Hospital Bag Thoughts

This post was inspired by a recent group email between my best gal pals. One of my dearest friends is expecting her first in a couple weeks...or days...WOW time flies, and my mom friends (myself included) were offering some words of wisdom. Specifically, we were giving her advice on what to pack in her hospital bag. It was a fun exchange and got me thinking about what I might pack differently for round two.

When pregnant with my first, the hospital bag was a huge topic of interest for me. I'm very surprised that I haven't previously written about it. When it came to educating myself on the actual delivery, my efforts were mediocre. When it came to researching what items I needed with me during the delivery, my efforts were over the top. The fact that I actually researched this issue says a lot (about my sanity). It's sort of a common sense issue. But, I'm a bad packer. Really bad. Sometimes I pack too much. Sometimes I pack too little. I usually forget two essential items - like a toothbrush and underwear. I'm not kidding. So, knowing myself, I decided that I would figure out the whole breathing and pushing thing on the fly, but I needed advanced preparation in the hospital bag department.

Based on my experience and the advice given during this recent group email, here's a pretty solid list of what to include in your hospital bag:

• Clothes - Two post delivery outfits and one going home outfit. You will still be wearing maternity clothes and you won't be feeling awesome, so don't bring skinny jeans and stilettos. Think pajamas and comfies. 
• Hair elastics or headbands
• Slippers and a Robe - I didn't bring slippers and suffered with hospital socks and I loved having a lightweight cotton robe for my few trips down the cold hall.
• Flip Flops - You're going to be using a hospital shower that is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected on a regular basis. But, so was the shower in your college dorm. And, the blood...well...just consider bringing some cheap flip flops.
• Toiletries - Whatever you would bring on any weekend getaway (hair brush, toothbrush, etc.), minus the glamour stuff (curling iron, eyelash extensions, etc.).
• Pillow - I brought two. My husband and I were overwhelmingly happy to have them. Hospital pillows leave much to be desired.
• Camera - This falls into one of my regrets. I didn't bring my Nikon SLR to the hospital. Instead, I brought my barely working snap and shoot digital. The thought process was that my Nikon is big and expensive and not worth managing during the chaos. Boo. Wrong choice. Yeah, I have pics from the hospital, but I so wish I had more and better pics.
• Notepad and pen - There are things you'll want to write down. You can make note of which gift came from which visitor and the amazing piece of advice the night shift nurse gave you about breastfeeding and what you want on your sandwich now that you're allowed to eat and you're allowed to eat cold cuts.
• Outfit for the baby - Your little one will have hospital provided attire for his/her stay, but needs an outfit for the ride home. Think about the season. How many layers? Blanket? Hat?
• Baby Mittens - They start scratching right away and their nails are impossible to cut/file in the beginning, so these will come in handy immediately.
• Snacks - While you won't be allowed to eat during your delivery (probably), sometimes you're allowed "clear" candy (think: Jolly Ranchers). Also bring a piece of fruit or your favorite granola bar for afterwards. I was starving post delivery and my only food option was pizza, which wasn't a bad one, but I would have enjoyed something more wholesome.
• Phone and Camera Charger - Not an ideal time to run out of battery.

The one thing I remember bringing and not "using" was champagne. At my baby shower, I was gifted a mini bottle of champagne for the in-hospital celebration. When the time came, I had zero taste for alcohol and I was beginning my breastfeeding journey...I didn't want to start off on that foot. Another general consideration is not to bring your favorites when it comes to clothes. Things can get pretty messy and you may end up throwing out the underwear and pants that you bring.

There are no words to describe the excitement and intensity and awe of those first 48 hours. Nothing you bring (or forget to bring) will change that. So, bring a hospital bag but don't over think it.

Maternity Clothes Mistakes

I recently unburied and inspected my large plastic bin of maternity clothes. This is not a pregnancy announcement...what a lame announcement that would be. I'm just getting them organized to loan out. With a couple newly pregnant friends, it's time to share the wealth (read: moderate financial means) of my maternity wardrobe. 

