There has been a very long break going on with my blog, but at least once a week, someone tells me that I should start one. Little do they know that I have one that I turned off because it felt like work. Lately, I have found myself wanting to share pieces of my life that (quite frankly) take too much time to put on Facebook. With that being said, it's back!!!!
If you take a look around, you can see that I have quite a bit of updating to do, but I'll get to that......eventually.....
Christmas 2014
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Missin' Missouri
We are loving living in Jonesboro, but there are just some times that I think "Man, if I was in Missouri I would......" With that said, here's my top five list of things I miss about Missouri.
1. My church family. Hands down, the thing that I miss most is my church, and specifically, my Faithful Friends group. This group of young women are so wonderful and truly make God a priority in their everyday lives.
2. My family and friends. I know that we live so much closer to our family than many other people do, but I think my family could see Olivia every day and that still wouldn't be enough! I also really miss my teacher friends at KMS. I have never seen a group of people that are so positive and truly support each other. I also have never been around a group of people that are so funny!
3. This list would absolutely not be complete without mentioning FOOD! There are times (who are we kidding, ALL the time) I would kill for a Bills BBQ with extra slaw, crispy fries, and a piece of Strawberry cake from Causbey's Bakery. Mmmmm mmmmm good!!
4. Aldi's. Yes, you read that right. I love getting groceries there and I loved looking through all the random stuff that they have in addition to food! They also have great seasonal food that they only stock during certain times of the year. Jay, on the other hand, is probably glad that I don't go there anymore. Now I actually come home with only the things on my list. One day I came home with a case of apple pie yogurt- that was a bit much!!
5. Missouri sports. I've always liked Mizzou but I love the SEC. Since they made the move I am officially a Tiger fan (no more house divided). We've been pretty lucky with basketball this winter and we have caught quite a few games in TV (Did you see the pig roast last night?). The thing that's going to get us is Cardinal baseball. I'm still klinging to hope that we will run across a channel that carries the games, but I have a feeling we might be buying an online subscription or upping our cable package.
As I have typed this I think I am going to have to make a trip North in the next few weeks. That cake is calling! Have a great day!!
1. My church family. Hands down, the thing that I miss most is my church, and specifically, my Faithful Friends group. This group of young women are so wonderful and truly make God a priority in their everyday lives.
2. My family and friends. I know that we live so much closer to our family than many other people do, but I think my family could see Olivia every day and that still wouldn't be enough! I also really miss my teacher friends at KMS. I have never seen a group of people that are so positive and truly support each other. I also have never been around a group of people that are so funny!
3. This list would absolutely not be complete without mentioning FOOD! There are times (who are we kidding, ALL the time) I would kill for a Bills BBQ with extra slaw, crispy fries, and a piece of Strawberry cake from Causbey's Bakery. Mmmmm mmmmm good!!
4. Aldi's. Yes, you read that right. I love getting groceries there and I loved looking through all the random stuff that they have in addition to food! They also have great seasonal food that they only stock during certain times of the year. Jay, on the other hand, is probably glad that I don't go there anymore. Now I actually come home with only the things on my list. One day I came home with a case of apple pie yogurt- that was a bit much!!
5. Missouri sports. I've always liked Mizzou but I love the SEC. Since they made the move I am officially a Tiger fan (no more house divided). We've been pretty lucky with basketball this winter and we have caught quite a few games in TV (Did you see the pig roast last night?). The thing that's going to get us is Cardinal baseball. I'm still klinging to hope that we will run across a channel that carries the games, but I have a feeling we might be buying an online subscription or upping our cable package.
As I have typed this I think I am going to have to make a trip North in the next few weeks. That cake is calling! Have a great day!!
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Spring, where are you?
This past week has been crazy in every sense of the word. I have been sick for what seems like forever! I can't decide if I have had three sinus infections since January or just one that has come and gone, but either way it stinks!!! I feel better during the day and as soon as the sun goes down-WHAM! We should buy stock in Kleenex because I've lost track of the amount of boxes I've used but I can guarantee its in the double digits. Being sick is bad enough, but with a little one around, it's especially miserable. Moreover, if being sick with a little one is miserable, then being sick with a teething little one is, well, I don't think they've invented a word for it!
