One thing I do for each time I am at the hospital is I always make sure I have something for my children each day that I am there. This may sound a bit excessive, but for me I have to have c-sections and it can be completely overwhelming when they walk into the room and see mommy not able to sit up on her own, hooked up to weird machines etc. SO after the baby is born, they each receive a special gift! This gift we tell them is from Baby. So in this case Olivia Joy has prepared the gifts!


I had these amazing "ergo look alikes" made for my girls! They are specifically sized to fit them! AND I got them at an incredible price too! You can check out the shop on Etsy called Pollywogs By Viki! She is a local mama who has 2 adorable boys! She calls them O1 and O2! I was thrilled! I found some fabric online that I fell in love with and she easily found it and made them up for my girls! She asked me to measure from shoulder to hip...and then around the waist! That was it! I cannot wait to see them on! The shirt is from H&M for Noah...I am still going back and forth on if I should freezer stencil brother underneath the Superman symbol! I bought it cause it has an attached cape and figured my little superhero would love it! These are their gifts for day 1!



For day 2 I found these reusable sticker books at Barnes and Nobles for under $5 each! I thought they would be perfect. It would help to entertain them and they can play with them over and over again! I simply wrapped with tissue paper and pulled out my Pick Your Plum goodies to decorate the outside with washi, ribbon and yes even some good ol' twine!! Pick Your Plum is an affiliate of mine and if you look on the right side of the page you will see the deal changes daily! I have purchased everything from crafting supplies to even clothing from them. Ummm...as I type I am wearing a cardi I can't wait for them to put more of online! AND whenever I wear my maxi skirt I recently bought from them I get tons of compliments!! I highly recommend checking out the link daily! You never know what you might miss out on for a beyond reasonable price!!



And lastly I put together a bin of goodies! Do not be fooled it did not cost me a fortune! Almost each item in the basket was only a dollar! I bought 2 different coloring books for each kid (yes a total of 6!), 3 separate packs of color crayons (Target has a whole section of these really neat colors with different names on them!), a pad of plain paper, a package of stickers, micro mini cars, Squinky toys and last but not least...a movie! It was on sale at Target for $4 and has multiple episodes on it! To me having a movie on in the background is a key distraction! I have 3 kiddos under the age of 6 (with the newest on the way making it 4!) it is inevitable that I have a child or two that is board and ready to leave! This helps to "smooth" the waters and makes everyone comfortable! I also pack snacks in advance (fruit snacks, crackers etc) so that if they are hungry I can give them a snack just like at home! This bin of goodies will be out from day 1!

A tip...when at the hospital make nice with your nurses! I always ask if I can get an extra "hospital" water bottle (like you will have) for each one of my kiddos! We just use a sharpie and have their names on them then if they need to step out of the room at all, daddy can take a walk with them to get fresh ice. Pick out a juice or fill up with some water in the kitchen! All the new items (except the bin you see up top of stuff, the water bottles and the snacks) will go home with the kids the day they visit! If you are a 2nd time mom and you are about to experience life with 2...just know it is completely normal for your oldest to act out, act afraid or even completely avoid you and the baby all together. They will come around I promise! We always make sure that I am holding the baby and the gift to give to my children each day. This makes it so they HAVE to make eye contact with me and take a peek at their new sibling! My son was thrilled to bits about having his baby sister (when Ava Faith was born) but when it came time to actually being at the hospital...it was extremely stressful for me as he acted like he didn't love me anymore! I now know...this is normal!!

Stay tuned for a few more hospital tips/tricks as this is a topic I get regular emails from my readers about! I LOVE answering and helping where I can! Hopefully you can pick up a nugget or two (and if you don't all of a sudden get a post from me...check my Facebook page for the blog...means I very well could have been blessed with our sweet #4!)