You must be getting close, how exciting!

This may be controversial, but with my first the outfit I took into hospital had the little mittens attached and the midwife was horrified and rolled them back. She told us when babies wore them they couldn't use their hands to feel and as babies learn through touch, they weren't a good idea. I had never really thought about it before. Anyway I just kept my daughters nails trimmed and I don't remember her ever scratching herself.

My baby just wore all in one sleep suits until she was about 6 months old and as they have the feet attached booties weren;t necessary unless it was particularly cold (she was born in december), they do get kicked off really easily, and I think we lost most of them.

I can't think of anything we needed the first few weeks that we didn't already have, except we really should have finished the christmas shopping before she came. Make sure there is a lot of food in the house.

Mittens and booties do get lost very easily. We ended up not using them. Just keep their nails filed or trimmed. Sleepers were the best thing to where for the first several months. Of course as a FTM I was so excited with all the baby shower gifts that I washed all the clothes and towels and opened and set up every other gift. We found we had more than we needed and there was much we never even used. I wish I had kept more things with the tags on and receipts with them in case I wanted to return for something I did need later on. We didn't do a cosleeper but we had borrowed a bassinet from a friend to use in our bedroom. They are so small they don't last very long and then I would end up taking him to the nursery to change his diaper anyway. I wish I would've just had the play yard with bassinet and diaper changer set up in the bedroom for the first few months. There were many 'convenience' items that were just a joke. They were not convenient and just a waste of space and money. Babies really don't need as much as Babysrus and the like want you to think.

Keeping all that in mind, every mom is different. You may end up being a totally different mom that you think you will be. I best suggestion is to not go overboard, don't open everything, don't wash everything, until you figure out what works best for you.

kelly- I hadn't heard that about avoiding the mittens because it limits their ability to feel but that is a great point!

Those are all great suggestions....does anyone have more suggestions about what items are completely unnecessary??

Great question!

Piggybacking on this question, are Diaper Genie type garbage bins really needed?

Worst things ever. They made the room not smell, til you open it to in another diaper or change the bag then you were gagging. We started using grocery bags to individually wrap each diaper then take out the baby trash everyday.

Mittens.. My 5th baby used mittens. Yes, my 5th. It seemed no matter how short her nails were she still managed to claw at her little face. I didn't have mittens. we had to go buy them because I had never needed them before. It was very odd.

I will tell you my thoughts on wipe warmers.. The baby might as well get used to room temp wipes because when you are out that is what you will have..

For you, get tucks pads.. Yes hemorrhoid pads but they are a godsend on the stitches you get if you tear just a bit.

I didn't have a fancy diaper pail. Just a simple one. Take it out once a day, fold the diapers up tight when you change and it is all fine.

Burp clothes are my biggie.. and little blankets that can be used to cover your shoulder..

QUESTION: at what point in labor did you feel like you needed pain relief?

Did anyone use a jacuzzi tub for pain relief and did it help?

(I know this is subjective and everyone is different, curious as to your point of view)

With my first, I got an epidural when I was about 5 cm. With my second I got into the jacuzzi tub when I was 2 cm, and 20 minutes later I felt like I needed an epi. Only problem was I was 10 cm and it was time to push! Honestly, I preferred the unmedicated birth. The epi made me so sick and slowed down my labor. Plus I pushed WAY longer. It was 2.5 hours of pushing the first time, and 2 pushes with the second. With my third, I am definitely planning to go the unmedicated route again with the jacuzzi tub.

Same here, I had an Epi with my first and none with my second and I really feel like it was way easier the 2nd time. Pushing was much more effective cos I could feel what I was doing and it only took 20min compared to the 1.5hrs and assisted delivery I needed from trying to push flat on my back with no feeling!

I had a birth pool ready 2nd time but didn't have time to get into it - hopefully I'll manage this time, it seems like a good option.
I used some hypnobirthing techniques with #2 which helped a lot. Lots of active rocking/swaying/walking helped too.

Thanks ladies for your help and replies! :flowerforyou: you're awesome! I "lurk" on another baby board and the snarky cattiness keeps me from asking questions :frown:

QUESTION: Are Prenatal classes "worth" it? I've had a few people tell me it was a waste of time and money.

And adding on to Kerri's suggestion; QUESTION: what was in your Mommy Postpartum Kit?

So far I have a peri bottle, tucks and huge pads. Do I need dermablast? Throw away panties?

I have never even bothered with other sites' baby boards. I have heard way too many stories about way too much drama!

