Yes, friends. It’s that time. I need to start making my checklist of items needed while in the hospital post-delivery! I am 31 weeks now…I still have lots of time…but, I like to know what I need to get. And, having had a child already, I’m confident I’ll have what I need without overdoing it. Hopefully, this list will help those of you that need a little guidance. (In no particular order and all important!)

1. Nursing Supplies: (nursing bra, Medela sheilds, Lansinoh)

This is pretty, no? Last time I bought for PURE function. I hated that! This time, pretty and functional, please!

Elle Macpherson Intimates

Not to be too personal…I had serious problems getting Davis to latch on in the hospital. These saved my life…and his! I didn’t know about them then. I did the day after we got home and he had lost a pound!

Medela Sheilds

The best stuff ever….EVER.

2. Back-up Bottle and Formula:

There will be differing opinions on this…I found that Born Free bottles were absolutely the best. They don’t have too many crazy parts and are BPA free. Again, I had trouble nursing Davis in the hospital…going to bring a few of these and some formula as back up in case that happens this time.

3. Comfy Pajamas and robe (nursing = functional, cute and appropriate = can have visitors)

A Pea in the Pod

Olian knocks it out of the park with these. And, they come with a matching gown for babe!

4. Comfy slippers and yummy socks (Me no touch hospital floors. Thank you!)

Look at these hot mamas from Cole Haan! I would wear these with jeans.

5. Toiletries: I make another Make-up Bag (small, yet effective. i.e. enough to make me look un-zombie-like, no need for charcoal “smokey” eye, right?!) and  include items I need for an overnight stay (cleanser, eye cream, hairbrush, shampoo/conditioner, etc). Add sanitary napkins. TMI? Maybe. Necessary? Absolutely.

6. Diaper Bag for baby items: soft, cozy outfit for her and receiving blankets

7. Going Home Outfit for Me: Think comfy!

Remember this from Friday’s post? This is perfect with leggings and maybe a long-sleeved tee underneath. Thanks, Moody Mamas!

8. Camera and Video Camera. No, we will not record the birth. Yes, we may record hospital visits!

9.Cash for the pizza man. Yes, I ate an entire pizza after Davis was born. It was the best pizza I’ve had in my life!

10. My own pillow. My iPod. My iPod speakers. (Gotta have Jack Johnson or Bob Marley soothing my soul during delivery!)

11. OH! Your favorite lipstick. When all else fails, swiping this on makes me feel better and look a little better.

12. Paperwork: copy of hospital registration, insurance information, phone numbers/email list of friends and family to notify.

13. Carseat. Do I need to explain this one? Yes, do have it installed about a month before your due date. Yes, go by your neighborhood Fire Station to have it checked.

And…for those of you that aren’t aware…the hospital has a cart that supplies you with diapers, wipes, etc while you are there. Take the surplus home with you! It will get you started and eliminate the need to bring these in your hospital bag.

Done and DONE!

Adrianne

First of all, thanks to everyone for understanding that a girl needs a break every once in a while. Secondly, I am ready (and sane enough) to explain to you what’s been going on and why I needed a mental health day! Fortunately for me, my day off yesterday was blessed with a happy child and 75 degree weather. Ahhhhhh!!!! It was truly awesome!

As you know from previous posts, we recently moved Davis from a crib to a toddler bed. (We just took the rail off of his crib and gave him new digs.) It was going really well!! And then, it wasn’t. As of today, the child has not napped in over 10 days. Some say he’s done with naps. I say he’s not. I was hoping the novelty of being able to get out of bed and play would wear off. I could give it another few weeks but we have a lot of newness coming our way. He needs his rest in order to deal with a new school, new schedule, and, of course, a new baby.

The bottom line is that the babe is not ready for not taking naps. He has always been the kid that if he naps well, he sleeps well at night. He has been so tired that we have had to battle bad moods that lead to worse moods that lead to no one sleeping and everyone being cranky. There has also been a spell of biting, hitting, clawing and overall totally freak out sessions (to be clear, all the violence comes from Davis’ side of the table, not ours!). It’s been a lot too much to take. For those of you without kids or about to have kids, please excuse my brutal honesty!

Here is what I found Friday afternoon around 3pm:

He’d only been asleep for 30 minutes. In our former non-toddler bed life, he would have been waking up from an hour and a half nap and happy as a lark.

Here he is at 3:15 pm that same day…

If you look very, very closely, you’ll see a “chalk outline” of stickers around his body. I’m telling you, it was a toy crime scene!

Here is what I found yesterday at 3 pm:

TRUE crime scene! Look at his stuffed elephant: he couldn’t take it anymore either. It’s hilarious, I know. But, I feel bad for the little guy. And, no, this doesn’t happen every day. These are the only two times he’s slept at all during the day in the past two weeks.

As is the obvious, he is eventually napping…it’s just right when it’s time to get up. The big question: WILL HE EVENTUALLY GIVE UP and start napping again? OR, do we need to put his crib back together? Maybe he simply wasn’t ready yet.

For experiment #2, we did end up putting the crib rail back up last night. He’s spent the night at my mom’s last night. We’ll see how he takes the news when he gets home this afternoon… As always, I would love your thoughts, Choppers.

Adrianne

Everyone needs a day off once in a while, right? Well, you guessed it. I do! Today, lovely blog readers, I am taking a “mental health day” so that I can rest and recoup from a trying week of attempting to keep a toddler in his bed. It’s been interesting! I need this:

I’ll be back tomorrow with more pregnancy and crazy mom life fun. Have a great Wednesday!

Adrianne

Hi Tuesday Bloggers! I thought I’d post this two days in a row in case some of you didn’t see this post from yesterday. I need a few guest bloggers for November. Read on!

