"Hospital Survival Kit" for New Mommys! (With Printables!)

I've recently discovered Pinterest.

Soon after that discovery, I recently discovered that I must have an addictive-personality because I quickly and helplessly have become obsessed with Pinterest. The idea of finding and sharing great sites & ideas with strangers at the click of a "pin it" button - is strangly entertaining and quite addicting. I seriously could write a whole blog on my love of Pinterest, however, that's not the purpose of this blog (but probably will be the focus of another one very soon!)

Right after I had been exposed to this amazing site, I decided to test out their "search" bar. I knew that one of my dear friends Stephanie was scheduled for a C-section in a few days and wanted to see if Pinterest could help me with, yet another, creative and fun way to help me with a project. I typed in "new mommy gifts" and Boom! Just like that, multiple Pins popped up on the same blog called: "The Hospital Survival Kit for New Mommys" and, just like that, I knew what I had to do :) 

I, myself, have not yet had the experience of childbirth, or a hospital stay at all (Thank my luck stars for that one). However, I know a lot of friends that have and I always try and do something special for them because, let's face it, bringing a human being into the world cannot be a walk in the park for any woman, no matter how much of a pretty smile she puts on. And I also know that once that little bundle-of-joy arrives, there are swarms of people coming in and out wanting to hold and talk and ask about everything (I know because I do it, lol!). 

Instead of the normal flowers & card I take when people have their baby, I wanted something more personal... I suppose I was seeking for more of a tradition to start amongst myself and friends. And with the help of that search bar, Pinterest & Jen @MyOwnRoad answered my questions with the simple post of a pin. & I'm so happy she did :)

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So! Without gabbing anymore than I already have, here it is :) 

The whole purpose of The Mommy Survival Kit for Hospitals is to put together a little "care package" of things that the Mommy-to-be may have forgotten when leaving for her hospital stay. Or just things that could help her stay more comfortable, because as we know, hospitals are the furthest from "cozy". In Jen's blog, she packed her Kit with the following things:

For those of you know me, you know that I'm a bit of a Baking-finatic. Any opportunity or excuse to bake something, I'm all for. And for those of you also know me, you know that I tend (almost always) to get carried away. So, to no surprise of my own, I got a little carried away with Stephanie's care package, however, it was well-worth it :)

In Miss Stephanie's Kit, these were the essentials: 

--A few Us Weekly Magazines (because what girl doesn't like to get her celebrity gossip on?!)

--A Bag of Donuts & some juice for a quick & tasty breakfast in the mornings (It's nothing too fancy, but I figured it surely beats Hospital food)

--Some simple refreshments that are "breast-feeding" approved: Sprites, Waters, etc.

--Some breath-mints & gum for quick ways of "freshening up" between and before all the visitors and greetings when people are arriving at all times of day & night

--Then, of course, the goodies. 

This was the most important part of my Kit. It was the heart of the Kit. I knew that Stephanie was having her C-section and knew I wanted to make her a special treat or dessert of her choice to bring to the hospital when I went (I do it with everyone because, like I said, any excuse to bake something I'm all for!) Steph told me before that she really liked Cinnamon Rolls & Pumpkin Cupcakes, so that part was the easiest :)

--I baked a fresh batch of Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes, using my own recipe found HERE, as well as a fresh batch of Cinnamon Rolls the night before her C-section (so they were nice and fresh and would be able to last the whole week she'd be in the hospital). 

 For her cinnamon rolls I was short on time and bought the Pillsbury ones you pop in the oven & bake for 15 minutes, however, next time I make Cinnamon Rolls, there is a recipe from my all-time favorite food-blogger Sweetapolita. She has an amazing Cinnamon Roll Recipe here that I've been dying to try! But anyways back to the kit (space-kadet here); I packaged up her goodies once they cooled and added them in the kit and, Vuala! It was complete! 

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Once the Kit was all done & put together, it was time time to add the Printables! (Because presentation is everything!) And the cute printables that Jen added in her blog made the whole package that much more perfect & complete! Here is what the Kit looks like once complete, along with the link so you can download and print the printables for your own kit!

 Once you get your printables cut out and added to your bag, your Kit is complete! 

& There it is folks: An overview of "The Hospital Survival Kit for New Mommys"

Oh and, with her permission, Here's some picture of Stephanie's stay at the hospital with her (now one-week-old) newborn, Zoey Grace<3

The glowing mama before her C-section

Congratulations again to the Woolery family! Much love to Stephanie, Teddy & Eden (Who's now a big sister!)

Here's a picture of the Kit once it was open & getting enjoyed!

Here's a picture of me meeting Baby Zoey, she's such a little princess<3

I hoped this help you with coming up with a fun & personal idea for something to do for someone special who's planning on a stay in the hospital. It doesn't have to just be for Expecting-Mom's, it could really be for any person who's going to be staying in the hospital! I definitely will be doing this for all my friends now, as I found my special "tradition" :)