Not ready yet
Right now, with probably less than 8 weeks on the clock, I'm definitely not ready for the baby to be born in terms of having the room ready (this is just a minor inconvenience because with some extra hands and effort it's a quick fix) but mostly I have no clue how many items I need per category of clothes.
It may sound super weird as this is going to be my fourth time having a baby so you'd say she's got this. But my other kids were all winter babies and born in Holland, with a totally different climate and I truly struggle to figure out where I can find a decent list with numbers of items I need per category like onesies, pants, shirts etc. I remember taking our 3 month old daughter to Spain and she almost lived in onesies, all clothes were abundaned until after summer, lol.
Hospital
The thing that makes me doubt things mostly is the hospital stay because there will be air conditioning in the room and I guess that means the baby will need to be wearing proper clothes instead of just a onesie, or a pyjama at least. But besides gambling on buying enough onesies, which can be bought extra fairly easily if needed, I really have no clue how many outfits one should have in general when you give birth during a hot month, and also not how much I need during my stay.
Hopefully there's a list with recommendations
Next week, I see the gyneacologist again, and I REALLY hope that he has a list with some things I need to bring because I don't even know if they provide diapers for the baby or a pump to borrow during the stay vs bringing my own.. You'd think a private hospital provides these things, especially considering that in Holland I was not visiting a private hospital and every birth we had free diapers and baby whipes, and an automatic pump making the first days easier. I don't mind if it's not included but I'd love some clarity which I don't seem to find online so far.
Maybe the doctor will say we discuss this on a later appointment but I'm really at the point where I want to make sure that everything needed in the hospital is packed just in my water breaks earlier than the planned c-section date and so that I can let go of that part of worrying about it. I love nosing around for good deals (especialy now the sales started, haha) and I don't like to send off my boyfriend for these things when there's urgent need for them.
I have no clue
Right now if you ask me how many sets of clothing I have, I could not tell you as I ordered some stuff here and there while shopping for other things and a few times i only found a few pants and no matching shirt for example, so I really need to sit down tomorrow or so to gather all items and place them in sets so that I have a bit of an idea what could be handy.
I feel so stupid for not even knowing if I need onesies with long sleeves here in Spain or that it's better to have a short sleeve onesie and add a longsleeve t-shirt instead so that you can take it off if needed. It almost feels as if I'm going to be a first time mom again with the difference that back then I was overloaded with items, bought WAY too many clothes in the newborn sizes, especially considering the fact that she was a big baby. Some things lasted just weeks.
Newborn sizes
This time the last two measurements also said he's big, so today I went to the store and decided for the 0-3 month onesies instead of 0-1 month sized onesies because of that reason. I rather have a bunch of them that are a bit too big than finding out he won't fit things properly or can only wear them for a week or so. I find this the biggest struggle at the moment, well that and dealing with the heat, haha.
Some good deals
At least there are also some thing that I don't worry about having enough, such as finding a set of 6 bottles of our preference for just 6 euros. They cost 10 euros at least normally so that's a great saving, even though I will not need them all 6 I figured I can sell them again anyway, and it could be handig to save my milk in the bottles in the fridge instead of having to first put them in bags etc. So they will definitely save me some plastic waste I guess.
I also had a great deal of muslin cloths in bulk, some big sized ones and smaller sized ones. I swear these are SO convenient for many things, not just to put on your shoulder for a burping baby or to dry them off after a bath but we also used them a lot for our (back then) 3 month old daughter to protect her from the sun by hanging such a wet muslin cloth in front of her. If you make it wet and then move it around, it gives such a cool breeze, we even used that for ourselves sometimes when overheated in the mountains near Seville. I wanted to make sure I had enough of these and don't mind having second hand ones as they came for a great price.
My first born vs the rest
When my first was expected, I bought everything new, but this totally changed with my first son, as then I discovered I could buy great brands or high quality clothes for less than new prices of budget brands in sales or just find second hand items that were still in new condition. This time I only bought some stuff new but most of the things are second hand stuff, and with the stroller this means we now have a great quality one for less than all these budget brands (which we first tried btw, and that was SUCH a disappointment sadly).
After I write down how many sets of clothes I have and stuff like that, I will add some stuff myself and then wait until next week when my gyneacologist can hopefully enlighten me with some tips before I go hunting on Vinted for second hand items. I love finding great deals, and these baby clothes are so extremely adorable to buy. I just don't want to end up having a full box of unused things so I'm a bit cautious buying things I think I need. But I'm sure in a few weeks I will feel confident I have it all covered and be able to prep the hospital bag and check it off my list.
Share your tips, please :)
For the mamas living in hot climates and giving birth in the hot summer months: do you have any tips for me? Especially for those living in Spain and being insured privately, if you have any guidelines or tips you received, please leave me a comment as I feel a bit lost finding correct information myself. Any input can be valuable and I will not pin you down on it but it may make prepping a check list myself easier.
