One the bigger stressors this pregnancy compared to the last is figuring out what to do with Ollie once labor kicks into high gear. Of course, we have so many people that have offered to watch Ollie and be on stand-by; however, knowing that we will be in the hospital for several days including our recovery, the one thing I do not want to worry about is making sure that Ollie is well taken care of and has the things he needs.
We have several people on our stand-by list to watch him — everyone from a neighbor who can come over in the middle of the night, a babysitter he knows well, to friends and family who have offered to watch him in a last minute pinch if we need anything. Since I’m not sure who will watch him, when he’ll be with them, or how long he’ll stay with a certain grandparent, sitter, or friend, I realized that he needs his own "hospital bag" for go time.
Thankfully, many of Ollie's supplies are not necessarily needed to be duplicated with his grandparents. His two out of three sets of grandparents already have items like pack 'n plays and spare car seats along with diapers and the necessities so his "hospital bag" is very minimal but still enough to make my mind at ease. I want to make sure things like his blanket for bedtime and a fresh set of pajamas are easy to find for folks so he'll be comfortable when mommy and daddy "disappear" for a few days.
Ollie is very comfortable with us traveling, and we are honestly really lucky with this. I know loads of parents that cannot travel much because one child or another does not do well for long periods of time without their parents. Since he was little, we have valued our alone time as a couple and travelled for personal and work with and without him. This has allowed him to become really flexible and loving to his grandparents and sitter without us. But at the end of the day, there are still a few items that I wanted to make sure was packed for when the time comes.
I shared my hospital bag earlier this week, but here’s a peek into what’s packed in his bag.
A "Hospital Bag" For My Toddler
- Organizer Bags (by Motherload Bags) :: I won these bags on a giveaway from Instagram and oh my goodness, they are amazing. They are great to keep everything organized in a diaper bag or in this case, Ollie's "hospital bag". All of his diapers, shoes, clothes, and everything is simple organized which helps me remember what I have packed and not packed and keeps things easier to find for grandparents.
- Clothes :: Big brother shirt to wear to the hospital, pajamas, several extra tops, several pants, and socks.
- Diapers :: His grandparents have diapers on hand; however, he wears a size up and overnight diapers at night, so I'd like to have these on stock so he doesn't leak.
- Shoes :: Just an extra pair of something. He's usually in soft sole shoes, but just thinking about outfits and colors.
- Books :: A few of his favorites. Right now, we are loving Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Little Blue Truck.
- Blanket :: He has a personalized name blanket from Audrey's Bear that he sleeps with every single night (along with a Jelly Cat stuffed animal or two). He won't miss a lot of things when it's bedtime but I assure you, he'll want his blanket.
- Sippy cup :: He drinks 100% better when he has his toddler-sized Camelbak on hand. It's also helpful for the grandparents to have when they are headed back and forth from the hospital and such.
We are assuming that Ollie will be in the hands of one set of grandparents at any given time while we are in the hospital, so this bag will be in addition to his standard diaper bag. We stocked his diaper bag also with tons of fresh snacks, a new felt activity book that I scored from the Target dollar spot a few weeks ago, and a Magic Marker coloring book to help with time that he may have to spend in the waiting room with family. That’s our guess, at least. We won’t know what will actually happen until we’re in the thick of it. Also, there's a good chance that he'll spend a good part of his time at our home with my parents who may stay evenings here. This will allow him to have all of his toys and as much as a normal life as possible in the transition and chaos!
The nice thing is that his needs are pretty simple at this point — a ball, some cars, a group of crayons or a pen and some paper, or Mickey Mouse or Cars on TV is enough to entertain him and keep him busy… and hopefully not missing me too much!
