Thinking about packing...

I started making a detailed list today about things to pack for when we are at the hospital. Pretty basic, I guess, but still, I am trying to be as thorough as possible.

Here are some big items:

Piper's blankie:

Now, as of yet, she isn't a big blankie baby, but I think home comforts are important when you feel not quite yourself. This one will smell like her bed and all things associated with sleepy time.

This blankie is pretty darn special. My mom (Piper's Gram) made it for Piper, though it was started a long time before Piper was even around. When we lost our first baby, my mom came down to visit and support us through that time, and on one of our trips out we went to the fabric store (mom is a big time quilter- she keeps saying she is a "beginner". Don't believe her). They had an awesome flannel section and I fell in love with this pattern. Mom said she would buy it and get a blankie ready for the next baby, because "they'll be another baby". It was a sign of the future and of hope and of one day having a special little monkey to cuddle up in it. It was great to look ahead in such a dark time.

And now I do have a little monkey who sleeps with this blankie every night and every nap time. and I think she'll truly love it one day, though she might never really understand what it also means to me.

Another big item will be her soother:

Piper has been a soother baby since day one. It was during one of her first tests, maybe an ECG, that the nurse asked Matt (as I was still recovering in our hospital room) if she could give her a soother, as she needed her to not cry during the test. Piper took to it right away, and has been a devoted soother-baby ever since.

I know there is some controversy around soothers, but we love that Piper takes one. Whether or not she'll give it up before she's 16 or not, well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Honestly, we've got bigger things to worry about than whether or not she'll have a hard time giving it up.

This soother we have now is just super cute, with a little cat face on it, and little whiskers. The soother doesn't always work, but when it does, it really does. So we'll bring that for sure. We might bring a few... just in case.

Some other not-so-obvious things that I want to bring are:

• our latest photo album, so we can show Piper pictures of all the people who love her, and how much she's grown in the last while.
• her toothbrush and "training" toothpaste. Kinda keep forgetting that with teeth comes oral hygiene. Dang. One more thing to remember.
• nail clippers. We can get them nice and trimmed up while she is really dozy.
• pillows for us. I've heard that they kinda suck at the hospital, as they are all wrapped in plastic. I think we'll bring some of our blankies, too.
• my crafty bag. I've got a few little projects that just take time, and two hands, and I think I will have both of those for a few days. So I might as well be getting them done.

Anyways, there are lots of other things to bring, but I won't bore you with all of it.

Today, I am feeling a little more up than some other days. I think the sun might be helping a bit. It's so nice out there! I've really appreciated the support from everybody and I am really starting to feel this love that is coming our way. That means so much.

And tonight Matt and I are taking off, like two normal adults, on a date! Nothing fancy, just getting out without baby! Maybe we'll go to the beach or something... Not sure. Sometimes its nice to not have too much planned. We'll see what we feel like when we get going. I'll let you know how it goes :)