If you’re a first time mama like me you’re experiencing all the feelings:

• excited
• anxious
• nervous
• inadequate
• proud
• overjoyed

Oh, did I mention anxious and nervous? Because I am very anxious, yet nervous!

I’ve been up at 3 in the morning thinking of all the things we have left to do to prepare for Baby Boy’s arrival. This usually includes what to pack for the hospital, for Noah and Baby. I also think about things I’ll need for myself at home when we come home that first day and I am starting to recover. But those thoughts are for another day.

Friends and family who are already moms try to calm your nerves and lessen the anxiety by telling you things like “women are made to do this” or “you won’t need any of that stuff at the hospital.” While trying to mean well, I know in the back of my mind us women are all different. All babies are different, all family dynamics are different and all births are different.

For example, Baby Weiss is due during corn silage harvest on our farm. This means a busy, sometimes stressful and tense time. With that being said, what works for some may not work for others.

I’m not an overly “Type A” person but I like to be prepared. It doesn’t just help my sanity, it also helps Noah be organized. Since he will most likely be focused on corn silage harvest, and not whether or not he has a change of underwear packed for the hospital, we’re getting everything prepared ahead of time.

In my efforts to take just what’s needed, I read a lot of other packing lists online. Here’s the list I compiled for myself, Noah and baby during our hospital stay. Who knows…we could be going home from the hospital in a silage truck!

Also please note that I included the birth plan, and I know everything can change in a matter of seconds, but just in case we do need the plan, I included for Noah. Not the doctor. Sometimes Noah gets caught up in the moment and loses site of what may be the priority. 😉