The hospital bag - what you need and what you really do not!

MY HOSPITAL BAG!

What you need and what you really don't!

(According to my experience)

Now, into a more useful post. Not so personal as the ones before, I would like to share with you what I packed in my hospital bag. Also, some additional items I should have packed and differences that I now see, for when you have a natural birth and a C-section. Hope you find it useful.
Is not that different, a regular hospital bag for natural birth, than for a C-section, items are somewhat the same, just slightly a difference on the level of comfort you need with a surgery. 

Important to mention that we had 3 bags, the baby bag, mama's bag and papa's bag.

I will start with the baby bag, however, this was the one that had the most things packed, that we did not need. Since, in my previous posts I mentioned he ended up staying at the NICU, a lot of things were not to be used.

Baby bag (links for all bags' contents below):

1. Baby bag (Wickeltasche): This we did not buy extra (although I am now in the search for one, a bigger one, I have a lot of stuff, and want to have just one for the baby stuff and that works as my purse as well, sorry, out of topic!), we got it together with our baby stroller. We bought the Bergsteiger Capri model, and it included among other stuff, the baby bag.
2. Leaving the hospital outfit:
• Body: I packed 2 different bodies' sizes, one 50cms (newborn) and the other 56cms. I was not so sure how big they baby will be in the end. Our baby measured 53cms at birth, however, the 50cms was big for him. Newborn size or 50 cms german size will do it. Do not need to pack both sizes.
• Bodysuit\Sleepsuit: This also we bought in size newborn and in white. We dressed him all in white to take him out of the hospital. White\beige clothes, as a family color tradition, for good luck! I love these suits, because they are super soft and they also open completely.
• Overall: He came out of the hospital during winter time, so a thick overall from H&M was the last layer for him. 
3. Baby wipes (travel size package): All types of wipes, to disinfect, to clean, etc. of course, not really needed, but I still pack them and now carry them around in my regular baby bag. So, maybe this you can discard.
4. Cloths or burp rags: to clean him after breastfeeding and to take the air out. We bought a bunch of these at Ross in the US, during our last trip to visit family. We have like 50 little ones.
5. Blanket: Yes, on top of all the layers of clothes he wore, I also packed a blanket. We got it also in the US.
6. Car seat: so, you can actually take him home, also from the stroller set, 3 in 1, listed above.
7. Car seat cover: this was like an extra blanket for baby that goes into the baby seat. Like a feetsack, if the translation makes sense.
8. Nursing pillow: this I did not pack, but my husband brought it after, once we were at the NICU, with the c-section, it was not very easy to use, but in a natural birth should work.

Mama's bag:

1. Clothes: leaving the hospital change of clothes, but also, for the stay, you can wear something comfy during labor and, after, depends of the birth, you will want to have your clothes and not wear the hospital's. The stay will be around 2 days - up to 5 days there.

• Important to have:
• Pajamas that have nursing access, makes it so much easier.
• Nursing bras.
• Comfortable clothes.
• C-section essentials:
• pants and underwear that go high, above the hips, preferable up to the belly button. (grandma style, trust me, better than hipsters, it will be so much more comfortable)
• pads and shorts, these are provided, but this will be helpful for home, if they do not give you enough. Applicable for all births, but the more comfortable you can get, the better, speaking of the shorts. I bought a set, but it was hip-rise, not comfy with the c-section.

1. Toilettry bag: all shower, after-shower essentials. (Shampoo, shower gel, lotions, toothpaste, toothbrush, hairbrush, etc.)
2. Make-up: I read everywhere that this was important to have, I really just used the mascara, nothing else, and sometimes not even that.
3. Bathrobe: is sometimes easier to walk around, specially when you share the room, and after the shower, to keep you warm.
4. Towels: These are not provided by the hospital.
5. Sleepers: or house shoes, something comfortable, can be sandals, crocks, etc. but easy to wear with socks. Hospitals can be cold sometimes.
6. Blanket and pillow: I did not pack this, but if you feel like you need yours to sleep more comfy, they bring it with you. You will not get a lot of sleep these first nights, but it will be 'like at home'.
7. Phone, music, charger, etc.: I know a lot of moms want to have their music during labor, me, I could not care less about this, but if you need it, pack it! Phone and charger are very important for after the birth, to share the news with friends and family.
8. Body girdle: This is not something I packed, but when you have a c-section, is something very important to wear to help. The one I got is very good, but not for surgery. So get one of this cover up shorts that go all the way above the wound, so it keeps everything on its place. Here in Germany do not wrap you after the surgery, so you walk around without any kind of support, and this way it feels more safe, and it is easier to walk without the need to hold your belly all the time.
9. Nipple cream: I did not use this, but I have read that is recommended.
10. Nursing pads: These I did not use either, but you might need it.
11. Nursing cover: I believe you do not really need them, but it gives some privacy when you are breastfeeding. I did not use this until after, not in the hospital. Like I said, I packed too much!