Yes, I said it. I said the word....TEETHING! Hands down, for us, the biggest speed bump, growing pain, struggle (whatever you want to call it) has been teething. I know for sure that Olivia's gums have been giving her problems since October and I really think we had a day or two before that. When it comes to cutting teeth I know every baby is different, but if I run across one more parent that says their kids had no problem with it I might scream!
I know it's going to be one of those days when instead of going in the nursery at 8:00 to a baby that is all smiles, I'm hitting the floor doing one of those Fred Flinstone running in place things at 5:45 in response to 'the scream.' It's the one I know anywhere. The one that means I'm going to look in her mouth and see red puffy gums. It also means that there will be at least two three hour periods of whining or crying, teething rings will fly through the air (sometimes hitting me in the head), and some sort of bruise and/or injury will occur due to gum pain induced lethargic flailing throughout the house. There will be little, if any, solids consumed, however I will be wearing an original baby food masterpiece by Olivia Van Gogh an there will be multiple rounds of our favorite teething game known as 'Pick me up this minute, oh wait I hate this put me down.'
Through all of this, I have thanked The Lord that while I have been so sick an she has felt so bad, He has never allowed both of these events to occur on the same day.....until Friday. I will spare you most of the details, but instead of being at the box at 9:00 am doing my crossfit workout we were both sitting in the floor of the nursery......just staring at each other.....crying. By noon, I was laying face down letting her pull the mess out of my hair because she thought it was entertaining (more importantly she had stopped crying). At that point, I laughed to myself and decided that the good thing here was that things probably couldn't get worse.....then he spit up on everything, including me. Actually, it was mostly me, but I feel like it doesn't sound so bad the way I described it in the last sentence.
What is definitely the most heart breaking thing about this whole situation is the fact that no matter what I do, I just can't make this better. If you read a couple posts back you'll remember that I like to be in control-of everything. The 'I'm Mommy and I fix things, by gosh!' mentality just wasn't cutting it and that's when I realized that out of all the things you can't control, your child's pain (both mental and physical) has got to be the worst one of all.
This picture pretty much sums Friday up to a 'T.' You can't win 'em all!
In the end we will be fine (right?) an she will get a tooth eventually (right?). In the meantime, I'm going to vent my frustrations on the groundhog that was gravely mistaken about his early spring predictions. All together now, "No more snow!" I'm not going to talk about it because I don't want to jinx it, but if I was, I would mention that next weekend is supposed to be in the 60's. Come on spring!!
Yes, I said it. I said the word....TEETHING! Hands down, for us, the biggest speed bump, growing pain, struggle (whatever you want to call it) has been teething. I know for sure that Olivia's gums have been giving her problems since October and I really think we had a day or two before that. When it comes to cutting teeth I know every baby is different, but if I run across one more parent that says their kids had no problem with it I might scream!
I know it's going to be one of those days when instead of going in the nursery at 8:00 to a baby that is all smiles, I'm hitting the floor doing one of those Fred Flinstone running in place things at 5:45 in response to 'the scream.' It's the one I know anywhere. The one that means I'm going to look in her mouth and see red puffy gums. It also means that there will be at least two three hour periods of whining or crying, teething rings will fly through the air (sometimes hitting me in the head), and some sort of bruise and/or injury will occur due to gum pain induced lethargic flailing throughout the house. There will be little, if any, solids consumed, however I will be wearing an original baby food masterpiece by Olivia Van Gogh an there will be multiple rounds of our favorite teething game known as 'Pick me up this minute, oh wait I hate this put me down.'
Through all of this, I have thanked The Lord that while I have been so sick an she has felt so bad, He has never allowed both of these events to occur on the same day.....until Friday. I will spare you most of the details, but instead of being at the box at 9:00 am doing my crossfit workout we were both sitting in the floor of the nursery......just staring at each other.....crying. By noon, I was laying face down letting her pull the mess out of my hair because she thought it was entertaining (more importantly she had stopped crying). At that point, I laughed to myself and decided that the good thing here was that things probably couldn't get worse.....then he spit up on everything, including me. Actually, it was mostly me, but I feel like it doesn't sound so bad the way I described it in the last sentence.