In going through my various dresses and pants and extra long tank tops, I started to think about mistakes that I made in my maternity wardrobe purchases and things I will do differently for round two. It also made me realize that much of my maternity wardrobe may be completely useless for round two, depending on the season during my most pregnant months. So, I've made this list for myself (and for your pleasure) about things I'll do differently in round two. Before I get started, a quick note that none of the clothes and brands that I'm about to mention are affiliates of NSB (i.e I get no kick backs of any kind). I genuinely like (or dislike) them.

Maternity Underwear

I learned about these enormous, beastly things mid pregnancy and I refused to bring myself to purchase any...until about month eight. By month eight, I was begging for these enormous, beastly things. There are two options when it comes to maternity underwear: below the belly fit or over the bump fit (like a pair of full panel maternity pants). When I caved in month eight, I got two pair of the below the belly kind from the GAP. I liked wearing full panel pants, so full panel underwear would have been overkill. Next time around, I won't wait until month 8 and I will buy more than two pair.

Fancy Shmancy Blouses

During my pregnancy, I was in a full-time job that required formal business attire. Yes, I had to wear maternity suits. Yes, it was awful. In an attempt to keep up my professionalism, I focused a lot of my maternity wardrobe purchases on cute tops. Mistake. There's no such thing as a "cute top" when you're super pregnant. Everything is just a tent that drapes in one way or another with some cinching that attempts to flatter. After several regretful blouse purchases, I realized that I looked the best (and felt the best) in a simple, cotton, form fitting shirt...also known as a t-shirt. 

I loved my GAP pure body maternity t-shirt (above).
It held its shape better than a comparable one I had from Liz Lange (designer for Target).
(image source)

Extra Long Tank Tops

Target sells super cheap, super long tank tops. They are not maternity tank tops, but they work just as well. I was gifted one and it was fantastic (held up better than my GAP maternity tank top and fit just as well), yet I never thought to get a couple more. Mistake. I will get more next time. 

Maternity Jeans

I'm a jeans wearer. Aren't we all? In the summer I live in dresses, but for 9 months of the year, I wear jeans (remember, I live in New England and my prior residence in NY wasn't all that different in terms of weather). So, why, pray tell, did I purchase only one pair of maternity jeans? Why? And they weren't even a great pair of maternity jeans. At the time I couldn't stand the idea of spending big money on clothes that I would wear for 5 months. With a little perspective, I've come to realize that it's really important for clothes to fit and be comfortable during those 5 months, more so than other months. And it's especially important when it comes to jeans because I wear them so very often. I also realized that those clothes will be worn for future pregnancies and, in my case, by friends who borrow them. Next time around, I will get a nice pair of maternity jeans. That way I'll have my mediocre ones from last time and a shiny, new pair.

This fashionable mom-to-be is wearing Boden maternity jeans, which are a bit nicer (and better quality) than what you will find at Old Navy or Target. And yet, they won't break the bank. Most are priced between $50 and $100. (image source)

Online Shopping

I'm an online shopper. So, of course, I made many maternity clothing purchases online. Mistake. When you make a regular online purchase and it doesn't fit or isn't exactly what you wanted, you mail it back and get another size or move on. When you make a maternity clothing purchase online that doesn't work out, its a huge time waste. The two weeks it takes to get the top, decide you don't like it, return it and wait for a new top to arrive is way too long when you only have 5 months to wear the top. I will do my future maternity clothes shopping in stores.

Even considering all my mistakes, I still did pretty good with my first round maternity wardrobe. I used a belly band for the first few months and loved it (though I have friends who strongly disliked it), I relied on dresses a lot because they felt the most flattering and comfortable, and I borrowed whenever I could. I plan to do all three of these again. For those of you without formerly pregnant friends to borrow from, check out Mine For Nine. It's a maternity clothing rental website, the preggers equivalent of Rent the Runway. I think this is an especially great option for formal events.

How about you - any favorite maternity clothing stores? Or favorite pieces? What mistakes did you make in your maternity wardrobe?