Papa's bag:

This is the easy one.

1. Comfy clothes: to walk around the hospital, and even pajamas.
2. Toilettry bag: all shower, after-shower essentials. (Shampoo, shower gel, lotions, toothpaste, toothbrush, hairbrush, etc.) he will end up staying with you most likely.
3. Towels: As mentioned before, they do not give you this in the hospital.
4. Sleepers: or house shoes, just to get comfy around.
5. Cellphone, charger, etc.: easier for dad to carry all this.

I hope I did not forget anything, if so, please comment below!

Here are the links to some of the stuff I bought to be ready for the hospital. (These links are affiliated to Amazon)

My birth story - Part 2

My Birth Story

Part 2

After we spent the weekend at the hospital, without any signs of labor from my side and also no induction suggested by the hospital, we decided to go home and give baby a couple of days more.

However, that evening I started to have some contractions, they were not strong, but I could feel them just a little more than a regular period pain. They were actually pretty regular, every 25 min, then 20 min, until 8 min apart. The pain got a little more intense as they moved closer together, but it was nothing too painful. I had them the evening and whole night; it was a pain that started in my back, hips, and will move to the front to my belly and down. I had, of course, no idea what contractions felt like, but I explained the pain to my mom and aunt, and they said, well that sounds like contractions.

It went on the whole night, I could sleep for some time, about 2 or 3 hours I would say, but I was up pretty early, around 6 in the morning, the contractions were not regular anymore, but still we decided to go to the hospital for a new check. We arrived and like magic, the contractions were gone. I had some, but very irregular, so they sent me home again. Gave me another appointment for Wednesday for a new ultrasound, which was no different than the one before, amniotic fluid ok, baby's position ok, weight ok, all looked ok. So, I was asked to return until my due date, which was the upcoming Sunday.

Finally, after all the goes and comes from the hospital, I talked to my husband and decided on the induction, I could not feel any progress with the baby and was concerned anyway with the weight, I mean my belly was huge, so even if the ultrasounds did not show concern, I still thought it was better to just go ahead with it. In any case, I should have trusted my doctor since the beginning.

So, I was finally scheduled for Monday at 8am, to be at the hospital to start the whole process. We arrived with all of our stuff and went directly to the delivery room or area. This time we were properly checked-in at the hospital and so on. I had first a CTG which show no signs of contractions or labor. (the week before I had lost part of the mucous plug, not sure if that is the name)

I was induced with pills, pitocin, first a 25mg dose in the morning, then CTG, then walk; at around noon, a 50mg dose, CTG, walk around, and at 5 or 6pm a 100mg dose, same as the 2 times before, CTG, walk around, come later. Until the evening, I would not feel any contractions, no pain, no nothing. After the third dose we just went for a longer walk, up and down the hospital stairs, then we took a small nap. My next dose was going to be at around 9pm, so before that we did another round around the hospital, mainly the stairs.

At around 8pm we went back to our [family room], I was now lying in bed when I felt like a 'pop' I got up quickly and water started to come out, so, my water broke. I waited a little until most of the liquid was out and I was no longer leaking, went to the bathroom and got ready to go to the delivery room, where the midwives were and the action was going to take place.

I arrived there, told them my water broke and we were there to continue with the process. They of course did the test and confirm it was my water. They run another CTG, contractions started to kick in, that was around 9pm, we were there for an hour or so, and then got sent back to the room, since I was only about 1-2 cms dialated. At around 11pm the contractions kicked in for real! I went from no pain to full pain. I have heard that when you are induced is more painful than when birth starts naturally, and I do not know how it is when it happens naturally, but being induced is the worst pain I have ever felt in my entire life, it was just constant torture.

