Category: Pregnancy

I had definitely learned my lesson from Winifred’s birth: less is more! I had read every mommy blog and Pinterest article out there and had packed every single thing I might need. I used about 1/10 of what I packed (see here)! So, this time around I got real with myself on what would be absolutely necessary.

Truthfully, you’re at the hospital for 24-72 hours depending on how you bring that babe into the world. If you’re anything like me, when taking a 3 day trip you pack 28 outfits when at home you wear the same pair of jeans for a week. Try to resist that urge when you’re packing for the hospital. Trust me, RESIST, even when the “nesting” is telling you to pack all the things. As my husband says, “you’re not going to a third world country, we can always get you what you need”.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate Amazon links. Meaning, I may benefit from purchase made from the links. These are all products I’ve purchased myself and LOVED using. 

Here’s what I packed for the hospital round two.

First, I packed everything in packing cubes and it was an absolute game changer. It made everything easy to organize and access while I was in the hospital. Unpacking was also easier with everything in cubes! I used these!

 Mama Clothes- With my first, I stayed in my hospital gown way too long because I didn’t know I could change. This time, I asked the nurses if I could change in to “real people clothes” the second I got into my postpartum room. This made a world of difference and put me in a good mood!

This all went into two packing cubes (undergarments/outfits)

• 2 nursing bras
• 2 nursing tanks
• sleep shorts
• loose sleep pants
• robe
• 3 pairs of nonslip socks
• breast pads (3 pair)
• Going home outfit (sweatpants and a T-shirt)
• Belly Bandit

I used EVERY piece of clothing I packed (we stayed for almost 48 hours). The robe was a savior because hospitals are cold but the “breastfeeding sweats” are real. With my first, I brought slippers and didn’t use them because the nonslip socks were more convenient and got the job done! We also didn’t opt to take photos, so I didn’t need a cute or matchy outfit.

Fun Fact: You don’t need underwear. You’ll want to live in those mesh undies forever!

Toiletries- I put these in the large clear packing cube

• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Washcloth
• Toner
• Moisturizer
• Lotion
• Deodorant
• Chapstick
• Brush
• Nipple balm
• Hair ties

There is no feeling like scrubbing your face and brushing your teeth after birth. You’re in labor for a long time and it feels incredible to freshen up. It’s the first step to feeling human again. This time, I didn’t bring shampoo, conditioner, or my makeup. I had just taken a shower before leaving for the hospital and I didn’t think I could stand long enough to even take one after giving birth. Again, we weren’t taking photos, so I didn’t bring my makeup. I also didn’t bring my oils or diffuser. It didn’t even cross my mind to use them with Winifred’s birth, so I didn’t bother packing them.

Comfort Items

• Nursing pillow
• My Pillow
• Blanket
• 10 ft Chargers (2)
• Bluetooth speakers
  • Birth Playlist

I didn’t bring my massage bar or the baseball. I think I subconsciously knew I was going to get an epidural so I wouldn’t need them. Having more than one charger is a must, especially when you have more than one person in your birthing room! Also, I’m biased but I think my birth playlist is bomb.

Baby- Daphne Grace had her own small packing cube! This made it way easier to keep her stuff together and find everything!

• 2 going home outfits
• Swaddle
• Bow
• Mittens
• Carseat

We kept it SUPER simple for DG. Last time, I had a whole diaper bag packed with diapers, wipes, 2 outfits, burp cloths, baby book, everything. Y’all, the hospital has everything you need for baby! It’s also encouraged to do as much “skin to skin” with baby as possible, so we kept Daphne Grace naked and in a swaddle the whole time. This made it more convenient to feed and to skin to skin. We brought 2 going home outfits because we didn’t know if she would need a Newborn outfit or a 0-3 month outfit! We thought she was going to be huge but she ended up needing a newborn outfit! The swaddle and bow were for cute baby pics, but we never ended up taking a cute picture of her in them! #secondbornproblems

Extras

The only extra thing we brought this time was a basket of goodies for the nurses! I just bought a cute, plastic crate from Target and filled it with candy from HEB. We didn’t bring our birth ball, pump, or letter board. The hospital has pumps and birthing balls. I also knew I wouldn’t keep up with the letterboard, so I didn’t even bring it. #secondbornproblems

Overall, my philosophy changed from “its best to be prepared” to “less is more, we aren’t going to a third world country”. Keep your birth simple and don’t try to use too many things. Someone can always go get you what you need!

 

 

 

 

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh”, I whispered to myself. It was Thursday afternoon and I was in Winifred’s rocking chair, watching her play after nap time. I’d just had my first ACTUAL contraction. It wrapped around my entire torso and made me audibly gasp. I had back labor with Winifred and Braxton Hicks for weeks, so that was an extremely new feeling. My heart nearly exploded out of my chest to feel a normal contraction! I was 39 weeks pregnant, had been losing my mucus plug for days, and was SO ready to meet this baby. The day before I thought my water broke, but upon doctor inspection I’d just been slowly peeing myself all day. That’s always nice to hear, right? HOWEVER, I was so encouraged by this one little contraction for two reasons. 1. This meant my labor might actually be “normal”. 2. We could possibly be having a baby very soon.