What is definitely the most heart breaking thing about this whole situation is the fact that no matter what I do, I just can't make this better. If you read a couple posts back you'll remember that I like to be in control-of everything. The 'I'm Mommy and I fix things, by gosh!' mentality just wasn't cutting it and that's when I realized that out of all the things you can't control, your child's pain (both mental and physical) has got to be the worst one of all.
This picture pretty much sums Friday up to a 'T.' You can't win 'em all!
In the end we will be fine (right?) an she will get a tooth eventually (right?). In the meantime, I'm going to vent my frustrations on the groundhog that was gravely mistaken about his early spring predictions. All together now, "No more snow!" I'm not going to talk about it because I don't want to jinx it, but if I was, I would mention that next weekend is supposed to be in the 60's. Come on spring!!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
The Mommy Wars
Transitioning from a multitasking, working, ambitious, competitive twenty something to a diaper changing, baby food making, my shoulder looks like a dinner napkin, what is this thing you speak of called a hair straightener stay at home mom has been anything but effortless. In the beginning, everything is new and exciting and you have big plans about the perfect meals you will cook and how your child will be speaking Chinese mandarin at 9months old. Then reality hits and you realize that things probably aren't going to work out just like you expected; at least that's how it has worked for me.
I have had my fair share of days where I long to have an adult conversation and wonder what I would look like these days if I put the same effort into getting ready as I used to. All of these things have been just daydreaming until I stumbled upon an immediate counselor position here in Jonesboro. And there I was again: right in the middle of the mommy wars.
The mommy wars are what I like to call the struggle that moms face when it comes to working or staying home with your children. In many cases, working or staying at home comes from necessity and you just do what you've got to do. Those moms are rock stars in my book because they take one for the team and get the job done, whether it be at work or home. I, on the other hand, was blessed to be able to pick.
Ultimately it is a blessing, but having the freedom to choose comes with its own set of demons. There's nothing out there that makes you feel more warm and fuzzy than running into one of the drug reps you used to sell aginst in full mom-mode: no make up, hair in a bun (not a cute sock bun), and trying to hang on to a baby that is acting like a greased pig at a rodeo. After my best attempt to glamorize my new role as a human burp cloth I get the reaction I feared and dreaded, "Oh." Two little letters but based on the tone she might as well have made an 'L' with her fingers, popped it on her forehead, and said 'loser!' Actually, the thought that came to mind was, "She thinks I'm a failure." As I was walking away from my manicured, designer labeled former competition, I told myself she had no clue but I secretly wondered if she was right.
On the other side of things are the people that I have inadvertently surrounded myself with here in Jonesboro: other stay at home moms. Whether it's story time at the library, the Facebook comments or pictures that I choose to like, or even my 9 am Crossfit class, I am around people who are continuously giving me examples of how staying at home has been the best thing for their families. Needless to say, the second crowd is much more enjoyable to be around at this point in my life.
With all of that said, here I am at an impass: apply for the job and potentially get back out among the living or stay at home and continue on the path to bottle washing oblivion. While part of me was excited about finally putting my masters degree that I worked so hard for to use, another part of me (bigger than I'd like to admit) was dreading telling the stay at home moms the news and getting the dreaded 'oh' from them. Only this time it would mean, "You don't care enough about your family to sacrifice your wants for them." Darned if you do and darned if you don't in my opinion.
At the end of the day and after lots of praying I realized that for me the real war is an internal one I'm fighting with myself as my definition of value and self-worth continues to change. In the end, I decided not to apply for the job. As bad as my seize the day personality tried to get the best of me I know I will never get these days back wih Olivia and if we don't have another, I won't even get a do over. This was hard post for me to write but I hope on the days that are the most chaotic I can look back at this and remember why I'm soaked with splashed bath water and still have my pajamas on at 3:30 in the afternoon.
As a side note, I do still have some of my drug rep clothes, but for now they are staying in the back of the closet as far way from the craziness as possible.
Craziness is much easier to deal with when it's this cute!
I have had my fair share of days where I long to have an adult conversation and wonder what I would look like these days if I put the same effort into getting ready as I used to. All of these things have been just daydreaming until I stumbled upon an immediate counselor position here in Jonesboro. And there I was again: right in the middle of the mommy wars.
