What to pack?

Yesterday, Mark and I decided it was time to start thinking of getting my hospital bags packed. Some may laugh or scoff at such preparedness, after all, at 28 weeks; there are still 12 more to go. However, all anal retentiveness aside, it really struck me the other day that making these arrangements couldn’t hurt.

Commuting on the Go Train last Thursday was a nightmare. The train before ours had been cancelled, so GO Transit decided to pack the two busiest commuter trains of the morning into one. It was so squished standing up that I couldn’t even move my arm out in front of me to read the newspaper. Noticing my belly, the man beside me (or almost on top of me…depends at how you define being crammed like a can of sardines on a commuter train) asks me when I’m due.

Secretly I’m hoping his comment grabs the attention of someone in a nearby seat. Being offered a seat instead of standing sounded so nice at that moment. The woman who usually offers me her seat was not on the train that day. Interestingly enough, a few people who did have seats looked up at me, glanced at my belly, then diverted their eyes back to their newspaper. Either they didn’t think my stomach was big enough to cause me any grief when standing in one spot for 40 minutes at a time (as out train was no longer an express train), or they just didn’t care. Either way, I was miffed.

All selfishness aside for wanting to sit down, I told the man I was due in April. He then asked me if I had my bags packed. Thinking he was joking, I said no. He said it’s never too early. His daughter arrived 6 weeks early. Pondering his comment, I realized I am aware of many women who never carried their babies the full 40 weeks. My friend and co-workers first child was born at 28 weeks, and her child was born at 31 weeks (although in her case there was extenuating circumstances), my friend’s sister in law gave birth at 37 weeks, and now the man on the Go train was informing me of his daughter’s early arrival at 34 weeks old.

Deciding it was time to start considering the possibility that we may not have a full 12 weeks left to prepare, hubby and I ventured out yesterday to try and stock up on a few baby necessities.

I quickly learned that I have absolutely no clue what a baby needs in their first few weeks of life. I went online to try and learn about what one recommends a mom in labour bring with her to the hospital for her and her baby. Of course, I am bombarded with a million different opinions (even about what brand of baby shampoo to buy).

Feeling somewhat armed with the knowledge of what a newborn needs, our first stop was Wal-Mart. Making a beeline to the baby section, I suddenly realize the immensity of the products available. The diaper aisle was literally the length of an entire wall, and reached from the floor to the ceiling. And baby hygiene products! Since when did babies require soothing lavender and other aroma therapy like creams and bath gels? Mark was kind enough to bring the nipple cream to my attention. “Look honey, it's for dry and chapped nipples from breastfeeding. Do you want some of this? How about this gas relief stuff for the baby…maybe I should buy some for me too!”, he joked. I was still stuck on whether it would be Pampers or Huggies…

Feeling totally lost, we left the store and decided to go and buy a curtain rod at Sears. I needed to accomplish something I was actually good at, and buying something to decorate the baby’s room was something I at least knew the basics about.

Deciding to stall feeling like a hopeless parent for a just a little longer, I dragged Mark to Baby Gap. I found the most adorable coming home outfit. My irrational side was just itching to buy it, but my rational side kept thinking that spending a lot of money on an outfit the baby will fit in only a couple of weeks was unreasonable. It’s just so cute though. I might splurge (just this once honey I promise)!!!!


It was now getting late, and putting off the inevitable was not helping matters. Heads hanging low, starting to feel overwhelmed with the idea of caring for a newborn, we walked over to Zellers to attempt to learn about baby products and regain some shred of confidence we would be OK parents.

First things first, diapers. The Pampers Newborn package says the diapers grow with baby. Huggies did not. Done deal (although I don’t yet understand how a diaper grows).

Shampoo…do we want a shampoo/body wash combo or both? One bottle sounds simpler. The friendly couple beside us recommended Gerber’s! Done Deal! The couple also recommended the Gerbers moisturizing lotion. Sceptical, I thanked them for their advice and once they were gone asked my husband if you really need to moisturize a baby? Aren’t they just always soft by default?

Butt cream! Do we just buy Vaseline, or do we need something to prevent and treat diaper rashes? Wait, the stuff for a diaper rash doesn’t go on with every diaper does it? Enough was enough. I pulled out my cell phone and called my mom. Her answer to keeping a baby’s bum dry was simple. Corn Starch! Apparently I lived with the starchy goo in my diapers and had a total of only one diaper rash in my life. Not only was her solution cheaper, but like she reminded me, Vaseline would be one awful mess to clean trying to wipe it off along with a bum covered in poop! YIKES! Enough said. Corn starch it will be! I also asked her about baby moisturizer. Giggling, she said that you probably don’t “need” to use it, but she always used it on me and my brother because it had such a nice baby smell that she loved so much. Done deal! Nice smelling baby it will be!

So how is it that I can have my strategies and opinions on whether or not to spank, my choice to breastfeed, my reasons for not baptising the baby, my decision about whether or not to circumcise (if it’s a boy), and my beliefs about how we will introduce and incorporate spirituality and various religions into my child’s life all figured out, but I don’t even know what sort of butt cream I should be using.

I guess when it comes to parenting; there will always be challenges such as these. Even if its only deciding what brand of diapers to buy, or if you’ll use Vaseline or corn starch to protect their little baby bums from a rash, or how you will bring spirituality into their lives, one thing is certain, I have definitely found a new respect for my parents! To the moms and dads of the world, I salute you!