Maternity, Delivery, and Babies

Maternity, Delivery, and Babies

I’ll be totally honest. I had a rough pregnancy. I was miserable. I had pain everywhere – even my toes hurt! The worst part? The pandemic hit when I was 3 months pregnant. Even worse? I delivered at 32 weeks and my child was in the NICU for a month DURING THE PANDEMIC. It was stressful to say the least. I didn’t even have my “virtual” baby shower yet so I had no crib, no bottles, pretty much nothing for my baby at home. While I wish we could’ve taken our boy home with us immediately, having him in the NICU helped us get his nursery ready in time for his arrival home. However, with that being said, I am SO happy my boy was so healthy and survived through it all.

Here is a list of things I had during my pregnancy/labor experience and some things I wish I had, as well as must-haves for the first couple months of your newborn’s life.

This list is also perfect for anyone searching for items to add to their baby shower registry.

My Favorites:

The top thing on this list that I truly wish I had while pregnant? This support band. My lower back was constantly killing me and I didn’t know these existed until it was too late!

These will add some bulk to your hospital bag, but don’t underestimate the power of a robe, slippers, soft blanket, and pillow. My friend dropped off a care package at the hospital and having a cozy blanket and robe instead of the scratchy ones the hospital provides felt like I was staying at a hotel instead of a hospital.

I feel awful saying that I was thankful for my son’s NICU stay, but the nurses there prepared me for everything. I was clueless. I wasn’t raised around babies, I’ve never even changed a diaper before. While the popular What to Expect book was helpful, what I needed more was this – What to Expect the First Year. Don’t forget about the new Dad – he will need this.

I breastfed for the first 6 months – and by breastfed, I mean I mostly pumped. I pumped while my husband gave my son breastmilk in the bottle. That was our nighttime routine. Since he was a preemie, we had to feed him every 3 hours in the middle of the night. Most people prefer their own pump, I rented out the hospital’s pump because it was amazing. I was also a major nipple leaker so these washable breast pads came in super handy!

My son loved his pacifiers, but he’s always had sensitive skin so most of them left him with a rash on his face. Thankfully, these pacifiers helped prevent that!

Lastly, as much as I love cooking, it wasn’t the first thing I wanted to do while taking care of a newborn. Gift cards to local restaurants, DoorDash, or Instacart, would have been a life safer!

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