The mommy wars are what I like to call the struggle that moms face when it comes to working or staying home with your children. In many cases, working or staying at home comes from necessity and you just do what you've got to do. Those moms are rock stars in my book because they take one for the team and get the job done, whether it be at work or home. I, on the other hand, was blessed to be able to pick.
Ultimately it is a blessing, but having the freedom to choose comes with its own set of demons. There's nothing out there that makes you feel more warm and fuzzy than running into one of the drug reps you used to sell aginst in full mom-mode: no make up, hair in a bun (not a cute sock bun), and trying to hang on to a baby that is acting like a greased pig at a rodeo. After my best attempt to glamorize my new role as a human burp cloth I get the reaction I feared and dreaded, "Oh." Two little letters but based on the tone she might as well have made an 'L' with her fingers, popped it on her forehead, and said 'loser!' Actually, the thought that came to mind was, "She thinks I'm a failure." As I was walking away from my manicured, designer labeled former competition, I told myself she had no clue but I secretly wondered if she was right.
On the other side of things are the people that I have inadvertently surrounded myself with here in Jonesboro: other stay at home moms. Whether it's story time at the library, the Facebook comments or pictures that I choose to like, or even my 9 am Crossfit class, I am around people who are continuously giving me examples of how staying at home has been the best thing for their families. Needless to say, the second crowd is much more enjoyable to be around at this point in my life.
With all of that said, here I am at an impass: apply for the job and potentially get back out among the living or stay at home and continue on the path to bottle washing oblivion. While part of me was excited about finally putting my masters degree that I worked so hard for to use, another part of me (bigger than I'd like to admit) was dreading telling the stay at home moms the news and getting the dreaded 'oh' from them. Only this time it would mean, "You don't care enough about your family to sacrifice your wants for them." Darned if you do and darned if you don't in my opinion.
At the end of the day and after lots of praying I realized that for me the real war is an internal one I'm fighting with myself as my definition of value and self-worth continues to change. In the end, I decided not to apply for the job. As bad as my seize the day personality tried to get the best of me I know I will never get these days back wih Olivia and if we don't have another, I won't even get a do over. This was hard post for me to write but I hope on the days that are the most chaotic I can look back at this and remember why I'm soaked with splashed bath water and still have my pajamas on at 3:30 in the afternoon.
As a side note, I do still have some of my drug rep clothes, but for now they are staying in the back of the closet as far way from the craziness as possible.
Craziness is much easier to deal with when it's this cute!
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Oh, Hello Blog!
It has been so long since I have been on my blog that I literally forgot I had one- oops! Well, that is until a friend that doesn't have Facebook gave me the third degree about my lack of interest in her 'only way to see the baby.'
So here is goes: yet another attempt to be more diligent in my blogging abilities. I make no promises about my frequency but I will promise that my posts will be much shorter and probably have more typos haha!
It's so frustrating for me to set out to do something me it not work out like I had planned. The only thing I can't stand more is not being in control. Let me tell you; God is using motherhood to stretch me in this area on a daily basis. He has given me a bald, toothless version of myself to mold and shape into what I pray will be a Godly young lady and, hopefully, a Christian woman. There is nothing that will whip you into shape quicker than seeing your sweet precious child exhibit some of your less than stellar qualities. In my case, I have a child with a temper and determination that is rivaled by no one.....except me. There are times where I'm so glad she can't talk because I know I'd have to get onto her for wherever that jibber jabber was that just came out of her mouth! Self reflection has always been an important part of my spiritual life. I never dreamed that the thing that would force me to take the longest look at myself would come in the tiniest of packages. I'll leave you with a little Olivia cuteness. Have a blessed day!
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Quick post about quick cooking
Seeing that the first month of motherhood has been one big diaper change/feeding/please go to sleep/you are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, I haven't had too much time to cook. I have been so fortunate to have friends and family that have kept us stocked on meals and I made a ton of freezer meals before Olivia came. Still yet, there's a part of me that misses humming around the kitchen and making the house smell amazing with dinner when Jay gets home. When we got married I didn't know how to cook anything!! It still shocks me that Jay took the plunge seeing how much he loves good food. I have gotten lots better, but what I used to lack in skill I now lack in time.