My contractions continued most of that evening and I was having about 1 an hour. With each one, I grew more and more shocked that this reality I’d been begging for was happening. My mind was racing and I decided to head to bed, for this might be my last night to sleep for a while! Welp. “A Pipe Dream” is what I call that. The contractions intensified around midnight and my gut told me to start timing them. They were fierce as I laid in our silent house, breathing through them. I tried to be as quiet as possible to not wake Will until absolutely necessary.

There was something empowering about laboring quietly and alone. Me and Jesus got to have a long conversation about Daphne Grace, her safety, and our family. With each contraction and each breath, I asked God to help me endure this pain for the insane beauty that was surely to come. I asked for him to help me accept that this was Daphne’s process to go through and all I had to do was my best to help her enter the world. I tell you what, my best conversation with the big man was laboring over my toilet, breathing in and out. Give it a try.

The contractions increased to 9 minutes apart by 7am. Will rolls over to kiss me good morning and I say “Ok, so we’re about 9 minutes apart”! With wide eyes he says “Ummm ok.”, flung the covers off, and became a tornado of productivity. While still contracting, I hear him rushing around the house; putting the carseat in the truck, packing his hospital bag, showering, and finishing up some work things. I giggled to myself, thinking about what was going through his mind. Guess I should have given him a tiny bit more of a heads up.

I stayed on the toilet most of the morning. It was the place I found the most comfort and apparently “real” contractions make you have to go to the bathroom a lot. Who knew? They intensified very quickly and by 10am we decided to venture to the hospital. The car ride was calm in between contractions. Will and I kept looking over at each other in shock and awe, giggling. We’d had 9 months to prepare for Daphne’s arrival, it’s pretty much all we’d ever talked about! But there is something about realizing that a tiny human being is coming into your life when you have another tiny human being at home, it’s just surreal.

We got to the hospital as the contractions were almost too intense to breathe through. I was wheeled up to Labor and Delivery which, apparently, was in the middle of baby Palooza week! There were 3 laboring mothers in front of me, waiting to be checked in. Nurses buzzed around, phones rang off the hook, and housekeeping rushed from room to room prepping them for the new arrivals. We waited, breathing, and laughing at the situation. Of COURSE Daphne Grace would enter the world during the baby boom of Midland.

We were finally in our room (the same room WJ was birthed in!) and we had an absolute sensational group of nurses with us, several of which recognized us from last year. I got settled into the bed and got my blood taken as they asked me alllllll the questions. Then it came time to check to see how dilated I was, I was shaking. (See Winnie’s birth story for previous trauma with cervix checks). I expressed my fear and apprehension with the nurse. She was empathetic and told me she would do her best to be fast and gentle. She delivered and I heard the most beautiful words a laboring mother could hear. “All right, so you’re about a 7/7.5! You’re staying here!” “SHUT UP!” I said out of pure disbelief. “Are you serious?!” Tears filled my eyes because all those contractions actually did something. My body was working with me this time.

I decided to get the epidural and it’s a decision I’m proud of. I knew what my body could handle and it couldn’t handle another birth like Winifred’s. I labored for about another hour or so and the cutest man came in and gave me a great epidural. Why was it a great epidural? Well, because I could still move my legs and feel all my contractions but nothing was painful. I found great joy knowing I could still work with my body.  I was laid on my side with the peanut ball (God’s greatest invention) and was told they would call my doc and tell him to come check me!

Womp womp. My lovely nurse comes in and tells us that my doctor was out of town this weekend and his on call doctor would be delivering Daphne. My heart sank. I knew this was too good to be true. My labor was going way too textbook to keep going so well. But, what could I do? I was having this baby and somebody had to catch it! I accepted it and prayed some more about the things I could not control. So, the on call doctor comes in and low and behold, she’s the most positive and amazing doctor I could have asked for. I expressed my fear about Daphne’s size and how difficult WJ’s labor was. She encouraged me and validated my fears, while making me feel safe. Another prayer answered.

After 2 hours on the peanut ball they broke my water, and another hour later it was time to PUSH! I was so in shock about how smoothly it was going and how empowered I felt through this process. Will had been so encouraging and wonderful, holding my hand the whole time and trusting me to trust my body. I was shaking, partly from the hormones, partly because I was so nervous to meet Daphne. It almost felt like a first date. “What will she be like? Will she like me? Will I be enough for her?” etc.

When it comes time to push, a FLOOD of people come in the room; nurses for me, nurses for baby, interns and doctor. Will was by my side, my mom at the ready with her camera, and my dad assumed his position behind the chair. Deja vu hit for sure. I began pushing with every contraction and, damn. I had an epidural and it hurt, bad. By the 5th set of pushes I was exhausted and in pain. My nurse gave me oxygen and every one else in the room was encouraging me with “Come on, mama! One more! You can do this! Breathe! She’s almost here!” and I was overwhelmed with emotion. By the 6th set, her head was “right there” and everyone told me that we were going to have a baby with a head full of hair! Everyone took a turn looking, even Will, and I got to feel her head with my hand! Did I mention that all modesty goes out the window when you’re spread eagle in a room of 20 people trying to push a baby out? Cause it does.