Classes - I took a childbirth class that the hospital offered (same hospital where I delivered) when I was pregnant with my first. We talked about the stages of L&D, and it really wasn't focused on any one method of dealing with labor (ie, it wasn't a Lamaze class or anything like that). We watched a few videos of someone who had a vaginal birth with an epidural, someone who labored at the hospital without an epidural but with the "take the edge off" pain meds and had a vaginal birth, someone who labored mostly at home and had a vaginal birth with no drugs and a rail so that she could squat, and someone who had a c-section. It also included a hospital tour, which we didn't think was all that helpful except to show what the L&D beds are like. I thought the nurse who ran the class seemed really knowledgeable, and she wasn't a jerk to anyone who said they were planning on having a natural birth. Her advice was just to be open to anything and take it as it comes. If you can make it through with no meds, then do that. If you feel you need them, don't torture yourself and just have them. We all get babies in the end, and no one gets a medal for doing things a certain way. Overall I thought the class was the most helpful to understand what "real" contractions were like vs. BH, which definitely helped me because I didn't have BH that time, and so when I actually went into labor I knew that I had to try to walk it off - and that if I couldn't it was the real deal.

Tucks - You may need Tucks (I didn't have hemorrhoids the first time around, nor have I experienced them this time - yet), but I have been told that witch hazel is cheaper and easier. That's what my OB recommended on the postpartum sheet she gave me when I was discharged last time.

Maxi Pads - Seriously, grab all the pads you can when you are leaving the hospital. They are better than what you can buy, but otherwise buy some serious long overnight pads. I had thin overnight pads on hand but didn't like them for postpartum use, personally, because they made me feel wet and gross and like there was a gap between my body and the pad that would lead to leaks, so I bought the big diaper-like ones. I also felt like I needed that cushion when I was sitting.

Panties - The mesh panties they give you at the hospital are awesome (again, grab all you can), but a few women hate them. I liked them because they were easy to just throw away, and I didn't have to think about washing panties. If you happen to hate them, be sure to have panties that you don't mind messing up in case you leak. Like serious cotton cheapies or panties that are old and nearly worn out.

Chux - On that note, while you are recovering, they will have chux on your bed. If there is an extra unused one or two of these in your room, you should snag them as well. They are good for extra backup for when you are still bleeding fairly heavily.

Bleeding - Honestly, the amount you will bleed and for how long will depend on you. Mine was like a REALLY heavy period for about a week, maybe a week and a half. Then it was like a medium-ish period for a few days, then it lingered as spotting for a while. It ended completely at around 4 weeks postpartum. So you'll definitely need heavy pads, but you don't need to buy an industrial size box of them or anything. I think I still have an unopened package of the nighttime pads that I liked for the beginning, so I should be all set on that front without having to buy many more, if any.

Dermablast and Peri Bottle - I Googled dermablast and came up with Dermoplast - is that what you mean? I didn't use anything like that (I had a vaginal birth with one dissolvable stitch, so I was sore but not ridiculously so). My OB's sheet didn't say anything about whether or not it was ok to use something like that. I'd think it would feel a little harsh for that area - stinging is not good! The peri bottle even feels weird in the beginning, especially if that water is cold. (Make sure there's WARM water in there before you squirt yourself with it!) If you can have more than one peri bottle, that's good, if you think you may use more than one bathroom. There's very little more frustrating at this time than being in one bathroom and realizing your peri bottle is in another.

Other than that, I can't think of much else you'll need right off the bat for your own care, other than LOTS of water and food that's readily available and easy to eat with one hand. If you can still enjoy it when it's cold, even better. The hospital where I delivered gave you this awesome 32-oz plastic cup with a handle, a lid, and a straw, and it ROCKS. I knocked mine off a table onto my wood floor during the first week and broke it :frown: so I ended up using one of my Nalgene bottles, which wasn't nearly as easy to drink from when I was holding my son! I liked the cup because I could easily drink from it with one hand and without risk of spilling on the baby, plus it was so big that I could have 2-3 of those a day and know I was drinking plenty of water.

I dunno where abouts you are and if you can get this there, but I SWEAR by this stuff called "hypercal". Its a herbal thing made from hypercium (that might not be spelled right!) and calendula, I dilute it with water and sprayed after everytime I went to the bathroom. I had 3rd degree tears both times and the OBGYN and MW who both checked the healing were amazed at how quickly and well I healed. I must get some more for this time round!