A Maternity Tour, Op Shops and Baby Things

Wyld Man and I went to the Adelaide Women's and Children's Hospital for the maternity tour today. I should have gone earlier, but things just got delayed till now. Pregnant women booked to give birth at the Women's and Children are encouraged early on to go on the tour so that we know where to go when labour starts, or in case of an emergency.

We thought we wouldn't be able to make it at 9am on time, but we did, AND we found a free park for an hour right across the hospital.  The tour started a little late, but the guide, Cynthia gave us quite a thorough round of the place. I had thought that if I went into labour to go to emergency, but the correct place to go was Triage at the Women's Assessment Unit where the midwife assesses which stage of labour a woman was in and then sends her to the the correct department.  We were shown the labour rooms and birthing centre, postnatal wards, nursery, the women's antenatal clinic, ultrasound department, etc. It was an impressive hospital, very clean and up-to-date with the latest technology. The labour rooms were like hotel suites! They even had spas for a new mum to pamper herself after birth, or for having a water birth.

In the middle of the tour we saw a newborn baby being wheeled to the nursery, and all the people in the tour group started cooing and ah-ing over it. I had hoped that we would be able to see some babies in the nursery, but security was very tight, and only parents and family were allowed in-as it should be.

(I stopped my blog here and saved it on the 18th on Monday-and I only continued the rest of the entry on the 19th, so any "todays" you see in this post is the 18th.)

Anyways, it was a busy day for me. I went to several opshops today and found a few gems. I had planned to go to Baby Target at Golden Grove Village to get some things on sale. But there were several opshops on the way. The first one I went to was at Salvos at Payneham on Payneham Road. I bought a white checked men's shirt at size 40.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="White Men's Checked Shirt"][/caption]

I thought that Wyld Man might like it. But if he didn't, I'll use it as a breastfeeding top. Aud 6.99 from Salvos.

I also got a Reader's Digest Microwave Cookbook at AUD4.99-lovely colour pictures and step by step instructions.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Reader's Digest Microwave Cookbook"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Picture Recipe Index-all the recipes are listed on the first few pages in pictures."][/caption]

I had gotten a 1971 edition of the Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing at an op shop in Victor Harbor and was very impressed by the content. So I'm on the lookout for more RD Complete Guides  To books.

There was an Anne of Ingleside book by Lucy Maud Montgomery going for AUD1.99 which I also got. I'm a huge Anne of Green Gables fan.

The best things from that Salvos shop though was a stack of fabric they had in their remnant basket-and it wasn't tiny scraps of remnants either. Minimum 1.5 m of fabric in a bundle-all for AUD1.99. I bought a whole stack to add to my growing stash.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Op Shop Fabric Stash"][/caption]

That's at least 20 m of fabric, for a total of only AUD 20! There was floral corduroy, cotton jersey, stretchy 2-way knits (which are expensive at Spotlight), floral seersucker, marine blue cotton drill, white crepe/georgette, and white nylon woven.

My next stop was at Vinnies at Felixstow on Payneham Road. Here I snagged a bargain on pregnancy and baby books. I had a What to Expect When You're Expecting book by Heidi Murkoff which I bought at AUD39.99. I didn't know that there was a subsequent book called What to Expect The First Year, which I assume would also retail at about that price, but here was selling at AUD3.50! Really stoked about it.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="What To Expect The First Year"][/caption]

Another book I got at AUD 3.50 was Your Baby and Child by Penelope Leach, which I read through later when I got home and really liked. It's written in a conversational tone and is quite unlike the one above, which is arranged in a question and answer form with textboxes of information.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Your Baby and You by Penelope Leach"][/caption]

Here also I got a couple of cot sheets fro AUD 3.50 (a pair), and a whole lot of clothes I intend to breastfeed in. The clothes were in wonderful condition and all were selling for AUd 6.99-which I thought was rather pricey for an opshop, but still- I liked the style and condition they were in and it's still a fraction of what I would pay retail.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="SuzanneGrace Lavender Wrap top"][/caption]

This is a perfect top for breastfeeding. And it looked like it has never been worn too! Just fell in love with it the minute I saw it.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Blue-Green breezy top in chiffon fabric."][/caption]

Loved this top as well-but I had to make a tiny alteration to the straps that held up the light blue fabric inside the top-it was dropping down too much.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Yellow button up blouse"][/caption]

This top is made of burnout fabric with buttons. A bit see through-here I'm wearing a cami underneath. But I just love the fabric. And it's perfect  for breasfeeding too! Here's what I plan to do to dress it up a bit.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Yellow Top Embelished with Brown Satin Ribbon"][/caption]

Here's a Miller's yellow shirt what I plan to use as jammies at the hospital. It's super comfy.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Miller's Yellow Shirt"][/caption]

And I got this pink men's shirt too as a breastfeeding top.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Pink Men's Shirt"][/caption]

Hmm...spent a bit more than I planned at op shops. But I figure I won't be opshopping much when the baby's here. Better to get things now than later.

Here's what I got from Baby Target at Golgen Grove Village.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Fisher Price Sounds and Lights Baby Monitor"][/caption]

On sale at AUD 65.00 from a RRP of AUD99.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Baby Grooming Set."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Baby bottles, sippy cups and extra teats"][/caption]

The bottles are made of glass, which are hard to find, as everything is made of plastic nowadays.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Baby Bath Ramp"][/caption]

I'm terrified of letting the baby slip into the water.  Hopefully this will help.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Nappy pail with lid. Very important for all those cloth nappies."][/caption]

And here's my overnight bag which I packed a few days ago, all ready to go.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="639" caption="Overnight Bag"][/caption]

Hopefully I won't be using it too late or too early. Hey Wyld Child, mama needs you to come on time ok?