Top 10 Hospital Bag Must Haves

Hi everyone! I had the pleasure of guest posting at MaMade Diaries, where I shared this list of my Top 10 Hospital Bag Must Haves. I now get to share this post with my amazing readers! I hope you enjoy my list. Leave me a comment and let me know what went {or is going in} YOUR hospital bag! xo

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I had my first baby one year ago. I was very nervous for my delivery day! I had no idea what to expect -- despite reading over and over What to Expect When You're Expecting. I still felt kind of helpless going into the "unknown" of delivery day. My only way to feel like I had any control over that day was to MAKE LISTS. I am a total LIST girl. Having a list of what I needed to pack for the hospital helped me feel prepared for the big day. And I use the word 'needed' very loosely. I may have gone a little overboard on packing for the hospital. I probably looked like I should be going on vacation for a week instead of going to deliver a baby; but, hey, it was my first time, and I wanted to be ready! With the next baby, I definitely will know what items are my MUST HAVES for the hospital bag. I have made a LIST (of course!) of my Top 10 hospital bag must haves to share with you! I hope this helps you soon-to-be-mommas feel ready for the best day of your life.

1. Newborn Outfit
No need to get baby all dolled up at the hospital, but you will want an outfit to bring baby home in. My baby mainly wore a cut off onesie in the hospital (to protect the umbilical cord); but, for the car ride home, you will need an outfit with legs! Otherwise, baby can't be strapped into the car seat. I recommend one with a zipper instead of buttons -- much more convenient!

2. Comfy PJ's
I stopped at Target and picked up a couple cute and comfy pajama sets for myself, and I'm SO very glad I did! Right after delivering baby, of course you are just wearing your hospital gown; but, after a day in the gown, I was ready to put on something a little more normal. Buy a big size, because you won't be anywhere NEAR your "normal" size immediately (unless you are super super super super super lucky, but sorry you probably won't!). I also had a button up top set, which was nice for nursing. I wore these to go home in, too, and didn't even look at a pair of jeans for probably a month!

3. Toothbrush & Toothpaste
Kind of self explanatory. I wouldn't want to subject my cute little newborn to morning breath! :)

4. Movie
This one is completely subjective to the type of delivery you are having. I was induced and had an epidural, so there was a period of waiting. My husband and I both fell asleep watching Dark Knight (although we only made it about 30 minutes in before baby was ready to come!). Check with your hospital/birthing center to see if there is a DVD player in your room. After an hour and a half of pitocin-induced contractions (pre-epidural!), I was super happy to have something to get my mind off everything.

5. Slipper Socks
I'm a sucker for a cute pair of socks, so these were a must have for me. I didn't do much walking around at the hospital, but just to get up to change the baby or go to the bathroom and I was grateful to have these no-slip socks to walk around in. Throw them in the wash when you get home and they are good as new!

6. Baby Blanket
The hospital will have blankets for you to swaddle your baby in, but I brought one anyway. The hospital ones are kind of small, and I wanted something special for my baby. Plus, I delivered in the winter (in Utah!), so I needed a warm blanket for the car ride home. The adorable one pictured is from Wren and Rumor -- I love their stylish baby blankets!

7. Nursing Tank
I totally preferred nursing tanks over a nursing bra. It was just way easier to wear a tank as a shirt under my pj's or robe, rather than worry about a bra! Personal preference here, but I know lots of women that agree. Target has cute ones for less than $20!

8. Hair Ties
Whether your hair is short or long, you will definitely not want it in your face during labor! I recommend hair ties, bobby pins and headbands. I didn't shower while at the hospital, so by day 2, I needed something to tie my hair up with. But who is to say you can't look fashionable while pushing out that baby? I love these "Ampersand collection" hair ties from Mane Message. There are so many adorable choices on that site!

9. Speakers
My husband and I are total music lovers. We create playlists for everything! Dating...honeymoon...trips...cleaning on Saturdays...there is always music playing. Naturally, we had a Baby Birth Day playlist ready for the big day. We brought a portable iHome with us, and I will always bring one for future babies! One of my favorite memories in the hospital is of us in our room, holding our sweet new one, listening to Norah Jones. It created the perfect atmosphere for lovin' on our little one.

10. Lip Balm
This little baby was a total lifesaver while I was in the hospital. It is a small thing, but chapped lips are NO fun for anyone -- especially after giving birth. If you are nursing, it is easy to get dehydrated, so it's important to drink lots of water, which I tried to do, but my lips got chapped more easily. I loved this C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve from Bath & Body Works.

Honorable Mentions

I polled my momma friends on Facebook and here are some of their "real mom" hospital bag must haves!

"Toothbrush and toothpaste." - Tracy

"Baby nail clippers because hospitals won't give you any. Slippers, music, pictures of family if you know they aren't there but you want them to be. iPad or laptop." - Chrissy

"Slippers and sweats," - Dresden

"Comfy pajama bottoms! Every baby I had my mom always made sure to buy me lots of pajama bottoms and sounds crazy but after everything your nether regions go through you really do need them," - Santanna

"iPad to play pandora, my pillow, stadium blanket and mixed nuts." - Kim

"Hair ties, hair spray and headbands." - Brandy
"A really comfortable pair of yoga pants, lanolin, comfy socks, hairbands, and a nightgown that is awesome for nursing and cute too." - Nikki

I hope you found some help for preparing your hospital bag! You will never forget that special day. It is such an important day for you and your baby, so don't feel bad pampering yourself and being prepared -- even if you are over prepared like I was. 

xo

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Don't forget to enter this week's giveaway!