I did get online this weekend and found the following recipe for pork tenderloin on allrecipes.com. I decided to post because it actually was easy and good (I've had my fair share of 'easy and good' failures, so I was pumped).
Okay, here we go:
1- 2 lb pork tenderloin
1 envelope of onion soup mix
1 cup water
3/4 cup red wine
3 tbs. minced garlic
3 tbs. soy sauce
black pepper to taste
Place the tenderloin in a crockpot and for heavens sake use a liner! If you don't, then you deserve to be slaving away scraping the food off of that thing-best invention ever!!! Sprinkle the onion soup mix over the loin and then pour the water; soy sauce and wine around the meat. We had two bottles of wine left over from our wedding, (yes, we've been married over 3 years) so I used one of those to get rid of it. Normally, I would probably use beef or veggie stock and I usually add in a boulion cube of some sort to enhance the flavor. Next smear the garlic over the top of the tenderloin and sprinkle on the pepper. I finally broke down and got a nice pepper mill and I can really tell the difference in my cooking-so worth it. You can also add any veggies you would like. I cut up some new potatoes. Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours and then you are officially an awesome cook.
I think the smell that filled the house was just as good as actually eating the finished product. Jay said it smelled like I was 'really cooking something,' whatever that means! This one will be a regular dish in our house since I don't think I'll be getting any free time in the next few years-haha! Have a great day!
I did get online this weekend and found the following recipe for pork tenderloin on allrecipes.com. I decided to post because it actually was easy and good (I've had my fair share of 'easy and good' failures, so I was pumped).
Okay, here we go:
1- 2 lb pork tenderloin
1 envelope of onion soup mix
1 cup water
3/4 cup red wine
3 tbs. minced garlic
3 tbs. soy sauce
black pepper to taste
Place the tenderloin in a crockpot and for heavens sake use a liner! If you don't, then you deserve to be slaving away scraping the food off of that thing-best invention ever!!! Sprinkle the onion soup mix over the loin and then pour the water; soy sauce and wine around the meat. We had two bottles of wine left over from our wedding, (yes, we've been married over 3 years) so I used one of those to get rid of it. Normally, I would probably use beef or veggie stock and I usually add in a boulion cube of some sort to enhance the flavor. Next smear the garlic over the top of the tenderloin and sprinkle on the pepper. I finally broke down and got a nice pepper mill and I can really tell the difference in my cooking-so worth it. You can also add any veggies you would like. I cut up some new potatoes. Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours and then you are officially an awesome cook.
I think the smell that filled the house was just as good as actually eating the finished product. Jay said it smelled like I was 'really cooking something,' whatever that means! This one will be a regular dish in our house since I don't think I'll be getting any free time in the next few years-haha! Have a great day!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Hospital Packing
What a hectic few months! I had great intentions of blogging about my pregnancy every week, but looking back, I believe I made it to week 15-haha! Here we are; it's the middle of July and I am a mother to a beautiful baby girl. Did you hear me....I'm a MOTHER! It's pretty surreal for me, but I feel like this is what I was always supposed to do. This only child that had very little experience with children can tell you that 'mother's intuition' is a beautiful thing because my motherly instincts have taken over and I think that we just may be okay with this parenting thing.
I plan to post about my baby shower and my labor and delivery and all of those fun things, but I thought I'd start out with my advice for packing for the hospital. Thanks to Pinterest and Google, I spent my fair share of time researching what this person and that person thought that one should or should not take to the hospital. From all of those blogs and websites I compiled my own list of things that we should take with us. The end result was, as you can see below, just pack as much as you can fit in your car because it would be better to have it and not use it than to have to go buy something that you already own.
Now I have some disclaimers before I get too far into my list. We stayed in the hospital for two nights instead of just one and I knew this weeks in advance. In my opinion, this gave me full rights to pack whatever I wanted and not be made fun of by Jay or anyone! Additionally, my labor and delivery was crazy easy, (I almost feel guilty talking about it, but that's another post) so some things that I will mention I didn't actually get the opportunity to use, but I would expect them to be handy and will be taking them to the hospital if there is ever another Wheeler baby in our future.