I could not lay down, the pain would just increase, I got a ball to sit on and stretch my back, hips and try to ease the pain. I tried the breathing exercises that I had learned in the preparation course and also in my years that I had practice yoga, which I thought I was really good at; well, I WAS GOOD AT IT, but it just would not help in any way with the pain.

I had read in many articles, blogs, etc. that the pain from contractions come, last up to 1.30min and then go, but I could never tell when it started and when it ended, the pain was always there, constant at 100%. So, you can imagine what happened next? I went back to the delivery room and ask for pain medication, I wanted the epidural right away, it was midnight. I go in, they check for my dilation, nothing 2 cms, and all I could think was, 'this is just the beginning and I am already dying, there is no way I can do this!!!' I do not want to scare anyone, but as I said, I felt tortured, I felt like I was gonna die. So, what they offered was a opium based pain medication, I was in so much pain that I said yes, with it I was able to lay down for about an hour until the effect was gone, the contractions and pain were not gone in between, I could feel them still, but somewhat dose off.

Moving forward, my husband, who was there for me all the time, first getting all what I asked for and walking me back and forth from the delivery area, at around 2, 2:30am went I got one of the nurses to drive me to the delivery room, I just could not move by that time, could not think, could not do anything. I was taken in a wheelchair. By that time, I was already at 5cms dilated, they called right away the anethetist to give me the epidural. I am not sure how they saw me at that moment, because, here in Germany, for what I heard and read everywhere, they do not give it to you that easy, they kind of let you go through the birth, if possible, without it. In my case, at 4 in the morning, I was getting prepped, they sent my husband out of the room to do that, so he had a chance to finally sleep, like 30min tops, I believe, that night. He was always there, awake, just waiting for me to ask for something or just scream.

I got the epidural and finally at 5 in the morning, I stopped feeling pain and could sleep, or pass out, not sure. I would feel from time to time pain on one side of my body, but nothing compared to before.
At 6 the did another round, by then I believe I was at 8 cms already and by 8 in the morning I was complete, or that is what the midwife told me, it was time to start pushing. I tried a little, but nothing, he was not coming down. At that moment, the doctor came in and did the check, she then said, you are not fully dilated, there is a little something still there. The pushing was stopped, and they asked to increase my contractions, which I could not feel now. They will monitor me again in 30 min and then see if now everything was ok, which it was not. With all this, the CTG was running ok in parallel, they baby was still ok, all good. But, the doctor decided to do a test on him to confirm everything was good with his oxygenation, blood, etc. The test came back perfect, so they waited another half hour, increased again the contractions and monitor it.

Now, it was 10 am, again a test run on the baby and a completion check on me, baby great, me stalled. So, the doctor finally said, your dilation is not progressing, so we suggest after all the time that has passed, that we should do an emergency c-section. Your baby is doing good at the moment, you also are doing good, so it is better to go this way, now that we have the time and there is no rush.

Of course, I was disappointed with this, I had planned for an entirely birth experience, medication free, which I could not do, natural birth, which now was not gonna happen either. But, in the end, the most important thing for me, was that my baby was still doing good. The preparation for the c-section started, I had the epidural, which was perfect for the surgery and my husband could still be there with me.

One thing I forgot to mention earlier, it appears that I had some reaction to the first pain medication that they gave, because I had a fever, not high 38 C, but still, it is important information for later.

I was taken into the operation room, super cold room by the way, and they started to prepare me, I was so disconnected at this point, that I could barely understand any german, anything that they were asking me. Normally, I could have a decent conversation, at this point, I just could not think again. Anyway, I was super cold the whole time in the OR, at some point I think I had a cold shock or something, it was horrible. They gave me extra blanket and like a warm pillow or something to help, I was still shaking.

At 11:49 am my son was born, I still remember when they pull him out, I could feel how the pressure was taken out of me, to after just feel like some sort of compressions, and then I could only hear the doctor say, 'he is a huge baby!', but I could not hear him cry or make any sound. I told my husband, 'he is not crying, he does not cry!' They took the baby to the little room out of the OR to check on him and then my husband was taken as well. I do not know how long time it was, until they came back and I finally could see him. They just handed him over to me for like a second, I barely gave him a kiss, all swollen and crying now, and then they took him, my husband went with him.










