bishop&holland

Dallas Fashion Blog

What’s in My Hospital Bag

I can’t believe we are in the final countdown to baby! I’ve been nesting like crazy and I’ve finally gotten around to getting my hospital bag stuff together and ready to throw in my bag when needed!

Caleb was out of town earlier this week and now that he’s back home, I can relax knowing he won’t miss the birth of our baby! I don’t expect the baby to come earlier than my induction date, but you never know. We are busy wrapping up a few things and enjoying our time with the boys before they meet their new sibling!

With this being our third time having a baby, I still believe a less is more approach is best for the hospital. If all goes smoothly, I pray we just have to spend one night in the hospital. We had the option with Henry, but he started choking on amniotic fluid and, on the nurses advice, we decided to stay put for the second night. I plan to bring two sets of pajamas in case, but this is what’s in my hospital bag this time around!

What’s in My Hospital Bag

Clothing

  • Pajamas: I love something soft and nursing friendly for the hospital. Cosabella has the softest pajamas. I plan on bringing this blue and white set and this nursing friendly nightie – hoping we only stay one night, but I’m prepared if we’re there for two!
  • Nursing Bras: My absolute favorite nursing bras are from Cosabella. I did a refresh and ordered a white, blush and blue to get me through those first few months!
  • Headband: I love this new floral headband and I think it’s just the thing to keep my hair out of my way and still look cute for visitors.
  • Going home: I ordered this striped maxi dress in blue and love that’s nursing friendly to wear home from the hospital.

Toiletries

  • Skincare: I plan to bring a few favorites like the intense hydrating mask to wear overnight, my favorite serum and eye cream. (You can see some of our favorite skincare products here)
  • Cleansing wipes: I decided to bring these face wipes to wash my face at night and in the morning – you never know just how exhausted you’ll be and I love the option of not having to get out of bed to clean my face.
  • Chapstick: This lip balm is so hydrating and adds just a little bit of color.
  • Makeup: I feel better after delivery with a little make-up on, so I will bring my five minute make-up routine.
  • Earth Mama nipple butter: I’ll start to use this balm in the hospital to help with the initial pains of breastfeeding.
  • Nursing pads: In case my milk comes in, I’ll bring a few of these lanolin free nursing pads.

For Baby

  • Going home outfit: While we’re in the hospital, I typically keep the baby swaddled in the hospital blankets, so will just pack a going home outfit. Henry wore this darling debut set a lot when he was a newborn, so we have one blue and one pink for this baby, depending on the gender!
  • Blanket: Blue or pink polka dots depending on gender.
  • Car seat: We got the MESA car seat in a pretty blue/gray color for this baby!

Misc.

  • iPhone Charger: With an extra long cord to reach the hospital plugs.
  • GH Mumm: Having a baby is to be celebrated and we plan to toast our new baby just like we did for William and Henry and my parents did for my brother and me! We always bring GH Mumm to continue the tradition.
  • Pink/Blue Bubblegum Cigars: Once baby is here, Caleb heads to the waiting room to announce the gender – always with blue (or pink) cigars to pass out!

Cheers,

Stia, Jean and Katherine

How the Third Pregnancy is Different

pregnant woman holding toddler with toddler on the beach

ric rac swim top // ric rac bottoms // sunglasses // hat

  • mom holding toddler at the beach
  • mom and her toddler kissing on beach

blue and white striped top // blue and white striped bottoms // ruffle top // mint bottoms

It Goes so Fast

Wow – I can’t believe we are now on “baby watch.” We found out that we were expecting Baby #3 around Halloween and now we’re so close to meeting our baby! The third pregnancy goes so fast. It must be because having two older kids occupies your time/thoughts. Sometimes I had to think really hard how many weeks I was, etc., because there is so much to focus on rather than the pregnancy itself.

Harder on Your Body

I’m not sure if it’s because my body has already done it twice or that I’m older than the first two times, but the third pregnancy has been much harder on my body. When I was pregnant with Henry, my OB told me that you start to feel everything sooner with each pregnancy and she was right!