The doctor started to whisper to the nurse and the nurse replied with “yeah, she said that happened with her first”. Oh no, I thought. I asked what she was saying and the doctor said that Daphne’s head has a little crooked and getting caught on my bone. COOOOOL, apparently I make babies with crooked heads. My mind quickly went to a dark place as I envisioned forceps, massive tearing, and torticollis all over again. I asked her what we should do and she said it was nothing to worry about and she would guider her with my pushes.  The 7th and 8th sets of pushes were intense as the pain and pressure peaked, her head was coming out and the doctor had straightened her out, no forceps. After the 8th set, my doc looked me in the eyes and said “If you do your best on this one, she’s out”. So, with every ounce of my entire being, I pushed and pushed. With a quick sharp pain and a release of pressure, the doctor was handing me my perfect baby girl. Head full of black hair, covered completely in vernix, and screaming her lungs out; she was here. “You did it!”, Will said holding my hand and staring at our beautiful girl.

They wiped her off and my mom got to cut the cord! I could not get to her fast enough as we started skin to skin. And I got that feeling. That feeling moms tell you you’ll get when you have another baby. You don’t love your first born less, your heart doubles. They were so right. I felt like the Grinch with my heart growing 3 times its size. She was perfect and beautiful, and ours. She was here.

Daphne Grace entered the world at 4:02PM on Friday, September 27th. She was 8lbs 1oz and 20 inches long. She’s perfect and we are so in love!

This birth was different than my first. Traumatic vs. Textbook, but they were both perfect. These births brought my beautiful girls into the world and I’m grateful to my body for both of them.

My dad has always worked so hard to make sure that we got the most out of life, but he made darn sure that nothing was handed to us on a silver platter. He taught us to work  for things that we wanted and that the “easy way out” would get us no where. My parents gave us a place where we were free to make mistakes. When things went wrong, we knew we had a place to go, even if it mean facing very harsh realities. We knew we would be held accountable for our actions, but loved and supported while doing so.

I’ve leaned on both my parents my whole life. They’ve been there for every soccer game, award ceremony, breakup, graduation, my wedding, miscarriages, and everything in between. So, when it came time for me to give birth to my first baby, having my parents in the room wasn’t even a question. It’s common for mothers to have their moms in the delivery room, but I wanted my dad to be there too (if he wanted to be). He was there for everything else, why would I make him wait in the waiting room alone??

If you know anything about my dad, you know he has a heart of gold. He will go a hundred miles out of his way to help a complete stranger. He has such a servant’s heart and he is tremedously reliable under pressure. He is the life of any party and can make anyone feel at ease in any situation. Why wouldn’t I want that energy in the room when I bring my child into the world?

The second I went into labor the first words out of my mouth were “I need pineapple and watermelon, RIGHT NOW”! “Got it”, my dad said. He grabbed his keys and headed straight to the store, no questions asked. As I labored at home, my dad was there, ready to help. He stayed quiet and in the background, but ready for anything we would need.

As we left for the hospital with my parents right behind us. My poor dad, like a pack mule, bringing the snacks and my yoga ball! They stayed outside the room as we got settled and I had my first pelvic exam. A huge part of me is so sorry they had to hear me scream like that, oops. Anyway, as the labor continued, my parents were there with Will. Words cannot describe how thankful I was the they were there.

My labor intensified and Will needed a break from my crippling contractions and holding me up. My mom and dad took turns holding my hand and telling me to breathe. My dad got Will some food and brought some more snacks for the nurses, in true hero fashion. I watched his face twist in pain as I lie in labor, unable to handle the pain of my contractions any more. I could tell he wanted me to get the epidural. I could tell he wanted to take away the pain for me, but he kept his mouth closed and let me fight my fight.  I finally had to get the epidural and the room relaxed, especially Will and my dad.

When It came time to push my dad stood back, sealing himself behind the my bed against a window in the back of the room. He stayed quiet while my mom took pictures and Will coached me through the pushing. Full disclosure, I forgot he was there. For hours, it was just Will and I bringing our child into the world.

The end of the story comes from my mom because I was too focused on Winnie. My mom says, when they placed Winnie on my chest she looked up at my dad. He was standing behind the chair with tears rolling down his face. For some reason, that surprised me. I knew it would be emotional for me, Will, and probably my mom, but I never thought my dad would cry! Then again, he has the biggest heart in the world.

Winnie’s birth story would have been incomplete without my dad in the delivery room. Her paw-paw got to see her enter this world and that is not a moment that could be replicated. I’m so thankful for everything my dad has done for me, and I’m even more thankful for the grandfather that he is to my daughter.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad! You are truly one of a kind.