I was still there, getting closed and freezing to dead. I was at some point begging for a blanket, or something to cover me, anything, it was horrible. I heard people say, yes it is cold in the OR, it is normal. I have had surgery before, never had this reaction to the cold, I guess it was just not my day.

Once they finished closing me up, I was moved to the recovery area and there they packed me with a special warm blanket. I was supposed to be there for an hour, I think it was about 2 and a half. I finally slept now, or passed out again, not sure.

Finally, I was moved to my room, I was hoping to see there my husband with the baby; I arrived, no one was there. Some minutes later my husband came in without a baby, the baby had to stay at the NICU.

Then, the news came in, my husband right away said, 'do not get scared or worried, but I need to explain to you what is going on...', then he explained to me that the baby needs to stay in the NICU, that he had to be reanimated at birth, they do not understand why, but it happened. Those compressions you felt, he said, were to reanimate him, they did right when they took him out. He is doing good right now, they are running tests, but most likely we will be transferred to another hospital, the one with the neonatology specialization.

Later that day, the pediatrician came in and explained everything again, she said she would prefer to transfer him and be on the safe side. That they were running a culture for infections and other tests; and, that in the other hospital I was going to be able to be with him. Which by the way, it was around 6pm and I had just seen my baby for like 5 seconds, and did not even had a chance to hold him...




Anyway, long story short, we were transferred (the worst ambulance ride ever, after c-section and no pain medication, very painful); and, I could finally see him at around 8 or 9pm and hold him for the first time! So much to bonding right after birth. Anyway, I was so happy and so sad at the same time, but most important, I was there with him, finally, and he (not counting the IV and cables on him) seemed perfect.

After I was released

I ended up staying at the hospital for recovery until Saturday, he was born on a Tuesday; and him until the Monday after, but they had confirm to us already Thursday he was good and Saturday he had no longer the IV, so that was a relief. Still, my heart broke when I left the hospital and left him there.


We until today are not sure what happened with our baby, but his pediatrician says that he, according to his birth values, is perfect, we should not worry anymore.

Our experience was completely different to what we expected and for what we prepared ourselves, but in the end, we are just happy we have our baby with us and he is healthy. The rest is now history.



Sorry for the so long post, there was more information than I thought; and, thanks for stopping by and reading until the end!

My birth story - Part 1

MY BIRTH STORY
PART 1

So much is the expectation before a baby is born; I believe, it does not matter if you have had a child already, it has to be a big deal every time!

For us, at least, that was the case. We were so ready to meet our kid, although at the same time, we were in no rush.

As you read before, my pregnancy was smooth, I had nothing out of the regular issues when pregnant. Also, I felt very happy the whole pregnancy, ups and downs here and there, but for me, this was the greatest time of my life.

With all this history, we were hoping that the birth itself was going to be just as good. We felt prepared, at least we had done all the preparation courses 'Geburtsvorbereitungskurs', we had chosen the hospital that we both liked. We had things settled at home; and, I was looking up for myself the, good and not so good, birth stories.  So, we felt prepared. Was I nervous or scared? Of course, scared to death! But, at the same time, I was calm, and could not wait for the day the baby decided to be born.

For the birth, I had planned what kind I wanted to have, all natural and medication free. I even told this to the anesthetist during my appointment for the explanation of the epidural.

Moving forward, I had my last appointment for the year with my regular Obgyn mid December, the only thing always with my baby was that he always measured too big, about a 4kg baby to term.

So, my doctor was always monitoring that, however, two weeks later I had another appointment at another praxis, because of the vacation period, and there my baby was measuring normal weight; and with this information we went into the New Years celebration.

The year ended and I had no signs of labor coming. My estimated delivery date was set for Jan 13th, so we still had time to enjoy and to not worry. On Jan 4th, I had my next appointment, now back to my regular doctor. She again estimated the baby already at 3.9 kgs in my 38 week; with this values she decided to send me to the hospital to be induced.

She told me to prepare all my stuff, call the hospital, let them know and go the next day. She said, sometimes with the knowing of the induction, the body somewhat just goes into labor (not my case thou).