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I'm not talking about Christmas, although Christmas is a wonderful time of the year.  I am talking about the best time of year to have a baby.

Before we get into a serious discussion on this topic, we have to acknowledge that you can't actually control your baby's birthday.  Even with a scheduled C-section, you're still limited to a window of time, meaning that your OB won't let you have a C-section on July 4th if your due date isn't until October 15th.  Aside from your lack of control over the delivery, there's also your lack of control as to when you ovulate and when fertilization occurs.  Basically, we're about to have a pointless conversation.

Now that that's out of the way, let's dive in.  If you were able to choose your baby's birthday, you may want to consider some of the following:

• Fall Babies are Wicked Smart - Respected studies out of the UK show that babies born in September, October and November are the highest achievers, both academically and socially.  Read more here.
• Summers Off - Teachers and students often want/need to have a summer baby and preferably an early June baby.
• Time to Lose the Baby Weight - Babies born in the fall or winter give you a good chunk of time to lose the baby weight before it's bathing suit season.
• Maternity Clothes Wardrobe - If you're at your most pregnant during winter months in a cold part of the world, your maternity clothes investment can be significant.  You need coats and sweaters and pants.  And if your feet widen you need a couple pairs of shoes or boots.  If you're at your most pregnant in the summer, all you'll need are some cheap cotton dresses and flip flops.
• Holy Hot Flash - While summer maternity clothes are the cheapest and easiest, there are some obvious disadvantages to being extremely pregnant in extreme heat.  Public transportation and non-air conditioned spaces are hell.
• Winter Holidays With a Newborn - Having a baby in the fall means his/her first holiday celebration is right around the corner.  This may mean traveling with your newborn.  This may mean hosting a bunch of family and friends while caring for your newborn.  This may mean exposing your newborn to all sorts of winter germ thanks to the masses of family and friends that you visit or host.  
• Your Other Child(ren)'s Birthday - Having back to back birthday parties takes skill, money and patience.  Spreading out the fun tends to be more manageable.

What other seasonal factors affected you and your newborn?  What was the best time of year to be pregnant, to deliver and for your baby to be born?

I Met Rosie Pope (Part 2)

This being "Part 2", if you haven't read Part 1 you may want to do so first (click here).

I ended Part 1 with my standing in that huge crowd, waiting impatiently for my chance to meet Rosie Pope.  I'm feeling guilty for what's going to be an anti-climatic conclusion, so I'm going to cut to the punch - I never actually shook Rosie's hand or introduced myself...or technically met her.  The damn line was soooo long.  After 30 minutes of eating gummy bears in line and chatting up the pregnant women in front of me and behind me it became clear I wasn't even halfway through the wait.  So, I made up an excuse to get really close, took a haphazard photo (below) and bee lined for the exit.

I got within 15 feet of the Pregnant in Heels hostess, maybe closer.  The girl in the pink, patterned, long dress (blurry) was definitely Rosie's keeper.  She was standing close by while members of the press questioned her with notebooks and microphoned recorders.  You can see in the top right corner there is a person with a camera taking photos of something out of frame.  That something is Daron Pope.  Oddly enough, Rosie and Daron maintained a significant distance for the entire event.

You're probably pretty angry right now - angry that I didn't actually meet her, that I didn't suck it up and just wait in line, that I fraudulently entitled this post (and Tuesday's post) "I Met Rosie Pope".  I'm angry too.  And I'm sorry.  A more honest choice of words would have been "I Almost Met Rosie Pope But I Was Too Bored".  The worst part is that I can't officially confirm or deny her strange accent/lisp/speech impediment because while I got within an earshot, it was so damn noisy I couldn't distinguish her voice from all the others. 

Despite your anger, maybe you still want to read about my thoughts on her maternity line?  

The Rosie Pope for A Pea in the Pod maternity line is full of blazers and blouses.  It has a distinct business woman (with a bump) feel.  It's also expensive for what I would consider reasonable money to spend on maternity clothes.  A woman is pregnant for 9 months and probably only needs maternity clothes for 5-7 of those months.  So, spending a few thousand dollars on a 5-7 month wardrobe isn't a luxury that most ladies can afford, especially considering all of those other looming expenses (strollers, cribs, diapers, etc.).  The least expensive item in Rosie's new collection was a peach blouse for $85.  

