Jess’ Guide to Month 9, Labor & the Hospital

A few months ago I wrote a post about what I learned being pregnant. It was a big hit so I’ve decided to do a follow up post about the rest of my pregnancy lessons. Missed the first post? Check it out here.

Pre-Labor

• Keep reminding yourself that the baby WILL come out. You will not be pregnant forever…even if baby is late.
• As hard as it will be, DO NOT count down until your “due date.” Baby is going to come when baby wants to come.
• Have fun setting up the baby room/nursery but don’t go too crazy. Once I arrived home with Charlotte I realized that the drawers I put everything in made NO sense. Chances are, you’re going to move everything once you develop your own system.
• You will probably get A LOT of newborn clothes. DO NOT wash everything. We have a pile of clothes that she already outgrew and never got to wear. Remember, those cute onesies CANNOT be worn until the umbilical cord falls off. Charlotte’s took over 2 weeks, so she outgrew a lot of clothes before being able to wear them.
• SwaddleMe Sleepsacks have been lifesavers for us. She falls right asleep when wearing one (usually).
• Get a washable/waterproof/vinyl changing pad. DO NOT get the pretty non-waterproof/non-vinyl covers. One little drop of pee and you have to put it in the wash.
• Got a lot of duplicate “baby items” from your shower but don’t have receipts? You have a few options. Go online and add them to your registry (check babiesrus before other stores – their prices are higher so you’ll get more for the return!). Then you can return it to the store without a receipt. Can’t find it on the registry? Go to target or walmart. Both stores will let you return items without receipts. Target gives store credit, walmart gives cash back up to $20 I believe and then store credit after that. We ended up returning a lot of items, keeping 1 of each, and decided to buy more as needed. So far, it hasn’t been needed and we got $30 to Target just from powders, cremes and lotions!
• Buy diapers now. In your first few weeks you won’t want to run out and buy diapers. I loved the Huggies Pure & Natural for newborns because it has a special dip in the front so you don’t cover the umbilical cord. Nothing more challenging than folding down a diaper correctly at 3am.
• Keep walking/exercising. It’ll keep your mind clear and baby moving. It’s the best way to help baby along.
• Enjoy some last date nights (if it’s your first child). Chances are you’re not going to want to use a babysitter in the first few months so this may be your last real date for a while. Chris and I had 3 last dates and all were worth it.
• If people offer you baby clothes/items, take them and wash immediately. You won’t know what baby likes and what you like until he/she is already here and getting to a store isn’t as easy.
• RELAX and enjoy the last weeks of pregnancy. It’s hard to do. And you’re tired and usually in some kind of discomfort but remember, it’s the last time your name won’t be mom for the rest of your life
• Buy books, movies, tv show boxsets etc. While waiting for baby and as a new mom you’ll be up many hours for different reasons.
• Braxton hicks contractions are different than real ones. But if you’re anything like me – you won’t be able to tell the difference.
• Got an iphone or app-friendly phone device? Get the contraction tracker app! It’s free and a real easy way to track how long and frequent your contractions are. It’s how I knew it was time to take a trip to the hospital.
• There is a long list of signs you might be going into labor in many books. Use them as a reference. I didn’t get some of the signs ever and honestly, many of them came just a few hours before I went into labor. Don’t get discouraged…everyone is different.
• Pack your bag for the hospital! Here’s my suggestions that might not be too obvious: hair brush and tie, mascara/light makeup, bath robe & slippers, disposable razor, toothbrush & tooth paste, cheap but cute nursing pajamas (or you can wear the robes they give you- i did both), lotion/stretch creme, deodorant, chapstick, comfy go home clothes (maternity clothes still), cell phone charger, camera.
• Go food shopping/make and freeze food. You will NOT be up for cooking and hubbie won’t be either. We lived off of pre-made chili for many days.
• Sanitize/sterilize bottles, pacifiers etc. before baby comes. I didn’t think to and didn’t realize it should definitely be done before using them. Put bathing things together in a basket and organize clothes so newborn outfits are easy to grab and 6 months clothes are out of reach.