First of all is Jay's bag. This is short and sweet....... LET HIM TAKE CARE OF WHAT HE WANTS TO BRING! I say this for two reasons 1) If I had packed his bag, I would have undoubtedly left something out and 2) it is usually the mom's responsibility to pack everything else, so they can manage one bag. I did, however, make a basket of treats for him to take to the hospital and gave it to him as a Father's Day gift. Out of the whole labor and delivery process, he was most concerned with what he was going to eat, so I decided that I would just take care of that right off of the bat.
Next is Olivia's bag. I can laugh at myself now, but I packed at least four or five outfits for this child and when I say outfit I mean a complete ensemble. Each outfit had it's own matching hairbow, hat, burp cloth, receiving blanket, socks, and toy-good grief!!!!! IMO, all you really need is maybe one outfit for pictures right after the baby is born and one going home outfit. I would suggest bringing a couple different sizes. We were told that she was going to be about 8-9 lbs. and she turned out to be 6 lbs. 11 oz. The only thing that fit her was her going home outfit and we went ahead and put her in another onesie that we had to cinch in at the back to make it look like it was anywhere near her size. We really enjoyed the shirts and hats that the hospital provided for 3 reasons. 1) They actually fit, 2) if we got them dirty, clean ones were a button push away, and 3) they were really great for her umbilical cord stump because they didn't rub up against it like a onesie would have. I can only speak for our hospital, but they had everything that we could have possibly needed for her in the cart that her bed rested on. My epidural didn't wear off until the next day, so I didn't realize this until we were getting close to being discharged, but take advantage of everything that the hospital has to offer-and take it home!
Finally, my bag. This is where I went overboard the most. Contrary to intital impressions, I am pretty low key and easy to please. I forgot this, however, and packed everything I did and didn't need. Just a few notes:
1) I ordered really cute nursing pajamas from A Pea in the Pod, and I never wore them. I stayed in the hospital gowns the entire time because I was hooked up to so many things that there was no way I was going to try to get anything on otherwise. It was also nice that the shoulders unsnapped to nurse. I can work these nursing tanks like a champ now, but at that stage in the game I could barely get in a complete feeding; forget about doing it in style. If you must bring your own clothes, I suggest bringing some gowns and possibly a robe for if you decide to get out of the room or for visitors. After everything that one goes through in the labor and delivery process, I couldn't imagine pulling on a pair of pants and sitting in bed-enough said.
2) I brought every single thing that I needed to get ready, and believe it or not, I used it. I know that this is personal preference, but it made me feel much better to get up on that second day, shower, and get ready. I actually felt like myself again, well, sort of. The best picture I have of Olivia and I in the hospital was taken on the second day, so I'm glad that I looked half way decent when it was taken. One thing that I wish I would have brought was some really good moisturizing lotion and body wash that was fragrance free. I brought my Mary Kay body wash and lotion that I love, but I was afraid that the scent was too much for her. Chap stick also came in handy even though I never used it during pushing like I thought I would. I only pushed for about 20 minutes, so my lips never got dry (I know, I know, see why I feel guilty even talking about it?).
3) Everyone makes such a big deal about the going home outfit for the baby, but what about the going home outfit for the mom? I think that a considerable amount of thought should be put into this, because if you have an hour long drive home like we did, what you wear can be the difference between parental bliss and parental agony. I wore a pink tank and some black leggings with a matching black cardigan. If you saw me at all during my pregnancy you saw that cardigan. I guess I'm going to have to burn it or Jay is going to do it for me. Looking back, I wish I would have brought a cute maxi dress. The leggings were okay, but by the time we got home, all I wanted to do was put on something that was loose fitting. I wouldn't advise being too scrubby for the drive home, because the amount of pictures that were taken when we got home would have put Brad and Angelina to shame. Once again, glad that I had taken time on my appearance that day, too.
Other items that we brought:
1)Blankets and pillows. These came in handy for Jay since the hospital only provided what was on my bed and the chair that made out into a bed wasn't the most comfortable; or at least that's what I was told. I have heard that the moms can benefit from their own pillows, but I thought the hospital ones were okay, and they brought me as many as I wanted.