I was also struck by the fact that this line isn't all that different (if at all) from the regular Rosie Pope maternity line.  The whole point of the collaboration alluded me.  It wasn't like Vera Wang's collection for Kohl's or Stella McCartney's collection for Target, both of which are highly affordable and stylish collections from designers who made names for themselves by making highly expensive and stylish collections.  

The collection itself is cute and very New York.  I'm not sure it's practical (both in cost and style) for non-professionals.  No need to drop $180 on a maternity pencil skirt if you're not required to wear business attire on a daily basis.  The color palette is black, white and rose, with few exceptions.  The individual pieces are almost all tailored, which I appreciated - just because you're pregnant doesn't mean you have to sport shift dresses and empire waist shirts - but a couple loose fitting items would have been nice.  Not everyone can look like Victoria Beckham through the 9th month.  

This sparkly, black blazer was one of many blazers.  It was cute, had a Chanel vibe.  

This white blouse was one of my favorite pieces.  

It was simple and didn't look maternity to me.  It retailed for $125.

This geometric shirt dress was another favorite.  But for $225?  

I agonize over non-maternity fashion purchases for $225, much less a purchase 

that would realistically fit me for a only few months.

Two parting questions:  Do you forgive me?  Would you buy Rosie Pope's maternity line for A Pea in the Pod?

I Met Rosie Pope (Part 1)

I'm splitting today's post into two.  I realize that most people read blogs during a 5-10 minute break when the day gets a little boring, annoying and redundant.  Most people don't have time for a 30-45 minute hiatus from their busy lives.  Knowing this, I try to write posts that take 5-10 minutes to read.  But, I couldn't bare to leave out a detail of my amazing Pope encounter, so I'm giving you a two part series - today and Thursday.  Be warned that even as "part 1" this post is long (more like a 15 minute read).  You may want to pause for an ice coffee after paragraph four.

A couple weeks ago, I received an email at the Next Stop Baby email address from what I assume is Rosie Pope's public relations person team.  The email was a "media alert" sent to members of the press.  I was immediately intrigued by the sender and doubly intrigued by the thought of myself as a member of the press.  Me, the press?  I was clearly flattered and fanning my red cheeks, but also smirking...I unintentionally and rather successfully pulled the wool over someone's eyes.

The email invited me (aka Next Stop Baby) to the premiere of Rosie Pope's new maternity collection for A Pea in the Pod.  I was asked to attend and gently prodded to write a post about my thoughts on the clothing line.  For a small-time, 1.5 year old blogger like myself the mere invitation was way more than enough to secure my attendance.  But there was more: there would be a red carpet, a candy bar, a mocktail (alcohol free cocktail) bar, a swag bag, some other free stuff and, most importantly, an opportunity to meet the Pregnant in Heels queen herself.

I was in.

The event was held at a Destination Maternity store in Manhattan.   I arrived a little early.  I'm not a fashionably late type person.  I'm either unfashionably late or early.  The first disappointment I encountered was a lack of red carpet.  Hello!?  There were no papparazzi and no velvet ropes either.  I nervously approached a pair of fresh faced, official seeming girls with clipboards as I considered what I was about to say (my real name? my blog? a monologue about being a member of the press?).  I was saved when one of the girls immediately handed me a ticket and directed me upstairs without questioning who I was or what I was doing.  That was sort of the second disappointment - I wasn't on a list...there didn't even appear to be a list.

Upstairs was mayhem.  At least 75% of the attendees were pregnant, which was somewhat bizarre.  How often do you see a couple hundred pregnant people all in one room?  To make matters more interesting, upstairs was a fully stocked maternity clothing store that hadn't been cleared or organized to accommodate so many big bellies.  Watching two pregnant women simultaneously squish between two racks of maternity dresses is both unsettling and hilarious.  It involves a lot of bump bumping.  There were also a decent amount of strollers.  You know how I feel about strollers in crowded spaces (if not, click here).