You Don’t Worry about Loving the Next Child as Much

When I only had one baby that I was crazy about, I wondered how I could possibly love the next as much. I worried about it constantly while I was pregnant with Henry! After Henry was born, I realized it’s comes naturally to love the next one just as much as your first. And, this pregnancy I haven’t thought once if I could love our next one as much. I just know the way I feel about William and Henry will be multiplied by three!

Pregnancy is Still Just as Much of a Miracle

I may not have known what was developing at every exact moment in time, like when I was pregnant with my first, but I am fully aware that pregnancy is still just as much of a miracle as the first time. I’ve learned to appreciate my changing body, that each week baby has been growing and developing and just what an amazing a miracle and blessing it is.

Give Yourself Grace

With two toddlers to take care of, I’ve learned that you have to be willing to give yourself grace. Being pregnant is hard work and then having two little ones to care for on top of it means that some things get put on the back burner. My babies are always my top priority, along with my husband. Everything else gets done when it gets done!

Hoping that this is helpful for any of you contemplating having a third. We are so excited to be family of five!

Cheers,

Stia, Jean & Katherine

Goyard Saint Louis GM Review

Goyard Saint Louis GM Review

I purchased my Louis Vuitton Neverfull before I started working at IBM in 2010. It was my first job out of college and I knew I wanted a great “work bag” that could be used for anything/everything. Fast forward 9 years later and I started looking for a replacement. I knew I didn’t want to buy the same bag over again, only because I’d been carrying that one for nine years, so I started to look for alternatives. I love that the Saint Louis GM is comparable size/shape to the LV Neverfull, which is perfect for carrying just about anything you need. I like that there are a lot of colors to choose from and that you can also personalize. Sharing my review below, but all in all – yes, I would buy it again! It’s a great, large bag that is low maintenance and holds everything I need on day-to-day basis!

Outfit Details

pink dress sold out (light pink or white available) // goyard tote bag // sunglasses // sandals

Goyard Saint Louis GM vs Louis Vuitton Neverfull

I got a lot of questions about the difference between the Goyard Saint Louis and the Neverfull tote bag. They are very similar bags – large totes, similar sizes and canvas logo bags. Each one comes with an inside pouch, that can be used separately, too.

As far as quality, they are both high quality bags – I just haven’t had my Goyard long enough to really know how the white will hold up. I think the canvas material feels nicer on the LV Neverfull – the Goyard feels a little more like plastic. The Goyard doesn’t stand up on it’s own, it’s more of a slouchy bag.

Also, there isn’t an inside zipper pocket, so I use a clear Truffle bag to stay somewhat organized. While the LV Neverfull has a clasp, the Goyard doesn’t have anything to keep it closed.

You do have a much larger selection of colors with the Goyard bags, but you pay more for a “special color” too. I prefer the personalization on the Goyard because you can choose how much/how little is done.

Price

The price of this bag in their “classic color”, which is black with brown or black straps, is in line with the LV Neverfull. But there are so many other color options and combinations to choose from and the price of the bag increases when you choose a “special color” (ie: anything other than the black/brown combo).

If you purchase this bag from outside of a state that has a boutique, there is no sales tax charged if you ship the bag home.

Personalization

You can pay extra to have your tote bag hand painted. It also adds to the time of delivery. Initials are $160, stripes are another $160 and if you do metallic, the price goes up even more. My bag took about 4 weeks from the time I purchased to the time it was delivered at home. I originally thought I wanted to do stripes, but I like the plain initials best on the white tote bag! For those asking, I did tan initials with white shadow.

How is the white holding up?

I ended up getting white because I just loved the look of it, especially for summer. I asked about care for white and the sales associate said baby wipes will wipe pretty much anything right off. She did mention to be careful when wearing jeans, because there is a risk of color transfer with the white. The straps are still the same white as when I got it a month ago – and I’ve worn it everyday since then!

Where to Buy

Goyard is only found at Bergdorfs or Barneys in New York, Neiman Marcus in Chicago or a Goyard Boutique. You can also find gently used on eBay or other sites. My husband surprised me with a trip to LA in March, where we picked out and ordered my bag at the Goyard boutique.

Similar Options

Cheers,

Stia, Jean and Katherine