HELLO EVERYONE! 

Woo, it feels good to be writing again. This new momma decided it was time to do a little revamp and bring back the blog -- I love a good creative outlet. And, what better way to "launch" Morgan.Gunde, than with the story of our sweet and beautiful new baby boy, Gray James.

As some of you may know, we announced our pregnancy at our wedding AND did our gender reveal. It was epic. 

Our sweet baby boy was going to be due July 4th, 2021 - we couldn't believe it! 

Well, fast forward 9 months and we're in week 37 of pregnancy. I'm exhausted, uncomfortable, and I'm ready to get this baby out of me! My c-section, which we had opted for due to a previous injury I had sustained almost 10 years ago, was scheduled for June 29th, I only needed to make it two more weeks. 

Gray however, had a different birthday in mind. On Tuesday, June 15th, Kyle came home from work, we made breakfast for dinner and I started having contractions. Now, I had been having pre-labor symptoms from about 33 weeks so at first I'm thinking, "Oh, here we go. They'll stop in an hour." 

An hour went by, my contractions were roughly 5 minutes apart and they weren't stopping. I finished dinner, got up from the table, and started walking upstairs. Kyle yells up, "What are you doing?" - he's internally freaking out at this point but trying to stay super calm. 

"I'm putting dry shampoo in my hair!" 

His response, "Oh! We're going to the hospital aren't we?!" 
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"Yep!" - yes, my first thought was, "shit, I didn't wash my hair today, I need to go throw some dry shampoo in before we go!" 

By 7 p.m. we were checked in, I was hooked up to the machine monitoring my contractions and we were waiting to hear what was next. At that time, I was 1-1.5cm dilated and my contractions were regular but nothing too intense yet. The doctor wanted to wait one hour to see if they continued, to ensure I was in active later. One hour later, I was still in 1.5cm dilated but the contractions were getting more intense and closer together. One more hour passed, I was now dilated to 3cm and the contractions were even more intense. Our nurse left to go call my doctor, one minute later she came back in and said, "You're having a baby tonight!"

​It. Was. Go. Time.

​My first thought after hearing "you're having a baby tonight", was "Oh, thank god." 

My second thought after hearing "you're having a baby tonight", was "Holy shit, we're having Gray tonight!"

After our nurse came in and announced it was go time, things started to move pretty quickly. Kyle's phone was dying so we asked if he had time to get the charger and the response was "Run, she's going into surgery 15 minutes." 

Again my thoughts were, "Holy shit." I thought we'd have like an hour, get our heads wrapped around what was going to happen and then get in there. Nope, this was happening now. So Kyle sprints to the car, quick gets his phone just charged enough. Meanwhile, I'm getting fluids and they're prepping me for the OR. 

It's around 10-10:30 now and we're just waiting for the doctor to give the nurses the go ahead to bring me back. Around 10:30 the nurse comes back in. "Well, you're bumped, we got an emergency. It'll be about an hour/hour and a half."

Okay cool. No big deal. I'm obviously still having contractions, getting tired, but we're okay. An hour goes by and the nurse comes back in again, "Sorry, you're bumped again. It'll be another hour/hour and a half." 

Okay, okay. My contractions are starting to get unbearable but just one more hour and we'll get to meet our little guy. 

Finally around 1a.m. the nurse comes in and it's our turn! 

This next part was completely surreal and something I will never forget. I walk through labor and delivery and into the operating room. Kyle is taken into the 'dad's room' while they prep me. First question I'm asked, "What kind of music would you like to listen to?" - totally unprepared for this I go with 80's rock - a true classic playlist. Next, I get my spinal tap (honestly did not hurt as bad as I thought it was going to). Then, I lay down, chat with the anesthetist, Kyle comes into the room and sits by my head, and the doctor starts to cut. 

Now this is where it gets really cool. As they're getting ready to pull Gray out, Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses comes on. 30 seconds into the song Gray was pulled out. Gray was literally born to Sweet Child O' Mine at 1:39a.m on June 16th, 2021.

After that, everything went even faster. He was weighed (7lbs. 8oz.), Kyle brought him over to me, I was sewn up, Gray was put in his bassinet and we were wheeled off to recovery. 

Birth is a whirlwind but one of the greatest things I've ever experienced. I am so thankful everything went smooth, mom and baby were healthy, recovered well, and we are now just loving on our sweet baby boy.

