shower before coming back, so it will depend on how far away you are from home.
- Basic toiletries: See above. Brian packed a razor. As of this writing he still has not shaved. There you go.
- Mom’s photo id, insurance card, hospital paperwork
- Checkbook: Totally random, but we needed it and didn’t have it
- iPad (optional): If you Skype with long-distance family, otherwise your phone will do.
For Baby
- Swadding blanket: Forget all about how to swaddle your baby. Buy this in cotton, and your life will be much easier.
- Noise machine: I wish we had this for the first time around! We were much better prepared with Nagini! We used this.
- Nursing pillow (optional): If you plan to breastfeed, I recommend a My Breast Friend pillow. Order it a bit early and air it out at least a week beforehand. Much more comfortable than a Boppy.
- Going home outfit
- Car seat installed/receiving blanket
Miscellaneous
- Drinks/snacks This will depend on where you give birth. The hospital where I gave birth to Nagini provided us with plenty of food and drink, while the hospital where I had Bunny did not. Find out what the hospital provides.
- Towel: In case your water breaks in the car.
What would you recommend for your hospital bag?
I’m also working on a list of what you should have stocked when you come home from the hospital too. Stay tuned!
Last month Brian and I attended one of our local library programs about children and “nature deficit disorder” which is a term coined by Richard Louv. He wrote a book called Last Child in the Woods that called attention to the kids of today that are becoming more and more deprived of nature and the outdoors. With today’s distractions of television, computers, iPads, and the like, it’s getting harder to get kids to go outside.
It was an interesting session to listen and participate in, especially as one mother admitted that she used her television as a babysitter for her kids instead of sending them outside. As for us, it definitely gave us plenty to talk about on the car ride home and thereafter about what we want for our kids. I am by no means an outdoorsy person, and truth be told, I love my computer and the comforts of the indoors. But, at the same time, I have a great appreciation for nature and I want to teach our kids to be appreciate the great outdoors.
We brainstormed a little bit about how we can start to encourage our two year old. Bunny has really been into picking dandelions and lately rocks on our walks around the neighborhood. She will pick something and hand it to one of us to hold. Well, after the session, we got her little monkey basket and let her carry her special findings to bring them home. It was so cute to see her imagination at work as she pretended the rocks were food on her kitchen set. It was very cool to see her come up and use creative play on her own.
As our kids get older, some other ideas we thought would be good to incorporate (I’m making the list here because I know I’ll forget!):
- Creating a rain garden
- Backyard camping, and then eventually attempt regular camping (this might just be Brian and the kids though, ha!)
- Build or setup a bird house/bat house
- Collect lightning bugs at night, release them in the morning
- Put together a terrarium
- Put a bowl out for treasures they find on their walks; drop them into it when the kids come home
- Plant a garden together
- Raise butterflies
- Continue our tradition of berry picking
- Check out the county/state parks and classes
It’ll definitely be a good lesson for us all and I am looking forward to exploring more activities and options with our children as time goes on. We’ll take it one step at a time!
I’ve mentioned before our bedroom is ridiculously large. If you add the nook in the space, it’s pretty obscene. Well, I had this space all to myself. Here was my sewing desk:
This was my cutting area:
It was pretty awesome to be able to leave my projects out and knowing the space was all mine!
Well, last month we decided to make some changes around our home (more on that next week), and one of them included moving our office space. Our office was on the third floor of the house. So basically, we were heating and cooling all three floors of the home which did not make sense or good use of the utilities.
Our initial thought was to move it into the spare bedroom and completely eliminating guest rooms in our house. After some more thought, we decided to give up my sewing nook to make way for the office. So yes, we have an office in our bedroom now. It’s not a big deal since the nook is pretty well divided from the bedroom, and I kind of like the arrangement now:
(Photo taken before Project Simplify)
Brian has taken over my sewing desk to fit all his stuff, and I have taken over the cutting table/desk as mine. I haven’t been able to get back into my sewing stuff just yet, but I can easily work downstairs in our dining space/kitchen or do a little bit on the desk if needed.
I snapped this yesterday for Mother’s Day. There was some bribery involved to get Bunny to be still for a few snaps. She got marshmallows, and I got this photo.
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by Vera