Turcotte Twins: Our Time at the General

This post needs to start off with a HUGE Thank You to the amazing nurses that helped us during our five day stay at the hospital. We were so overwhelmed by our new responsibility and the nursing staff did an amazing job of making sure we knew what we were doing and felt confident doing it before we left the hospital. From making sure Shawn had somewhere to sleep when he stayed with me every day and night (God bless him!) to taking the girls one night to the nursing station so Shawn and I could get some much needed sleep, our experience at the General was fantastic!

Packing for the Hospital:
We packed a bag for the girls filled with baby necessities such as diapers, wipes, onesies and sleepers. Then we packed a bag for us with all the essentials for staying away from home! Having the two different bags made finding and organizing things so much easier. I also brought my breast pump to the hospital so I could talk to the lactation consultant about how to use it. Many thanks to my university gal pal Jenn for giving me her breast pump. I used a Medela Swing and found it very easy to use.

The best things I packed: My Contigo thermos, great for water and keeping my tea warm. It was the best thing because it doesn't leak and I could stay in my resting position in bed and still grab a drink. Nursing tank tops were another great packing item which allowed me to be comfortable while breast feeding for the first few times.

What I wish we knew ahead of time.....how hard it is to get the meconium (dark, tar-like poo) off a newborn's bum! A few days after they were born, we ran into a couple we met at our Prenatal Class, who told us they put vaseline on their baby's bottom to make it easier to get this poo off!! If you're expecting...you need to add vaseline to your hospital bag!!!

The best thing about those many days in the hospital were the countless number of friends and family that came to visit us and the girls! If you're going to visit new parents at the hospital, do what many of our visitors did and bring the parents food!! Hospital food can only be tolerated for so long and gifts or presents just add to the amount of packing and carrying to do when it's time to leave the hospital! We really appreciated receiving the gifts once we were home and everyone came to visit the girls!

Here is a few pictures of all the people who came to visit us at the hospital!