After asking around, it became clear that there were some a couple invited members of the press in attendance and a boat load of non-press pregnant ladies.  The preggers people were all invited through an email blast sent by Destination Maternity to it's subscribers.  Aha.  Here's where I realized that some sort of designation as a member of the press (albeit a fraudulent member) would have been handy.  I should have replied to the email and requested a press pass!  Too late.  Without such designation I was left to fight my way through the crowd of mamas.

There were three lines: one for the candy bar, one for the mocktail bar and one to meet and greet Rosie (for anyone and everyone) after the press interviews were complete.  I immediately jumped on the end of the candy bar line.  It was slow moving and a little nerve-wracking being amongst so many hungry pregnant woman.  A few people away from the treats, a non-pregnant, attractive 20-something approached me and asked whether I was craving chocolate, gummy or licorice.  Her job was to get the candy for me.  Nice touch.  I awkwardly replied, "gummy...please."  I skipped the mocktail bar, but it did look delicious.  The bartenders (if that's what they are) were managing to churn out some fancy pants non-alcoholic beverages.

With my celophane bag of gummy bears and taffy, I strolled to the end of the meet and greet line.  It was the longest line by far.  And it wasn't moving.  I craned my neck to the left and right to see exactly what I was waiting for.  At last, there she was!  Mrs. Rosie Pope.  She was wearing a black lace dress, looking taller, paler and more beautiful than ever.  And, bonus, Daron Pope was there too!  Both Rosie and Daron looked exactly as they do on Bravo.

Rosie and Daron Pope...and I shared a room (with hundreds of other people)

I'll end it today with a photo of the meet and greet line...it was more of a meet and greet crowd.

Thursday I'll fill you in on Rosie herself and, of course, the clothes.

Pregnant Ladies on the Train

Let's start today's afternoon post with a brief discussion on the many words that are substituted for "subway" depending on where you are in North America:

New York - Train

Chicago - L

Boston - T

San Fransisco - Bart

Atlanta - Marta

Montreal - Metro

That wasn't so much a discussion, as a list.  Moving on.  This morning on the train (reference list above), I couldn't help but notice an adorably dressed pregnant woman.  I loved everything she was wearing from her heeled suede booties to her beaded hoop earrings.  I came close to asking her where she got her striped cotton shirt (because I wanted it) until I realized that it was definitely maternity gear - she was that pregnant.

As I suppressed my need to ask about each item of her clothing, I realized that my fellow train riders were doing the opposite.  Well, not the exact opposite, which would be not suppressing their need to ask about each item of her clothing.  But, where as I was sort of stalking the hot mama-to-be, everyone else was completely avoiding her.  All eyes turned intentionally away.  Why?  Because no one wanted to give up their seat for her.  They seemed to be following the old Manhattan proverb: if you don't make eye contact, it never happened.  If they could pretend that she wasn't there, then they could pretend that they weren't assholes by making her stand while they sat.

I was standing, so I had no seat to give.  Meanwhile, many seemingly able bodied New Yorkers cozied up in their plastic chairs.  None were interested in standing, not even for a very hip and very pregnant lady.  Not one.  Ms. Preggers seemed to be following a different old proverb: if you stare at something long enough, it will eventually look back.  She glared up and down the row of commuters.  No one looked back.  Realizing that her tactic was failing, she upped the ante to belly rubbing.  She pushed aside her wool trapeze coat and started rubbing that big belly.  She was rubbing and staring and rubbing and staring.  At last, the deadly combo got some middle aged guy to stand and wave her over.  She gave a fake smile (he deserved it) and sat.  I sighed with relief and returned to considering her outfit.

Moral of the Story - If you're a pregnant woman on the subway/train/L/T/Bart/Marta/metro, don't mess around with subtle gestures.  Cut right to the belly rub and make those non-pregnant train riders feel like the assholes lazy people that they are.