Thanks in advance!
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I wasted good cash on cute clothes when my kids were born toddlers rather than newborns. 9 lbs+ (4.5 kg). My second was worse at 9.5 lbs. My newborn clothes were slightly used. Gestational diabetes was the culprit so forget trying natural birth. At least I had a few experienced Mom friends that gave me a hand at outfitting until I got a home routine established.
🍼
Haha I know the feeling though, my first was close to 9 lbs just 200 grams off or so :) she was huge compared to the other two who looked tiny compared to her being just below or above 3kgs..
I'm really curious if this baby is indeed as big as his biggest sister OR will end up regular, because I learned over the years they are often not correct with their predictions so I'm not going to worry about it anyway. It will be a planned c-section anyway and the size of the baby will not predict anything about the healing process. In fact, I was on my feet within the first day walking around constantly with the biggest of the three and much more in need with the tiniest of them lol. It will be a surprise how things go this time. I have faith though.
Tomorrow next ultrasound, we'll see what they say, my glucose was good so it's basically counting down the final weeks now and dealing with another heat wave coming up so it seems. 37 degrees on Saturday, going from 31 on Friday.. it's already noticeable with the extreme humidity constantly :(
Hope you're doing ok sis <3
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We are never ready when it comes to bringing a baby into the world. The important thing is to take what you need, make a detailed list for your stay, take some extra clothes and utensils. It is better to have too much than too little. Don't worry, everything will be fine ☺️🤗
Whoa, congrats! I didn't know you were pregnant again. That's wonderful :D it is a lot that's for sure!
One of the things that really helped us save a lot of money is using cloth diapers for the daytime. Yes it was a little gross washing them but for the first 8 months or so, it's just breast milk or formula poops so it washes out pretty easily lol. This kept the overnights as the only diapers and saved a lot!
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You too!
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Congratulations and I wish you safe delivery.
When I was buying cloth for my baby I got more of cover cloth like sweaters, overall and sweet shirts.
I also got some singlets that are cool and comfy.
I guess you should ask for help from any experience mom that stay around you.
Yeah well sweaters is not something that people were in the summer in Spain, for us adults that's often at least December that we wear these, but of course a baby would need it sooner if going outside or inside air conditioning but in summer it would probably be a thinner long sleeve to cover the arms instead. I have to dig around for advice and will probably aim for a mix of things in the end :)
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Congratulations and I am soo excited for you! I hope it will be a smooth delivery and the baby will be healthy 😊. Over here, since we live in tropics, parents usually bought a very thin cotton baby cloths. babies here only wear sweater or thicker materials once they are out and about, otherwise it's always lightweight cotton shirts.
Well, it will be a planned c-section, after 3 of them you have no choice ;) I don't mind as I don't want the first birth to repeat itself. Just hoping that I will be walking around as fast as I did with the first two and not the horror of the last one lol. But so far, pregnancy is much easier in general, I have faith it will be good.
Yeah that's what I think as well, just cotton longsleeves in case it's needed but I'm truly clueless on how many I'd need. I hate having to much and then not use it in the end so I will go hunting second hand mostly now I guess.
Tomorrow I hope to get some clarity about what to bring to the hospital here, so I can start packing the hospital bag early and get that sorted, but not sure if he will be helpful with these questions.
I would only buy cotton/muslin btw, definitely not buying any synthetic stuff for a baby, we don't want to wear that either :)
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Wow, it's been a very long time. Not sure my advice is going to be of any help, especially in Spain. It's an exciting time, and an anxious one too. It seems to have just flown by though, has it really been that long already?
!PIMP
There really are such amazing deals to be had buying secondhand, and often I find the items are still essentially new! I can see we have a similar mom style- I also consider the resell value when buying things, cause as you said each thing is only used for a little while...
Gosh, I wouldn't say I'm glad to see that you're stressed about clothes, but I am in the sense that it means you've made it past the harder worries. YOU DID IT! This baby is going to be here- happy and healthy and healing all before you know it, and I'm certain that their room and items will be sufficient no matter what. It's in our nature to worry in the nesting phase, but with a mom like you there's no way this kid won't have everything they need and then some!
My advice is probably not useful on the clothing front, so I'll give you the same advice that probably every mom is giving you instead... RELAX! Take baths, have some date nights, take in this quiet time before the world explodes with beautiful new adventures for your family. You guys really deserve it ❤️
AHHHH I'M SO EXCITED FOR YOU!!!! 😍 Sending hugs and hope for swift answers on your qualms so you can just revel in this time!
!PIMP
It sounds like you're preparing as best you can. I think your gynecologist should have some helpful advice, so I would try not to worry too much until then. Do you have a name picked out yet for your son? 🙂
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