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more random baby questions - sorry!
Sorry for the barrage of baby posts! I am getting stir-crazy since I have been done work for about 2 months now...and the nursery still isn't finished so I can't unpack anything from my shower yet. So I am just making random lists of things to pack/buy/do over the next few weeks.
Nursing bras/tanks - I know I want a few tanks and maybe a sleep bra already purchased before I deliver (so I can pack for hospital). My ribcage feels like it expanded massively so although my cup size hasn't changed since 20ish weeks, I need expanders - and even that feels tight after wearing it a while. How do I gauge sizing and would I be okay buying this stuff now or should I wait until closer to my EDD? Will my ribs go down after the baby drops or after birth?
Underwear - right now I wear cheapie Fruit of the Loom bikinis since my regular undies got too tight (awesome). I am wondering if they might be cut too low if I were to have a c/s...what kind of unders did you wear PP, or at least until the bleeding stopped/incision healed? Briefs? High-cut?
What kind of pads should I buy for home?
Diaper Bag - so I have the SkipHop Studio bag and I like it, but I found a bag at the Coach outlet that I think I like better size-wise. But I am not sure if I will be returning to work...if you have a "nice" diaper bag, do you send that with your LO to daycare? Or is that now your "purse" and you have a separate diaper bag for DH/daycare? Do you have a separate purse?
Baby Book - do people still do this? If so, any books you recommend?
Unfortunately, this is probably only the beginning of my questions. TIA!
Re: more random baby questions - sorry!
bras and underpants-
so with a large belly i stopped using underwire, but after the baby my ladies needed support i went two and half weeks and then got fitted with underwire nursing bras. people love target nursing tanks thought if you are don't need that support but i hated the feeling of my boobs being smushed in their with no support.
i went from a 38-36-34-32/30 in ribcage size in 18 months. so yes they do change and somewhat rapidly for me.
i had high waisted maternity underwear i that i wore that went up and over my staples. cotton, no lace or anything for a csection.
diaper bag-
at six months i hated how small my skip hop bag was and switched to a backpack, granted not a baby backpack but a biking one, i still use it as my everything bag but it frankly goes with my style.
thanks, lachute. did you buy your maternity underwear at Motherhood?
yup i still wear it when i have my lady business as to not ruin my good stuff.
I personally would wait on buying bras. Your boobs will explode when the baby comes along.
As for undies, if you end up with a csection there are a lot of variables in place. Lachute said she had staples and wore high waisters, I personally had no external stitches or staples (yay, dermbond!). I brought the mesh panties home with me and wore them for a day or two until I switched to regular low cut cotton undies.
Also, re bleeding and pads - I bought super duper pads but never needed them. In fact, I found them in my closet yesterday. I think you bleed less when you have a csection b/c the docs do a lot of suctioning to make sure your ute is cleaned out. But I'm not sure if it's that way across the board.
Diaper bag - I have 4 of them, 2 nice ones, 1 backpack, and a crappy winnie the pooh one. The pooh bag always went to daycare.
HTH. GL!
Nursing Tanks/Bras: I bought and lived in 3 G&O nursing tanks from Target. I was doing wash so often, that I just kept rewashing them. I did not like the nursing bras at all so I just wore the tanks under my clothes for a few months. It worked for me.
Underwear: I bought big girl Hanes granny panties for the end of my pregnancy. I had a c/s and after I wore the mesh guys for a few days, switched back to those. I had staples and they were so freaking huge they came up over my belly button. Since I have a spare tire around my waist (and have always had this), the GP worked for me. No cutesy undies for this guy.
Pads: I used any and all of the ones from the hospital. They are like wearing diapers...but the best diapers ever. I did use these when I ran out: http://www.kotex.com/NA/products/kotex-natural-balance-maxi-long-super/03021 because they did not have wings. Wings are the devil.
Diaper Bag: Perhaps we are lazy, but we have only one diaper bag and it has been more than sufficient. It's not fancy or name brand and we send it to DC with the kid every day. It's more than large enough to meet our needs. And it is black/gray so it's neutral enough that DH doesn't care if he has to carry it (not that I think he cares much at this point any way). I just wanted something with a lot of pockets. This is the closest in design but not color obviously: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11905103&searchURL=false except the front pockets of ours zipper close.
Baby Book: I have been severely slacking, but this is the one I received as a gift from my MIL at my shower: http://www.hallmark.com/Product/ProductDetails/1BBA3720_DK
Good luck!!
For daycare, I got one of the LL Bean totes with Oliver's name on the front. I used our Skip Hop diaper bag mostly on weekends or for daytrips.
Now I just use a tote bag or my regular handbag since we don't need to carry as much stuff.
For baby books --- I enjoyed "Happiest Baby on the Block" in the beginning.
Obviously I don't have experience yet, but this is what I am doing:
Nursing tanks/bras - I bought 2 tanks at Motherhood, and did not buy any nursing bras yet.. I do have a hanes bra that is a regular one with clips that make the front fall down like a nursing bra, so I am bringing that to the hospital. I am waiting to see what I grow to once my milk comes in before I buy real ones.
