My Hospital Bag Packing List

Pajama set: PinkBlush (c/o)
Luggage Bag: Away / Tote: Longchamp / Packing Cubes: Amazon
Nursery Items: Glider: DaVinci Glider / Crib: Babyletto / Mattress: Newton / Crib Sheet: Pottery Barn / Elephant Photos: Etsy - VTDesigns

By popular demand today I’m sharing what I packed in my hospital bag! I never realized how important it is to pack a hospital bag I honestly never gave it much thought but these days it’s been all that I can think about! It’s recommended that you have your bags packed by 36 weeks in case baby comes early (and even earlier in other circumstances) and of course I procrastinated and packed it at 37 weeks - at least packing a bag is something you can control and be prepared with!

I packed everything in my Away carryon suitcase and used these packing cubes from Amazon to keep everything organized. I split my items up into Labor & Delivery versus Postpartum. It’ll make things easier when packing up to switch rooms.

Labor & Delivery

Things in your labor and delivery bag should be whatever makes you comfortable before giving birth!

• ID, Insurance Card & Birth Plan

• Big waterbottle and liquids to drink (I packed coconut water and broth)

• For labor I purchased my own maternity gown from Amazon (I know it’ll get dirty and am planning on throwing it out after). I also have anti-slip socks and slippers to walk around in.

• So many of you recommended a small fan (like a stroller fan) as well as a heat pack and an ice pack. During our childbirth classes the instructor also recommended to bring a couple of washcloths that you can place on your forehead and also a tennis ball to massage your back along with massage lotion/oils.

• Toiletrees (more below) but also pack chapstick (I heard from multiple people that your lips get very chapped!) and mouthwash

• Entertainment -Magazine, Books, Camera mines is the Canon G7x Mark III, extra long phone charger, Ipad and Laptop

• Barefoot Dreams Blanket & Pillow

Postpartum

• Maternity Robe from PinkBlush (c/o)

• Sleepshirts/Nightgowns - I bought this nursing dress from Target and this sleepshirt by Eberjey both in dark colors (here’s a similar sleepshirt from Target).

• Cozy pajamas - These cozy pajamas from Target I bought with buttons down the front also in a dark color

• Cardigan - In case it’s chilly and/or to cover up with

• Toiletrees - I packed my makeup kit and travel size deodorant, facewash, facewipes, bodywash, shampoo, conditioner, dry shampoo, etc. Also a plastic bag to put dirty clothes in.

• Shower Flip Flops

• Nursing Tanks (on sale!), Nursing Bras, Nipple cream and Nursing Pillow

• I also packed the Frida Mom peri bottle since it’s better than what the hospital provides and was also recommended the Frida Mom disposable underwear (since they are much better than the mesh underwear that the hospital provides). The hospital will also provide the rest of the things (Dermoplast spray, Tucks pads, Ice packs) so I didn’t bother packing those.

• Sleepmask - I was told that it’s important to try to get some rest and that the nurses will consistently come in and out of the room to check up on you and baby

• Bath Towel - The hospital has towels but they’re thin and small.

• Going home outfit - I purchased these dark joggers from Target and this maternity top (I heard wearing a dress is better for the ride home but it’s also going to be the middle of December and I don’t want to catch a cold!)

• Thank you gift cards - To the wonderful nurses who will be helping us during our stay at the hospital

Baby

• Clothing: 2 Onesies (two different sizes), Blanket, Going home outfit and Pacifier

• Newborn mittens & Nail cutter/filer - Some babies come out with long nails!

• Letterboard/Announcement items

• Car Seat

Support Person (Husband)

• Clothing

• Toiletries

• Entertainment

• Snacks

• Pillow/Blanket

If you packed something that’s not on this list that was helpful, please let me know in the comments! Thanks so much for reading!

PinkBlush Black Friday Sale + Giveaway

Hope everyone is ready for the upcoming holidays! One thing I love to do this time of year is shopping and scoring a great deal for Black Friday. Since I’m also pregnant (I’m currently at 36 weeks) I’ve opted to do all my shopping online and it’s honestly been so convenient. One of my favorite brands, PinkBlush (a brand for maternity and beyond), is having one of the largest sales of the year for Black Friday! If you’ve been following me on Instagram, they are the same brand that gifted me the adorable and cozy MAMA sweatshirt I wore in October to a fun day at Linvilla Orchards (blog post here).

PinkBlush Black Friday Sale Details

PinkBlush is having the largest sale of the year for BlackFriday offering up to 50% off sitewide (50% off clearance, 40% off dresses, 30% off bottoms & jumpsuits, 25% off tops, sleep, and robs) as well as free shipping to U.S. and Canada on all orders beginning November 22 through November 29 with code BLACKFRIDAY. PinkBlush has a huge selection of maternity clothes such as such as dresses, sweaters, pants, delivery robes and so much more - all at affordable prices (they also have non maternity items!).

Today I am teaming up with PinkBlush to bring you three looks which are all perfect for the holiday season.

Sweater Dress: Black Knit Off Shoulder Maternity Midi Dress

At 36 weeks pregnant it’s hard to find a dress for the holidays that is stylish yet comfortable at the same time. This knit off the shoulder midi dress from PinkBlush checks off all the boxes. I also love the off the shoulder detail and am definitely going to wear this for the upcoming holidays! Also, how cute is the baby bump in this knit dress?