2) Boppy pillow. I have heard so many people say how happy they were that they brought it, but I never used mine. I had so many machines that I was hooked up to that it was just easier to grab one of my 5 pillows and prop up. Not to mention that there wasn't much storage in my room, so the pillow would have had to be dug out of the closet every time that we needed it. I reccomend bringing it because everyone is different and if there is a next time, I will probably bring it again although it might stay in the car.
3) Baby book page. This was really nice, because Jay took it to the nursery with him when she was having her initial tests done and they put her footprints on her baby book page, as well. There was a place for handprints, but my hospital didn't do those, so she's two weeks today and it's still blank. We should probably get on that. :/ The staff said that whenever we do get around to doing it, buying a washable ink pad for stamps seems to work best.
4) Chargers, cameras, yada, yada. Bring all of that stuff because you will use it. My brother came up from Little Rock and took beautiful pictures with his camera, so we were lucky, but one of the nurses still took pics while she was being delivered. I also brought a disposable camera in case all else failed.
5) Gift for the nurses. I had originally bought some chocolates for the nurses who were, by the way, awesome. If you are giving birth in January that's great, but when it's 105 degrees outside, pick something that is less likely to melt. They all wanted me to bring her back in a few weeks, so I thought I'd just drop something off from Causbies with a nice thank you note when we go visit.
My overall mantra for hospital packing is pack everything you think you might want because it's better to have it than to wish you did. It seemed that we brought most everything that we needed and many things that we didn't, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Hopefully, this will be a more regular thing for me with the blog posts and I will get on here again before 2013!
I plan to post about my baby shower and my labor and delivery and all of those fun things, but I thought I'd start out with my advice for packing for the hospital. Thanks to Pinterest and Google, I spent my fair share of time researching what this person and that person thought that one should or should not take to the hospital. From all of those blogs and websites I compiled my own list of things that we should take with us. The end result was, as you can see below, just pack as much as you can fit in your car because it would be better to have it and not use it than to have to go buy something that you already own.
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| Although our trunk looks like we are embarking on a week long road trip, our hospital stay was only two days. |
Now I have some disclaimers before I get too far into my list. We stayed in the hospital for two nights instead of just one and I knew this weeks in advance. In my opinion, this gave me full rights to pack whatever I wanted and not be made fun of by Jay or anyone! Additionally, my labor and delivery was crazy easy, (I almost feel guilty talking about it, but that's another post) so some things that I will mention I didn't actually get the opportunity to use, but I would expect them to be handy and will be taking them to the hospital if there is ever another Wheeler baby in our future.
First of all is Jay's bag. This is short and sweet....... LET HIM TAKE CARE OF WHAT HE WANTS TO BRING! I say this for two reasons 1) If I had packed his bag, I would have undoubtedly left something out and 2) it is usually the mom's responsibility to pack everything else, so they can manage one bag. I did, however, make a basket of treats for him to take to the hospital and gave it to him as a Father's Day gift. Out of the whole labor and delivery process, he was most concerned with what he was going to eat, so I decided that I would just take care of that right off of the bat.
Next is Olivia's bag. I can laugh at myself now, but I packed at least four or five outfits for this child and when I say outfit I mean a complete ensemble. Each outfit had it's own matching hairbow, hat, burp cloth, receiving blanket, socks, and toy-good grief!!!!! IMO, all you really need is maybe one outfit for pictures right after the baby is born and one going home outfit. I would suggest bringing a couple different sizes. We were told that she was going to be about 8-9 lbs. and she turned out to be 6 lbs. 11 oz. The only thing that fit her was her going home outfit and we went ahead and put her in another onesie that we had to cinch in at the back to make it look like it was anywhere near her size. We really enjoyed the shirts and hats that the hospital provided for 3 reasons. 1) They actually fit, 2) if we got them dirty, clean ones were a button push away, and 3) they were really great for her umbilical cord stump because they didn't rub up against it like a onesie would have. I can only speak for our hospital, but they had everything that we could have possibly needed for her in the cart that her bed rested on. My epidural didn't wear off until the next day, so I didn't realize this until we were getting close to being discharged, but take advantage of everything that the hospital has to offer-and take it home!