Boughtin Baby & Bride

Custom Baby Onesie giveaway

SHARE THE LOVE GIVEAWAY ~maternity shirt~

I'm so excited to announce that I am doing a GIVEAWAY!

I have a shop on StorEnvy where I sell my Maternity Countdown Shirts. It's called Put A Bird On It -- just like my li'l ol' blog here. Here's the link!   http://putabirdonitshop.storenvy.com

 I'm hoping this giveaway will get the word out about my shop and hopefully get some new followers here on my blog. And -- most importantly -- help one more person get a cute baby bump shirt. Even if you aren't pregnant - or married - or a girl - you know you totally want this shirt. Give it to a friend {baby shower!}. Plan for your future. Or you can even wear it cuddled up in front of the fire, watching Kardashians and drinking hot cocoa - crossing off a number each time a sister mentions their derriere {you'll finish you shirt pretty fast!}. That's what I would do. :)

You can enter using Rafflecopter below! Don't forget to share with basically every cool person you know and maybe the not so cool ones too. :) Share the love!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Even if you don't want to enter {or -- the sad ending -- you don't win!}, you can still get your hands on a purdy little shirt by clicking the shop link above. AND, since I love love {and you}, use the promo code SHARETHELOVE to get 20% off your order {during the giveaway}. Cheers!

The giveaway ends Sunday, Oct 27 at midnight, so enter while you can!

XO

Maternity Countdown Shirt {& fabric paint tutorial!}

**BUY A MATERNITY COUNTDOWN SHIRT HERE!**

http://putabirdonitshop.storenvy.com

Being pregnant is an AMAZING experience.  One I never want to forget.  Thankfully, my sister has been willing to take fun mini photo sessions to document my pregnancy.  One of my faves was at 18 weeks.  I made a Maternity Countdown Shirt to show which week of pregnancy I was at.  This was a FUN project to make, but I was nervous.  This was my first time making my own fabric paint.  Turns out, it's a lot cheaper than buying premade fabric paint.  And, it's really easy!!

***Not up for making your own shirt? You can visit my online shop and BUY a countdown maternity shirt! Click the link below:

http://putabirdonitshop.storenvy.com/

What You'll Need:

• Tintable Fabric Medium {I love Martha Stewart products}
• Acrylic Paint in color(s) of your choice
• Empty bottle {Perfect for mixing and saving fabric paint}
• Foam brush x2
• Vinyl stencil for numbers
• Shirt {get one that fits now but has some stretch to fit the full 40 weeks}

First, you'll want to mix your fabric paint.  It's 1 part fabric medium to 2 parts paint.  This is where the mini bottle comes in handy.  I found mine near the foam brushes at Michaels.  I filled the empty bottle 1/3 full with fabric medium, then filled it the rest of the way with craft paint.  You can do more or less, depending on how much you want.  Just add the fabric medium, then draw a line on the bottle where you stopped, and add twice the paint.  Easy, right?  Shake it up to mix them together.  That's it!  I label mine Fabric Paint, so I know for the future.  I've used this gray fabric paint for other projects, too, which is why I love mixing mine in a bottle, to save for future use!  You'll need to do this step twice -- once for your numbers color and again for the paint color you want to "cross off" the numbers.

Now, place your stencil on your shirt.  I used my Silhouette SD to cut out the stencil using Silhouette premium vinyl.  It is SO easy, and I'm guaranteed straight lines...I wouldn't trust myself otherwise.  I had to cut 2 stencils, 1-20 on one and 21-40 on the other.  Remember to leave enough empty space around the cut out on the stencil to allow you to paint and not get paint on the shirt!  I recommend putting something inside your shirt, to protect the paint from leaking onto the back of the shirt.  I've used an old piece of cardboard or a couple layers of newspaper ads works great, too.

Once you have the stencil in place, simply paint over the stencil, using a foam brush, with your fabric paint.  I painted over the whole thing once, then went back and put a second coat {lighter} just to make sure it was all covered.  This needs to dry for a while.  I usually do mine in the evening and let it dry overnight. Tip: After several minutes of drying time, put your hand under the stencil and 'lift' up a little to make sure the paint isn't adhering to the cardboard/ads you put underneath.

 
Once it is dry, peel away the stencil, and CONGRATS!  You've made a shirt covered in numbers!  Now, to give it meaning, use the 2nd color of fabric paint to CROSS OFF the weeks.  You could cut out more stencils, if you want a perfect line.  I just grabbed a foam brush and applied the paint without a stencil.  Let this dry again.  This part doesn't take as long to dry.  Once it's dry, you are FINISHED!  Hold on to that fabric paint, since you'll need to cross off more weeks as your pregnancy goes on.  Super fun way to document your growing belly, huh?!

Got a maternity countdown shirt or a fabric paint project you love?  Share the link in the comments.  I'd love to see it!!

***Not up for making your own shirt? You can visit my online shop and BUY a countdown maternity shirt! Click the link below:

http://putabirdonitshop.storenvy.com/

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Here are updated pictures of this fantastic maternity shirt!  It is SO easy to dab a little more fabric paint to cross off one more week in the countdown.  Love it!!

***Not up for making your own shirt? You can visit my online shop and BUY a countdown maternity shirt! Click the link below:

http://putabirdonitshop.storenvy.com/

Be sure to click "Join this Site" on the right side toolbar to stay up to date on all things Put A Bird On It. That way, you'll be notified the next time I give away a maternity countdown shirt! Which I've been known to do. :)

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