I am officially 30 weeks pregnant today. Woot! Here is the veggie my babe is being compared to:

Yes, of course. That is a large cabbage.

Not sure what I’m talking about? Read my post about babies and veggies HERE.

My friends, this means that I am getting close. This is the true HOME STRETCH. Baby girl will be here in a little over two months! This makes me wonder…what do I need to do that I am not doing already?

Anyone that knows me even a little knows that a) the picture above is not me, 2) I am a BIG planner. So it’s no surprise that I had a “planning” conversation with my doctor last week about baby girl’s  arrival. We live about an hour and a half from the hospital. Being the planner I am, I wanted to know from my doc how much we could “plan” her arrival so I am not stuck giving birth to her on I-64. (NO!) The conversation also triggered a few other planning items I need to secure.

I’m due on November 1st. If this child is anything like my first, she won’t be here until November 11th. BUT, it’s possible I could have her before then. We’ll just have to see. LOOOOONG story short…I need to line up several lovely guest bloggers to provide you all with interesting and fun reads for the first month after Little Girl arrives. I already have a few in my pocket. You will love them! I need more, however.

If you are interested in writing a post for me, let’s discuss! Here are my thoughts for guest blogging:

1. You are able to write with gusto! Do not hold back and show your personality.

2. You can write about a neat project you have done for your kids/home, a challenging child situation where you came out on top (read: mommy and daddy, score 1. Child, score 0.) and how your experience can help us all, or a great idea for room decor/how you have used Lambchop Designs in your life.

3. If you are in the “kid” business, you could write about what you do and make sure you have a fun idea for us all.

4. You can tell us why you read this particular blog. In other words, WHY do you want to guest blog and WHY do you read Lambchop Designs?

Please email me at info@lambchopdesigns.com or go HERE and let me know if you are interested and what you want to write about. I’ll review them all and I’ll need final versions by Wednesday, September 22nd.

I can’t wait to see what you submit!! Thanks for your help in advance!

Have a great Monday and see you tomorrow.

Adrianne

I fear that I like too many ideas for Miss Babe’s nursery! You know, you can’t do a crazy light fixture, crazy artwork, a bold, bold everywhere color scheme and a funky mobile. That’s too much, right? Well, we’ll see. I say you get everything in the room and then make cuts. In the meantime, my latest DIY project is making an origami mobile for her room. It may go over the glider or the crib…or the twin bed. Not sure! So far I’ve made a few purple cranes:

And a really tiny orange and red one:

Here are a few I found online as inspiration:

LOVE this one featured on Craftzine.com

Design Sponge’s sassy fish mobile!

Adorable polka dots from Spare Bedroom Studio

Origami butterflies as clever wall art…from Layla Lou Studio

I’m thinking of adding these to my repertoire on the “Shop” page…what do you think? I haven’t found the right bamboo sticks (or tree branches from my yard – not kidding) from which to hang the cranes…yet. But, I’ll keep you posted!

Have a restful weekend!

Adrianne

I know you’ve been itching for an update on the status of Davis and his “new” room and big boy bed…and our potty training efforts. If you remember my post from a few weeks ago, we did a wonderful job of convincing him he is no longer a baby  (TOO good of a job). We then convinced him that diapers are for babies. A + B = C, right? That’s right. Therefore, if Davis is not a baby, he shouldn’t wear diapers. He took that literally and we had about a week of him going wherever, whenever, without warning (read: LOTS of laundry…his and ours). It was dee-lightful! But, he was trying really hard so I didn’t mind. Fast forward to two weeks later…he is telling us every time he has to go. And, he wants to go on the big potty, not the training potty. Amazing!! Turns out our theory was correct. He was simply too dependent on the diapers. They were  too easy and convenient. Yay Davis!

Well, naturally, after a few days of no accidents, we did another excellent job of convincing him that 1) he doesn’t wear diapers anymore, therefore he is not a baby, 2) babies sleep in cribs (as evidenced in the ever-coming-together nursery down the hall from his room), 3) again, A + B = C…. if he is not a baby, then he should not sleep in a crib/baby bed. So, we officially converted his crib, made the changing table a dresser, and rearranged his room completely. We also bought him a “Big boy present package” just for his bed. He LOVES it. And, he is so proud of himself. AND, he has STAYED in the bed, even for nap time.  YAY DAVIS!!!!

Here is his “new” room:

I know, I know. You want to hear about his “big boy present package.” I was worried he would not understand that he can’t get out of bed whenever he wants to (even though he technically can). So, we bought “Momo,” the toddler sleep training monkey clock from Baby Zoo. Observe:

You set “Momo” to wake up at a certain time. Then, you turn the alarm “on.” All that means is that Momo closes his eyes. Davis LOVES this because Momo goes nite-nite when he does. Then, in the morning, when Momo wakes up (you may set it to a silent mode or he can open his eyes to jungle sounds), Davis knows it’s okay to come get us (ONLY if Momo’s eyes are open). Genius! And, what’s more genius…it works. I swear! Davis thinks Momo rocks.

We also now allow him one “special” item to bring in bed with him. Usually, it’s a special book for that particular night. Once he picks out his book, he gets in bed and we say prayers, etc. Then, he is allowed to read his book with this special pal:

The “Manely” Glowing Flashlight by Little Tykes. Yes, you guessed it. It roars when you turn it on. And, it’s very easy for tots to operate.  So cool!

Needless to say, we are pretty proud parents of our little chicken. He is certainly not a baby anymore. This is good – we were all ready. Plus, I have a “one-baby-at-a-time” policy. And the new baby will be here very, very soon.

Have a restful day!

Adrianne