Praying that this will be the last labor day post (because I’ve pretty much gone through everything in my suitcase besides my toiletries and that’s just plain boring), before the actual labor day.

So, here are all the sewing things that I’ve been working on for our hospital stay…

Okay, again this is not really an essential but I do believe that feeling comfy and looking cute for post labor pictures is an essential…and since I typically look like I’ve run ten marathons, feeling comfy was on the top of my list.  And, I know, there are some homebirth moms out there but, for now, I’m not one of them.  I’m a hospital birthing mama.

I saw somewhere on the world wide web these maternity hospital gowns that were made from cute fabric.  They are nice, looked comfortable and ideal for nursing mamas.  Then I saw the price!  Some companies were charging over $100 for these hospital gowns.  Seriously?!  I knew I could make it cheaper but my sewing days were getting a little less and less plus I had to work on getting diapers refurbished to last through Bryant (more on that later).  So I continued my research and came across Pampered Mama.

Pampered Mama not only makes adorable, functional, hospital gowns but they’re also affordable.  At $35 a gown you can guess what I chose to do.  And guess what?!  She’ll make them custom if you want to pick out your own fabric.  Which is what I chose to do…And I picked out fabric that would coordinate with Bryant’s things.  She worked super fast on it and got it to me (even with me shipping her the material) in less than two weeks.  I was impressed with her work and design.

I talked with my friend who is an labor and delivery nurse and asked if she thought I would be “allowed” to wear it (although I’ve read posts that women said that went au natural…in the hospital…through labor…ew…so putting something on even if it’s not “hospital issue” should not be an issue, right???).  It has snaps at the top on both shoulders for easy hospital access and it ties in the back at the neck and then to the side (which is nice so you’re…ahem…is not flapping in the wind should you chose to walk around).  And it has nursing mama access which is super nice.  After labor I can tie it off around my waist for a nice little comfy, modest gown to wear at the hospital. 

So, I’m chalking my new custom hospital gown up as an essential for this particular labor and delivery!  Thanks Pampered Mama for a great gown at a wonderful price!!!

In preparing for the hospital….I always make sure the kids have some special treat bags.  We like for our kids to be the first ones to meet the new baby, so that means they are usually at the hospital most of labor day (since I’ve been induced with all our babies so far…yes, we’re still hoping to break that tradition).  So, ahead of time we always make up some labor bags for each child.  In them, we include a few snacks, small “quiet” toys, and games and of course, crayons and coloring books.  And we also include sibling shirts to be put on before they come in to meet their new sibling.

Typically, I’ll draw or design something in a publishing program and then print it out on transfers and have the kids wear them.  But, if you know anything about printable transfers, they don’t last.  So, this year, we invested in some shirts that they can wear until they outgrow the size.

So, on labor day, the girls will be sporting nifty tees with this on the front:

And their name and age order on the back like this:

And the boys will be dressed in this:

With their age order and name on the back like this:

Do I need to explain that I used a spin off of our blog banner which represents the boys as bees and the ladybugs as the girls?  Yes, I know I need to update our blog button and banner with Bryant…but I just wanted to be sure everyone noticed that.

And yes, Bryant has a onesie he’ll be tricked out in with this:

on the front and this:

on the back.

I’ve been thoroughly impressed with the quality of the shirts as well as the price.  They were a little more than regular because I did a design on the front and back.  We’ll see how they hold up after the first wash and drive thru McDonald’s meal!  I got Zoe, Ace, and Liam’s shirts from K2Teamworks.  They were super fast on printing and shipping but they didn’t carry toddler size shirts nor onesies (not that I saw anyway)…so I had to go to Inktastic to get a shirt that wouldn’t swallow Ceili Rain whole and a onesie for Bryant.  And these shirts cost a little bit more than the ones at K2Teamworks. 

Every nursing mom knows this is a “must have!”  Maybe not for labor day directly but definitely for after labor.

It’s a nursing pillow.  My brand of choice is the Boppy but there are a ton out there (none of which I’ve tried…and trust me I’ve paid for my own pillows…so this isn’t a “review”). 

I’ve never had a baby without having one of these handy.  It’s great support for the baby and makes it easy for a weary, labor worn mama to nurse her baby.  Not only that…it’s great support for the baby while you just stare at how precious they are!

Last year, I lucked out and found a “naked” pillow at consignment and it was in great shape.  There are slip covers that can be purchased at various stores.  And I found this cute little slipcover for the little princess’s birth.  Now, seeing that reminds me I need to look for a little bit of a boyish one for Bry!

So, we’re nearing four to five weeks until labor/birth day for our newest member of the bunch.  I figured I would delight everyone in knowing what goes into my suitcase for such an occasion.  Some of the things are things we always carry…but others are new to us.  I’ll just share a few at a time.

And we’ll start with Mark’s toy.

Yep, it’s a smartphone.  Last year, the Droid debuted and Mark was hooked.  He didn’t care much with the iPhone came out.  But, this Droid and the operating system that accompanies it really intrigued him.  He was hooked and began daydreaming about it.  Not constantly but as an “that would be nice to have.”  However, the phones and subsequent plans did not fit into our budget.  We couldn’t justify purchasing one of these phones nor paying for the plans.  He kept checking back every few months and tried to justify the purchase/plans. And he never could get it figured out…until a month ago.  When we found a deal online that would allow us to get a Droid Eries (which he preferred over the Droid but still has the same operating system) and not go bankrupt with the plan.  It’s taking some tweaking and a downgrade in our internet service (from cable modem to DSL), but the smile on his face is soooo worth it.  And…get this…it’s got an app (what smartphone doesn’t) where he can time my contractions for my “non induced labor.” 

But that’s not all…it also has unlimited internet which means our labor day updates will be much more detailed as I dictate to him between contractions.  Aren’t you all excited to have another live labor day blogging!?!  He’ll probably be able to get video and pictures while we’re there…although I’m not sure that that would be the best time to capture me on camera.

But wait, there’s more…

I got a new phone too.  It’s a Samsung Reality and it’s not a smartphone.  But it is a multimedia phone.  We opted out (because we didn’t want to sell our firstborn in order to pay for the monthly plan) of having unlimited web but I do have email access…that along with the other fun features keeps me happy.  Besides, I need a qwerty keyboard…trying to type on Mark’s phone is a bear and tests my patience.  I can put music on this phone and have, but I think I’ll stick with my iPod Nano that straps to my arm to worship while in labor (no, I’m not kidding).

So, while in labor, you can check our blog for regular updates and then email me to see if I can respond (in between deep breathing, ivs, monitors, and bouncing on “the ball.”). 

Stay tuned…more Labor Day Essentials to come every Friday until the big day (I think).