Finally, my bag. This is where I went overboard the most. Contrary to intital impressions, I am pretty low key and easy to please. I forgot this, however, and packed everything I did and didn't need. Just a few notes:
1) I ordered really cute nursing pajamas from A Pea in the Pod, and I never wore them. I stayed in the hospital gowns the entire time because I was hooked up to so many things that there was no way I was going to try to get anything on otherwise. It was also nice that the shoulders unsnapped to nurse. I can work these nursing tanks like a champ now, but at that stage in the game I could barely get in a complete feeding; forget about doing it in style. If you must bring your own clothes, I suggest bringing some gowns and possibly a robe for if you decide to get out of the room or for visitors. After everything that one goes through in the labor and delivery process, I couldn't imagine pulling on a pair of pants and sitting in bed-enough said.
2) I brought every single thing that I needed to get ready, and believe it or not, I used it. I know that this is personal preference, but it made me feel much better to get up on that second day, shower, and get ready. I actually felt like myself again, well, sort of. The best picture I have of Olivia and I in the hospital was taken on the second day, so I'm glad that I looked half way decent when it was taken. One thing that I wish I would have brought was some really good moisturizing lotion and body wash that was fragrance free. I brought my Mary Kay body wash and lotion that I love, but I was afraid that the scent was too much for her. Chap stick also came in handy even though I never used it during pushing like I thought I would. I only pushed for about 20 minutes, so my lips never got dry (I know, I know, see why I feel guilty even talking about it?).
3) Everyone makes such a big deal about the going home outfit for the baby, but what about the going home outfit for the mom? I think that a considerable amount of thought should be put into this, because if you have an hour long drive home like we did, what you wear can be the difference between parental bliss and parental agony. I wore a pink tank and some black leggings with a matching black cardigan. If you saw me at all during my pregnancy you saw that cardigan. I guess I'm going to have to burn it or Jay is going to do it for me. Looking back, I wish I would have brought a cute maxi dress. The leggings were okay, but by the time we got home, all I wanted to do was put on something that was loose fitting. I wouldn't advise being too scrubby for the drive home, because the amount of pictures that were taken when we got home would have put Brad and Angelina to shame. Once again, glad that I had taken time on my appearance that day, too.
Other items that we brought:
1)Blankets and pillows. These came in handy for Jay since the hospital only provided what was on my bed and the chair that made out into a bed wasn't the most comfortable; or at least that's what I was told. I have heard that the moms can benefit from their own pillows, but I thought the hospital ones were okay, and they brought me as many as I wanted.
2) Boppy pillow. I have heard so many people say how happy they were that they brought it, but I never used mine. I had so many machines that I was hooked up to that it was just easier to grab one of my 5 pillows and prop up. Not to mention that there wasn't much storage in my room, so the pillow would have had to be dug out of the closet every time that we needed it. I reccomend bringing it because everyone is different and if there is a next time, I will probably bring it again although it might stay in the car.
3) Baby book page. This was really nice, because Jay took it to the nursery with him when she was having her initial tests done and they put her footprints on her baby book page, as well. There was a place for handprints, but my hospital didn't do those, so she's two weeks today and it's still blank. We should probably get on that. :/ The staff said that whenever we do get around to doing it, buying a washable ink pad for stamps seems to work best.
4) Chargers, cameras, yada, yada. Bring all of that stuff because you will use it. My brother came up from Little Rock and took beautiful pictures with his camera, so we were lucky, but one of the nurses still took pics while she was being delivered. I also brought a disposable camera in case all else failed.
5) Gift for the nurses. I had originally bought some chocolates for the nurses who were, by the way, awesome. If you are giving birth in January that's great, but when it's 105 degrees outside, pick something that is less likely to melt. They all wanted me to bring her back in a few weeks, so I thought I'd just drop something off from Causbies with a nice thank you note when we go visit.
My overall mantra for hospital packing is pack everything you think you might want because it's better to have it than to wish you did. It seemed that we brought most everything that we needed and many things that we didn't, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Hopefully, this will be a more regular thing for me with the blog posts and I will get on here again before 2013!
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