However, after her revision, it was time for the midwife to check on the baby, she run a CTG and she was concerned with the results, so I ended up being sent that same day to the hospital.

So, we did as indicated. We went home, prepared the bags, more or less packed. My husband had something to eat, I couldn't, I was stressed after the midwife's revision. I was so used to everything going well, that now hearing something could be wrong, got to me.

We arrived at the hospital, our midwife had already called in advance, to let them know we were on our way, so they were somewhat expecting us. 

Before going to the hospital, I was asked to drink about 2L of water, so the baby's activity will be shown better during the CTG.

We were sent directly into one of the delivery rooms and they run a CTG for about an hour, then send me to walk, then another CTG, about 2 hours later. Both came back good, no issues with the baby, actually perfect. That same night, I had an ultrasound done by the Obgyn on call at the hospital, they did their own calculation of the baby's weight, and for them it was only at 3.6 kgs (of course a +|- 500grs error), so they did not want to induce the labor at that point, even with the briefing from my doctor.

They told me to wait to term, everything seemed fine with the baby and me, but in any case, they suggest I stayed over the weekend for observation and monitoring. So, I spent my weekend at the hospital, Sunday noon, I was sent home, without any signs of labor and with the recommendation of no induction from the doctors at the hospital.

We still had our doubts of whether or not go ahead with the induction. Honestly, I was scared and stressed. I had planned that my baby will come naturally whenever he was ready for it, now forcing him to come out was something difficult for me to decide, I still had my hopes on everything happening by itself.

So we went home...

My Pregnancy

I started this post, thought it was saved, but my computer quit on me and now I have to start it all over again, which is not too bad, because I completely changed my mind of what I wanted to share with you, or better said, how I wanted to do it.

First, I thought of writing a post per the different trimester of the pregnancy and share with you each stage of my pregnancy. However, this pregnancy was super for me, nothing really bad to report or out of the ordinary. So, maybe it was better and easier to share all of it in one post, not to drive you crazy or read unnecessary things.

Anyway, my first trimester was quite exciting and stressful at the same time. We waited so long for this, that I just wanted it to be over and be 'on the safe side' of it, which the risk is reduced enormously after the first 12 weeks, so I could not wait for it. Other than that, I just had the regular issues at the beginning of the pregnancy. Exhaustion was the big one, falling asleep in a second, I would not even realize this. Then the hormones will make me cry for everything! A example of this, was when the Japanese team lost against the Belgian team during the Soccer World Cup, yes! its true!

Moving on, of course, my breasts also started to change/grew.

During this trimester we still travelled to Indonesia, as we had this trip already booked and cancelling was gonna be expensive, so we did some research for risks, evaluated them and decided on going. It was a less adventurous trip than what we normally do, specially with the food, but still awesome to see all these places. We were in Singapore for the first night, then moved to Indonesia, starting with Jakarta, Surabaya, Lombok and finally Bali.

We had for the first trimester the regular tests done, all came back negative, so it was a 'nothing to worry' pregnancy. We are so blessed!

The second trimester was about the same, only this time, morning sickness kicked in, yes on the second trimester, and it was always only in the morning. So, morning sickness can happen anytime during the pregnancy, for what I read, and it does not mean is only a morning thing, can be at anytime of the day, for me was morning only, thank goodness, and also for the second trimester only, too.

For this trimester, we did another trip. We went to Mexico this time, to visit my side of the family, before traveling was out of the picture. We wanted to share with the family our happiness, since we are living so far away at the moment.

Nothing extraordinary to report on the second trimester, appointments were going great, everything looked good with the baby. We found out the gender of our baby at around 20 weeks, and did a little 'gender reveal picture'. 

I could not feel my baby's kicks until about the 20th week, as the placenta was on the belly wall. But once I did, I was also super happy to feel him.

The third trimester was also good, I had done on the 28th week the sugar test for diabetes, also all good, negative results. It was a 'by the book' pregnancy, all good, all healthy, it was a dream. I felt happy for the most part, even as my body grew and I no longer had comfy sleep nights. I am a small woman and my baby was huge, so finding a position to sleep was kind of impossible. I checked all the tips from the different baby websites, of what to do, but none of it worked for me. The sleeping on your left side was impossible, baby would kick, sleeping on the right same thing. The not recommended sleeping on your back, was the only thing that I could do, so it was something between lying flat and on my sides.