Underwear - Right now I am still squeezing myself into my old underwear (DH asks if my body ate my underwear sometimes because it disappears under my fat/bump, ugh) .. but I plan to steal the mesh stuff from the hospital, and maybe buy some regular old hanes granny stuff for after if needed.
Pads - I bought a few packs of Always heavy overnights.
Diaper Bag - I havent bought this yet, I really should considering I could go into labor any freaking day. We are thinking 1 bag for me, 1 bag for him. I bought a Coach bag but returned it because I realized I don't need something that fancy, I need function more.
Baby Book - We're going to do a frame with the hospital ID bracelet, footprints, and maybe the coming home outfit. Other than that I think we will do a shutterfly book because I am addicted to photobooks.
Oodsie - tip on the underwear - the mesh ones from labor are horrible, they have different and infinitely better ones in the recovery room upstairs. It took me a few hours to realize what they were so keep an eye open for them. Mine were in the bathroom. Ugly as sin but so much more comfortable than the mesh horrors!
I am struggling with the bra situation - my boobs were huge to begin with and have now exploded to whole new levels. I wouldn't buy nursing bras yet as you just have no idea how big your boobs are going to get.
The nursing tops are great - internal bras don't work for me though so I just need tops that stretch enough to make it easy to get in and out of.
Also I am having some trouble with the diaper bag situation - we were given a friend's old Petunia Picklebottom messenger bag with rucksack straps - it fits everything we need in it, but is a struggle to get in the bottom of our stroller and when I hang it from the 'Mommy Hook' it hangs at a very annoying level and bangs into my knees. Not sure what to do about that!
Bras: I'm small chested (and stayed small chested), so the target tanks/cotten nursing bras were fine for me. I think I got one cotten one to start and bought from there. BF didn't work out for me past 5 weeks, so I'm glad I didn't spend a ton of money on nursing gear.
Underwear: I bought granny undies, but didn't end up wearing them. My regular ones were fine. I had a c/s with glue (I think).
Pads: Always overnights, but like LD, I didn't need them. I also heard they suck out most of it if you have a c/s.
Diaper Bag: Skip Hop Duo, and it isn't my favorite. It is too narrow and I feel like I need to pull everything out to get to something in the bottom. Really inconvienent, but not enough that I've bought another one. I do use a different, basic one for daycare.
DD: 6-24-11
EDD: 9-20-14
I had a c-section with staples and I freaking loved the mesh panties. loved loved loved. Would have worn them for weeks but a) I ran out and b) DH would have been horrified.
And to LD's point, my OB mentioned that I wouldn't have terrible bleeding because she suctioned so much out. I still bled, but I didn't need those crazy pads I bought. Which are still in my bathroom cabinet.
Tanks - I love, love, love the target tanks, and wore them both around the house and under sweaters and cardis all winter. I never did find a comfortable, flattering nursing bra, and refuse to believe they exist. By spring, BFing was second nature, and I was just sort of shifting my bra cup to feed. This time around, my boobs are out.of.control. I just had to buy new bras, and went with regular old bras with front hooks, hoping they will be convenient. Who knows.
Underwear - Mesh until I ran out, then some vanity fair granny panties until I stopped bleeding.
Pads - Always Infinity Ultra --- I swear by them. Freakishly absorbent but super thin.
Diaper bag - I am a bag ho. A Kate Spade Noel, Hop Skip Duo Deluxe, LL Boat and Tote with his name. DH uses a backpack.
Thanks, all!
I think I am going to pick up a few nursing tanks to use at first. Then go from there.
Good call about the digital baby book! I am definitely going to do that.
As it turns out, I still have a unopened packages of various Always pads from my m/c...so hopefully they will work depending on what kind of delivery I have.
And I totally bought a cheapie Lands End diaper bag online for DH and/or daycare. I think I may go with the Coach bag and return my SkipHop Studio bag. I like the Kate Spade Stevie too, but alas I can't find that one at a lower price.
Check the outlet in Limerick. They sometimes have them (towards the back of the store) or see if you can grab one during a sample sale.
Oh boo. I was there on Sunday - didn't know there was a KS outlet! grrrrr
Underwear- I wore those mesh undies a solid week. I snagged as many as I could. After that I wore big ole granny panties from Fruit of the Loom. Fabulousity be damned, I just wanted to be comfy.
Bras- my ladies are quite large pre-pregnancy. Before I gave birth I just grabbed one bra from Target that was my normal band size,but when up a cup. I used that at first till I figured out A. if breast feeding was going to work and B. till my boobs figured out what size they were going to stay (answer: comically large). After that I went out and got sized at Motherhood Maternity. But honestly, some of my favorite bras are from Walmart.
Diaper Bag- I never understand the need for multiple diaper bags. We have one J.J. Cole bag that stays in his room. If Hunter isn't with me, I'm not carrying a diaper bag around. When I take Hunter with me somewhere, I just chuck my wallet in the diaper bag and go. For daycare, we keep a tote bag of stuff there (extra diapers, snacks, back up outfits, etc) and for the daily back-and-forth we use one of those reusable gift bags we got at the shower.