Labor/Hospital

• Not sure if you should go to the hospital yet or if contractions are real? Call your doctor. I was afraid of bothering him with stupid questions and false labor but they get calls all of the time and are the only ones that know what you should do. Don’t be afraid to look stupid.
• I was told that if you’re just saying “ow” then you’re not going into labor. This may be true for some, but do you know how high your pain tolerance is? I obviously didn’t. I was saying “ow” when I was already hours into labor. Use your own judgement.
• Not sure if it’s a real contraction? Try moving (if you’re sitting, stand up etc.). If it gets worse/stays the same, it’s probably real.
• Communicate with your husband/ride to the hospital. If you don’t need to do a movie-like panic run th the car speeding to the hospital scene, don’t do it. There will be enough going on. Stay calm, breathe, and remember, he’s probably as nervous as you are.
• Be honest with your nurses. If you’re in pain, tell them. If you feel pain coming on but think you can handle it a bit longer, tell them NOW. Hospitals get busy out of no where and you don’t want to be stuck waiting for pain medicine when you really need it.
• Stay positive, stay light hearted, and remember, it’s just one (usually) really long day. It WILL end and your baby WILL come out one way or another.
• If your hospital room has a TV in it, put something fun and light on. We watched 90s tv sitcoms during labor, during pushing and for days in recovery. It’s nice to have something to look at but not really feel the need to WATCH it. Home Improvement was on when Charlotte was born. Who knew I’d be looking at Tim Allen while pushing my first child out. haha.
• “Now is not the time to be a super hero” – Dr. Rudnicki. Take the pain medicine unless you’re really against it.
• It will hurt. But you will have a little baby in your arms when it’s all over.

Hospital Stay

• A lot of people will want to visit. You may want to limit it. You and husband and baby will be very tired and worn out…remind people they can visit you when you get home. And keep your nurse in the loop, she’s usually willing to kick people out of the room so you don’t have to be the bad guy.
• Not sure if you want to have baby sleep at night in the room with you or in the nursery? I suggest the nursery. You’re going to be exhausted and glued to your bed in recovery. Let the nurses soothe his/her crying and change diapers for a few nights. You’ll have MANY chances to do it yourself later on. Plus, if there are any complications – they know what to do and you don’t. Charlotte had one night of choking on mucus she was coughing up. I would have freaked out if I was alone with her when it happened.
• Planning on nursing? The nurses will bring baby to you in the middle of the night so that you can. Just make sure they know this is what you want – if not, they’ll give him/her formula from a bottle.
• Questions? ASK NOW! Nurses and doctors are all around you. Don’t be embarassed. It’s harder to call later on.
• Anything in the hospital room WILL get thrown out so take it home with you! From the disposable post-pregnancy underwear to the huge maxi pads to the baby’s hair brush.
• Witchhazel pads/Tucks and ice packs feel amazing for your sore area. Make sure to bring them home with you AND buy some more when needed.
• Take a shower, brush your hair, put on a little makeup…it’ll help you to feel so much better. Especially if you’re going to have visitors who want to take pictures..and they will.
• Speaking of pictures, call the shots. I told everyone I did not want my “just had a baby” pictures posted anywhere and they respected that. Take some so you have them, but the world doesn’t need to see you in a gown with crazy hair and a fat, tired face unless you want them to.
• Heard that you leave the hospital looking 6 months pregnant? Unfortunately it’s true. It takes days/weeks to not look pregnant anymore. And then, you still have a mushy belly. But remember, you did JUST have a baby.
• Take some of the hospital time to relax with just your family. The nurses take care of you and bring you food and pain meds. Your hubbie will want some quiet time and your baby may not want to be passed around all day long. Your first days home will be tiring and overwhelming, take advantage of the hospital help.

So that’s all I can think of. I’m sure there are more things but I think that’s enough. I will leave you with one funny story. Our first night (or 2nd) back at home, I had to wake up to feed Charlotte. So I set the alarm and somehow opened my eyes after only a few hours of sleep. But I woke up confused and panicked. I woke up Chris because I couldn’t figure out how to sit the bed up to feed her. I was hitting the side of the mattress looking for the controls. It took me a few minutes to realize that I wasn’t in the hospital and my mattress did not have controls. It was a really funny moment that I’ll never forget.