In any case, I was able to work full time normally until the 32nd week, I had some extra hours and vacation days left over that I used to get 2 extra weeks for my maternity leave. Here maternity leave consists of 6 weeks before the estimated date and 8 weeks after. So, I wanted to make sure I had enough time to prepare the last things before the baby arrived.

Baby room, not finished.

We were very good at setting everything before the baby will come, the baby room was completed about 4 weeks before the birth. Clothes washed, the side bed, stroller, baby autoseat, etc. All bought and ready to be used. I just had to do some last minute shopping as I failed to get the right bodys and sleepbodys for the baby, but we corrected it on time. However, with a baby there is always so much you can buy, whether you will really need it or not. So, I have a german husband, and as a good german, we stuck to the basics, and upon need we are buying things now.

That will be all for my pregnancy post. I will be sharing with you in the next one, my birth story. I hope you enjoy reading, as much as I do sharing this with you.

Thanks for reading!

We're pregnant!

So, in this post, I would like to share with you how I found out I was pregnant.

We were trying for a long time and it would not happen, so we were not expecting it at all. We had just had our first wedding anniversary in April and were back in Germany to our regular jobs, after a 3 week vacation, in Canada, Cuba, and Mexico (by the way, we have a travel blog, my husband and I, and an instagram account where we used to share our traveling experiences and infos, travel.together.804, until we found out about the pregnancy and stopped the traveling and kept to ourselves the whole pregnancy).

Anyhow, it was already mid May, and the regular thing, my period would not come, I was about 2 days late, I know, not a lot, but since I was very regular, I started thinking maybe it was possible, I really did not want to get my hopes up on a pregnancy, but it was a thought in the back of my mind, so finally, after a week of "delay", I decided to do a test and to my surprise it came back positive. I was not 100% sure, since it was an old test I had at home, so I ran to my husband and share the news with him. It was nothing special how I told him, I wish I should have prepared something original, but since I was unsure, I was more on the side of "close your eyes, I have a surprise" kind of thing. Right after I showed him, we went on to buy more pregnancy tests to confirm. So, I did another one that same night and one first thing in the morning. I was about 4/5 weeks at the time.

After that, I went for a blood test, to have the full confirmation; and, then I was on the look for a ObGyn. As we move to Germany, I did not have a doctor yet, so that was an important thing to do. I had the first appointment at around 10 weeks, as introduction to my new doctor and information; and the first official pregnancy check-up at 12 weeks. We were on the go, for baby preparation!!! Of course, my husband and I, could not be more happy and excited to have reach this new milestone in our life together.

By the way, in Germany, pregnancy is a huge thing on regards of all what you have to do and prepare, so I had to do quite some reading, as on what the next steps where with my pregnancy, revisions, tests, etc.

I will explain that in another post, all about the experience of being pregnant in Germany. What I believe is a positive thing and what, to my experience, is not so good.

Thanks for reading... please leave any comments or questions you have!

The New Mommy Experience

This year I have become a mom, the most terrifying yet most wonderful experience in my life; and here I am, joining the thousands out there, writing a blog about it.

I have been thinking about this for a while, whether or not to do it (since I am a bit shy), but today I woke up thinking, screw it, I will! 

So, I hope you enjoy reading me, as much as I am and will, writing these posts. I am no writer or profesional at this, but still should be fun to share with you.

My idea is not to write a blog with tons of details, as I am no expert; but more with practical, useful information about getting pregnant, pregnancy and pospartum, and of course, funny stories about all of it. Hopefully, you will find it, not only entertaining, but of high quality as well.

So, let's begin...

But before that, I would like to introduce myself here, my name is Samantha, I am 29 years old, Mexican, living in Germany since mid 2017, married (yes, to a german, the main reason of me living here, but also work), and since 10 weeks and 6 days, the mommy of a beautiful sweet boy. 💙

I hope to see you in my future posts. Please, feel free to comment, ask questions and suggest topics you wanna read about.

Have a nice day!🌤

Ps. I wrote most of this post with my baby in my arms, I am still trying to figure out how other women can do it so gracefully!!! I am A MESS! 😪