Pregnant with our second child I have come to the realization that pregnant moms get so much free stuff without even asking for it, it’s insane! Things start coming in the mail, you get free baby items in the bottom of your shopping bag, it’s like everyone knows you are pregnant before it has even really sunk in with you yet. Baby commercials will start popping out at you and your Facebook ads draw you into buying Christmas pajamas for your whole family…true story, we are set with matching Christmas pajamas this year. Yikes.
Here are some things I received while pregnant, and you can expect, without really expecting anything…
1. First visit hospital bag— After my first hospital visit I came home with a bag filled with information, the book What to Expect When You’re Expecting, prenatal samples, nursing pads, pacifiers, and coupons galore. I also found a single newborn sized diaper, so small and delicate. It made me bawl my eyes out. We were really having a baby and its small hiney would fit into this very diaper someday soon. Oh, the emotions while pregnant.
2. Formula samples started coming to my doorstep. I mean big samples, and not just one — boxes of samples! Yes, we did formula for our first child — and once I told my doctor that was our decision I must have been put on some sort of Enfamil/Similac watch list. I felt like the next day there was something already in the mail.
3. People love pregnant mommas. They just do, and they tend to give you all their old baby items that are collecting dust in their homes. Again, without even asking I would come home from work with carloads of baby swings, never used diapers, hand-me-down clothing — you name it, they gave it. Accept it with open arms and be so thankful for the generosity— there will rarely be times in life where this happens!
4. Watch out. Your mailbox is about to be filled with coupons. Free baby sling, poppy pillow, canopy cover, $50 towards formula — I felt like it was endless. So endless that it did not do its purpose as they stacked on my counter and I was overwhelmed and never did anything with them. So use them or at least know they are coming to get a better deal on that car seat or stroller you have had your eye on!
5. Best find yet— I recently bought some maternity clothes at Motherhood Maternity, one item being a Green Bay Packer maternity shirt because well, every pregnant lady in Wisconsin needs to extend her Packer wardrobe even while pregnant. As I checked out the lady asked if I wanted to sign up for free magazines for a year. I said, “no thank you,” that I didn’t want to deal with subscriptions and remembering to cancel etc. She said that there was NO strings attached. I literally could just fill out my address and they send you family, motherhood, baby magazines for the year. No catch. I did it and it has been wonderful so far! Who doesn’t like to get fun mail?!
6. Upon opening my bag of new clothes from Motherhood Maternity I then discovered a free baby bottle at the bottom of my bag and go figure, more coupons for everything baby under the sun. But the bottle was really neat as I did not like the bottles we used for baby #1 — they just didn’t work great and I was looking for an alternative. I can now use this sample bottle to see if baby #2 is game or not before buying a batch of them.
7. Post delivery hospital room samples— I did not expect this. We came to the hospital with 20 diapers, wipes, everything we would ever need. Turns out, this is the PRIME opportunity for companies to give you MORE free samples. We came home with more diapers, pacifiers, wipes, formula etc. It was baby product paradise and the last time in life that you will be bombarded with free things for your taking. Take the samples, that is what they are there for. My nurse made me take everything home and said I would be silly not to, so I listened.
Neat right? Unexpected, needed, and appreciated! So if you are expecting for the first time you now know to expect fun things, without even asking! Take advantage of it.
