Welcome to the world Brijin Joy

I'm so sorry for keeping you all in suspense...

We returned home from a family of two to three from hospital with our new, baby girl Brijin Joy Wednesday night and have been tending to her needs since. I finally feel like I have a moment where I will choose five minutes of blogging over five minutes of sleep... Amazing.

She arrived at 9:04 p.m. on Memorial Day at a long and skinny 7.0 lbs and 20.5 in.

The first thing I noticed were her big lips. :) Later, with help from our friends and family who visited, we awed at her long fingers and gigantic feet! Not long after, my husband and I realized just how precious and scary taking care of this delicate, little life is and will be.

I have so much to catch you up on. I'd like to document so many things from the past week, if Brijin will let me sleep enough to think through it and have the time to type it out! LOL!

I want to share the following:

• My birth plan compared to my labor story - how meditation and presence helped me through it
  
• Naming our baby - Brijin is pronounced like Bridget but with a "jin" at the end (it's the Swedish version ... will tell you more about it later.
  
• My hospital stay
  
• My breastfeeding journey - boy, is it one! definitely a LEARNED experience and your first team effort with your child
• Bringing home baby
• Adapting our dog Charlie to our new bundle of Brijin Joy
• Continuing to learn and feel confident taking care of our daughter

Please comment (hit comment button beneath post) and let me know if I left anything out that you want to know, and I'll fill you in on the details.

I've truly enjoyed sharing my pregnancy through my blog and plan to continue Yoga Mama as I journey through motherhood. My yoga practice will have to focus on meditation and breath for several weeks as my body returns back to normal, and I will try to incorporate yoga into my posts. However I'll have to admit I may be very baby focused for a while. :) And particularly on one special lady.

Packing the hospital bag for delivery

Today marks the beginning of my 37th week of pregnancy; I'm getting more eager and anxious for the baby's arrival. I began packing my bag to take to the hospital a few weeks ago, but I still keep taking items in and out of it. I just can't decide what to bring!

Found this great article from a Pampers ParentPages e-mail called "Packing for Your Birth Experience" and thought other expecting moms would appreciate it. Includes a great list of items to pack not only for mom, but for hubby or birth coach, and baby.

Here's some things to pack you might not have thought to bring:

• Chapstick and/or lollipops - with all the breathing, apparently dry mouth/lips are an annoyance that can be avoided for the laboring mama with these items.
• Snacks for your hubby or partner
• Back massager
• Some kind of focal point (i.e., photo, figurine, etc.)
• Lavender - a soothing smell
  

I have my hospital bag partially packed. Still debating whether or not to include a robe since it's so bulky; I'm assuming the hospital has a threadbare robe I could wear. Make sure you bring some toiletries for yourself and hubby to clean up since you'll be there two overnights.

Another item my sister-in-law recommended is to have a breast pump in case you're having issues with breast-feeding. I believe you can buy it from the hospital, but it will probably cost A LOT more.

Let me know if I'm missing anything else or if you have any other suggestions for the big day!