I’ve been so occupied with getting ready for Perry (diapers, clothes, etc) that I forgot to get ready for his arrival! I had forgotten that his actual birth needs prep as well. Good thing I remembered or it would be a bit messy.
Not that I need much.
Disposable underpads (Chux pads) – these are handy to have during the actual birth and immediately after. Although I seem to always miss them during my actual delivery of the baby, (Sean has gotten drenched in amniotic fluid a few times) they do limit the carnage of the third stage (placenta delivery) by a lot! We did without them for Trixie’s birth and my bedroom looked like a crime scene. Do not recommend.
Mattress cover – I get two. Then the bed gets sandwiched thusly: cover, sheets, cover, birth sheets. Post birth it’s easy to take off the top set and then the bed’s already made.
Umbilical cord clamp – not necessary but quick and easy to use. We did without them once (again, Trixie’s birth) and used cord ties instead, but they don’t stay as snug in the first day and kept falling off as the cord dried. But the cord wasn’t quite dry enough to not need a closure of some kind, so it was all oozy and blech. I have heard that some people have good results with rubber bands too.
Mega absorbent pads for all the extra blood I’ll lose postpartum – I’ve had good luck with urinary incontinence products for this. Regular sanitary napkins just won’t cut it.
After-Ease tincture – I don’t know how much of this is helpful because of the medicinal properties of the herbs, and how much is just the booze it comes in, but I’m not doing without it. It’s not homeopathic, so it does have actual medicine in it, but still, who can say? The afterpains with my babies are really, really painful for the first few days. In some ways it’s worse than labor because each individual cramp lasts for a long time. It’s bad! Ibuprofen has had a negative effect on my milk supply in the past, so I have to go easy on that. Anyway, whether or not this actually helps, it tastes good and doesn’t hurt.
Then there’s Stuff Sean Gets:
Snacks – Sean gets easy, low-smell foods to eat while I’m in labor. I tend to favor buttered toast, and to be honest I don’t know what he gets for himself. Once it was oatmeal raisin cookies, I recall. He also keeps me stocked with Gatorade, which is my labor drink.
Post baby food and celebratory beverage – Sean selects something to toast with and feeds me something delicious while I nestle with the bab. Past repasts have included Abbey beer and a deep-dish pizza, Barefoot Merlot and gyros, and a Big Mac, fries, and Woodchuck hard cider. I am generally ravenous post-labor as I usually haven’t eaten more than two or three hundred calories the day previous. Whatever he gets for me is the Best Food I Have Ever Eaten.
And that, we assume, will be that! Two months to Baby Perilous!