The hospital and postpartum items I'm so glad I had and the ones I could've done without.

Keep in mind, what I liked for my experience may not be what you need for yours! This is simply to help give you some ideas.

I did A TON of research pre-birth on items. Like, A TON. There are so many Pinterest lists and blogs that dive into all the products you'll need for the hospital and postpartum, it's a bit overwhelming and personally, I didn't need half of them. Below find the breakdown of my favorites and least used.
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What was in my hospital bag that I'm so glad I brought? (I did pack for at least 4 days - with a c-section you typically will be in the hospital 3-4 days)

1. Portable Fan: Originally this was purchased for Gray's stroller but worked great for when I was sweating in recovery and the first few hours we were in our actual room. I just wrapped around the hospital bed and it was a lifesaver.
2. Nightgown: I brought 2, really only needed 1 but I am so glad I had these. There was no better feeling than "getting dressed" and out of that hospital gown on Wednesday. Nightgown was ideal so there wasn't a waistband on the incision.
3. Extra-long phone chargers: there was literally one plug in, behind my bed. The extra-long cord was clutch and this one works great.
4. Blankets & Pillows: I packed both Kylie and I our own blankets and pillows. So much better than the hospital ones! 
5. Sports bra: This is just necessary. I brought my favorite sports bras from Target.
6. For Gray: We did bring a few of our own swaddles, onesies, his "picture" outfit, and going home outfit. Very glad we had a few of his own items as he kept wriggling out of the blanket swaddle and the little shirt they gave us he peed on immediately. 
7. Slippers: Must have for getting up and walking around the floor. These are so comfy.
8. Skin care/Deodorant/Dry Shampoo/Toothbrush: Loved being able to wash my face, put some lotion on, and feel a little more like myself. Don't forget the hair ties!
9. Cardigan: I didn't initially pack this but was 100% necessary. Our hospital room was cold and I wanted something to feel cozy in. This one from Amazon is amazing - I wear all the time.
10. Compression Socks: I wasn't sure if I'd use these but post-surgery I was retaining a lot of fluid in my feet and ankles. These helped a ton!
11. My going home outfit: flowy maxi-dress for the win! Target always has the best! 

What was in my hospital bag we didn't use?

1. Roku: saw tons of lists/blogs share this and our TV didn't work with one
2. Any postpartum items: my hospital (and most) have everything you need
3. Belly band: I couldn't even imagine putting this on in the hospital. No thanks. I even tried wearing it a few times once I got home and it irritated my incision more than it helped my belly.
4. Underwear: Didn't change out of the "diapers" until I got home.
5. Make-up: Honestly, I was far too exhausted to care and take the time to do this.

Postpartum Items I Loved

1. FridaMom Boy Briefs: I LOVED these for those first few days out of the hospital. So comfy, came way over my incision, and honestly just like wearing a pair of shorts around the house. They actually came in the postpartum kit but you can buy just the briefs separately.
2. FridaMom Peri Bottle: If you didn't know, you do still bleed after a c-section. The Peri Bottle makes life so much easier.
3. Rael Pads: I don't think this needs an explanation but, these are my favorite Organic pads. They have a ton to fit as your bleeding decreases.
4. Wedge Pillow: This was incredibly helpful the first 2 weeks as my abdomen was healing. 
5. High-waisted underwear: Loved these when I was ready to move on from the Boy Briefs but still needed to be careful of my incision.
6. A few new outfits to feel good in as your belly shrinks back down! Here were my favorite pieces:
   oversized graphic tee
   biker shorts - Lulu Align dupe 
   athletic dress 
   peplum top
   cotton romper - I ended up buying 4 colors 
   jumpsuit - there a tons of flowy jumpsuits on Amazon perfect for that postpartum "bump"

Postpartum Passes

1. FridaMom PostPartum Kit: This is truly built for those mom's having a vaginal delivery. Literally only used the briefs out of it. Peri-Bottle is purchased separate.
2. ScarAway: I kept seeing this on posts that mentioned c-sections. I may start to use these now but my doctor didn't want anything on my incision as it healed so definitely didn't need to purchase right away. 

Next time, I'll only be bringing the essentials from my favorites above. I hope this helps any of you ladies out there expecting! 

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