Sweater: Heather Grey Soft Knit V-Neck Scalloped Trim Maternity Sweater

This casual look is another one that I love. This gray sweater is very soft and has a beautiful v-neck with scalloped trim. This outfit just screams cozy and can be worn all day from running errands to lounging at home with family. It’s perfect to pair with leggings and boots.

Sweater: Waverleigh Ivory Balloon Sleeve Boat Neck Knit Maternity Sweater

Last, but not least, this cozy ivory balloon sweater is perfect for a growing belly! This sweater is definitely one of the most softest tops I own and I love how you can dress this sweater up or down. I wore this look on the way to a holiday brunch in the city paired with leggings and over-the-knee boots.

PinkBlush $75 Giveaway

If the news about the PinkBlush Black Friday sale wasn’t amazing enough, to help you with your holiday shopping, I’ve partnered with PinkBlush to give one of my lucky readers a $75 gift card! The giveaway is being run on my Instagram account today (11/24) and closes at 12PM EST tomorrow (11/25) and is open internationally.

Below are the giveaway rules:

1. Follow me @MyGoldenBeauty and @pinkblushmaternity on Instagram

2. “Like” the photo with the giveaway on my Instagram account @MyGoldenBeauty

3. Tag a friend in the comments section in the photo with the giveaway on my Instagram account @MyGoldenBeauty (Each comment counts as one entry!)

Anyone who has won a @pinkblushmaternity or @shoppinkblush giveaway within the last 6 months is not eligible to win.

Thank you to Pink Blush for sponsoring this post.

Our Neutral Themed Baby Shower

Today I’m so excited to share with you some photos from my baby shower a little over a week ago at the Moshulu in Philadelphia, PA! It was truly a special day and I feel so grateful to be able to celebrate our baby boy with our closest friends even in the middle of a pandemic! My heart goes out to all the mommas out there who weren’t able to do baby shower - bringing a baby into this world should be a time to celebrate and it’s really unfortunate.

We did do a virtual baby shower for my family the day before our baby shower since my family is in Connecticut and with the pandemic we didn’t think it would be a good idea to have everyone travel to Philadelphia. I will be doing a separate blog post on how to throw a virtual shower next week so keep a lookout for that!

So onto our baby shower. We wanted to switch things up from the traditional baby shower (which can honestly be soo boring)! We just wanted our friends to come, enjoy, eat, drink and celebrate Baby C! We did our baby shower on a Sunday during the day time and it was a brunch event filled with brunch food (I’m still thinking about the french toast and waffles… YUM) and open bar brunch drinks. With the pandemic and the regulations we were lucky to able to find the perfect venue which was at the deck at the Moshulu so everyone was able to socially distance themselves since we had the entire top deck. The weather was luckily on our side and was beautiful even for a fall day in the middle of October!

For the baby shower I opted for a neutral palette so I chose to decorate with white, gold and green. I also wanted to do something different than the traditional blue for baby boy. The colors we picked perfectly complimented the space.

For the table decor we kept things simple with some DIY action! We went to Trader Joes the day before and bought all the white hydrangeas, roses, and eucalyptus we could find. Then in the evening my sister in law came over (and brother and their adorable dog Taco!) and helped put the arrangements together. We put the arrangements on top of gold runners and added a few candles.

This balloon garland was the perfect addition to the space. We used a local Philadelphia vendor Charming Garlands by Ali (Instagram page HERE) and she was more than accommodating and such a pleasure to work with! I sent her a photo of our welcome sign and she took that as the inspiration and created the most beautiful balloon garland structure for our baby shower! They’re also so much fun for photos so they double as a huge decoration and a photo backdrop for you and your guests. I was really happy with the way it turned out and highly recommend them.

The baker at the Moshulu made the cake for us and it came out so pretty! I wanted to keep things simple with a white cake with gold 3D flowers. The cake topper I bought from Etsy from a company called the Lancaster Laser Company.

My Outfit: Dress: ASOS Maternity / Heels: JustFab / Jewelry: Teardrop Earrings
Hubby’s Outfit: Blazer & Shirt: Custom from Indochino / Jeans: Diesel

Since we weren’t doing blue decor I did want to wear blue in honor of Baby Boy. I opted for this sparkly navy maternity dress from ASOS Maternity. The hubby wore a custom jacket paired with dark blue jeans and a pocket square. I love how our outfits complimented each other perfectly!

Here are the vendors we used I highly recommend all of them!

Venue: Moshulu
Food: Moshulu
Cake: Moshulu
Cake Topper: Lancaster Laser Co
Photography: Ryan Jones (Instagram page HERE)
Balloon Decor: Charming Garlands by Ali (Instagram page HERE)
Floral Arrangements: DIY (Flowers from Trader Joe’s)
Table Runners: Amazon
Welcome Sign: Adore Paper Company
My Outfit: ASOS Maternity

Below are some dresses that would be perfect for your baby shower!

Tiered Pink Ruffle Dress

Dress: Maje Dress by OPT / Heels: JustFab

I am so thankful for all the kind wishes, love and support from everyone over the last week! I’ve received an overwhelming amount of calls, texts and messages congratulating us on our pregnancy announcement! Not only that, but over the weekend the hubby and I celebrated our 6 Year Wedding Anniversary! These past 6 Years have been nothing short of amazing and I can’t wait to see what the rest of our lives have in store!

I also wanted to show you the outfit I wore for our anniversary and felt it was perfect for the occasion. How girly and fun are the ruffles on this dress? I’m trying to soak in the last few days of the warm weather before fall is upon us and then we’ll all be wearing sweaters and leggings!

I linked a few similar styles below.