Baby: Getting the Hospital Bag Ready

    
      
I was in the middle of writing a post on gestational diabetes when I realized that I already had a post on that topic. Yes people, I had temporary pregnancy amnesia. I heard it happens quite a lot during pregnancy. :)

So anyway, back to my real post...

Being on the home stretch means it's time to get ready for the big day. Here's a list of things we have already done and yet to do:

1. Tour the hospital.
2. Pre-register.
3. Assemble baby gear and get to know infant car seat.
4. Wash baby clothes, blankets and toys.
5. Prepare hospital bag.

To-dos #1 to #4

Oh, the adventures of having our first baby.

#1 Since we had no idea on where to go (aside form the actual hospital area in general, we did not know the exact place where we should go) and what to do when the big day comes, we decided that it will be good for us to schedule a hospital tour, and get a feel of our hospital's labor and delivery department.

The hospital we chose is near our house, and so easy to go to.
Our tour began at the entrance of the labor and delivery department, and progressively went on with how it would be if we were there on the big day. Their birthing suite is a labor, delivery and recovery room all-in-one, and you get to be with your baby the whole time, if everything went smooth. The room also includes a private bathroom - most rooms have tubs. For really big families, there's a luxury suite that looked like a hotel room, complete with all the hotel's perks. It probably costs like a hotel suite too.

The birthing suite looks similar to this one. I could not find photos from our hospital's website.

Image from jpshealthnet.org

#2 Pre-registration was a breeze for me. My doctor's office already took care of it, because they were affiliated with the hospital.

#3 Assembling the baby gear was taken care of my husband. He assembled Baby A's Bumbleride Indie, which I posted about here. It was a gift from Baby A's wonderful grandparents.

The stroller

My husband also took care of knowing how to install the infant car seat in the car and in the stroller.

The car seat

He also assembled the bouncer, as well as the crib.

The bouncer

#4 I washed all her newborn clothes, crib sheets, and fabric toys with Dreft, a detergent that's gentle on baby's skin - so the packaging says.

The detergent

To do #5


The final thing to do in our list (forgive me if I forgot to list something - pregnancy amnesia... tsk, tsk, tsk) is to pack the hospital bag. We wanted to be ready to go anytime just in case Baby A decides to say hello to the world early. I used a checklist from What to Expect's website, and just chose which I would really need, and added some other things.

1. A nightgown, robe, socks and slippers
2. Snacks (granola bars, lollipops, etc.)
3. iPad
4. Toiletries
5. Camera
6. Going-home outfit
7. Baby goods & baby outfit
8. Infant car seat
9. My purse (and all the things inside it)

... and we're all ready!