I love going to the Baby Aisle at Target. You know the Baby Aisle – the one with diapers down the entire 40′ section on one side, and baby food/formula/wipes/bath wash/lotion on the other side. I know it well, as it is probably my most-visited area of the store, aside from the milk section. Anyway, while I hate to go to the Baby Aisle for the ringing of the “cha ching” in my ears (Enfamil Gentlease Formula – $25.69, Pampers Cruisers Size 3 – $28.99, Pampers Baby Dry Size 5 – $26.49, Aveeno Baby Wash & Shampoo – $7.99), a different part of me loves going there because invariably I meet someone new who either has a cute baby or clearly Needs Advice (which I love to give).

On a recent day, I saw a stunningly beautiful woman there who was obviously in the Needs Advice category.

She was dressed in a beautiful taupe suit, high heels, thin, with her long black hair worn down. She held one of those wireless scanner devices in her hand and I was struck by how out of place she looked; after all, its been a long time since I’ve seen a woman without a ponytail or hat, rumpled clothes, and “sensible” shoes in the Baby Aisle. Then she turned to the side and I understood. She was an expectant mom, with a cute little basketball tummy. And she was very clearly confused and frustrated as she stared at the wall of diapers.

After I got over the shock that someone pregnant would wear (or be able to wear) those high of heels, buy a suit that looked that nice (I lived in stretchy black pants and stretchy tops), and look that good (my hands and ankles resembled sausages from about month 4 onwards in both my pregnancies), I thought maybe I could help.

So I struck up a conversation.

Me: When are you due?

Her: In September.

Me: Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?

Her: It’s a boy.

Me: Oh! I have two boys. They are wonderful! You will love it!!

Her: (Looking a little like she doesn’t believe me) Can I ask you a question?

Me: Sure! (Yes, I do generally talk with exclamation points, so I’m not exaggerating. Plus, I love giving advice. Why else would I have a blog and be starting a web-site that’s based on reviews?)

Her: Well, I’m trying to do my registry. How many diapers do you think I need?

Me: (I’m thinking….Yes, she really does Need Advice, but then I remembered I hadn’t even contemplated diapers until the week before my due date with my first baby, so I was cheering her for her planning ahead. What I told her was:…) Oh, you’re going to need a lot of diapers, so you shouldn’t worry about registering for too many, as long as you’ve registered for other stuff you need as well.

Her: How many will I need?

Me: (I blink. Hard. And gulp.) Well, you’ll need a lot.

Her: (She’s starting to look at me with a wild-eyed expression.) How many is a lot?

Me: (I am feeling a little uncomfortable now. I’m not used to gorgeous, pregnant women with impossibly glossy hair looking at me with such wild eyes. So I do what I do every time I get nervous: talk. A lot.) Well, if you assume you’re going to feed the baby every 2-3 hours, and each one of those will probably need a diaper change, that’s 10 – 12 diapers/day. But then, especially with boys, you have the occasional accidents while you’re changing a diaper, so you may need more than that. So easily you’ll go through almost a hundred a week.

At that, I thought she was going to drop the scanning device right there on the floor along with her bottom lip.

I think this was the first time she had done the math on diapers. She didn’t say a word, just turned on her heel and walked off.

I wish I could have had a chance to tell her:

Yes, that’s a lot of diapers. But really, it’s not a big deal. And I had never changed a diaper in my life before Jack, so I even say that with no prior experience. Plus, the great thing about changing diapers is you get to kiss your baby! You get to tickle and cuddle and kiss his belly button and love on them. So, you’ll love changing diapers - or, at least you’ll love it after the meconium passes.

But then, if she was that surprised about the number of diapers she’d be changing each day, I’m sure she wasn’t aware of meconium, nor the future surprises of how a baby’s poop changes so dramatically based on breast milk vs. formula, so it was probably a good thing she walked away at that point. I just hoped she’d look up a few more things in “What to Expect: Baby’s First Year” when she got home.

Or, maybe, put it on her baby registry.

By the way, if you are in the Needs Advice category, or just want to see what’s new in baby gear, check out my entry: Having a Baby? The 5 Things You Need in the Hospital, and the 36 Things You Need when you Get Home.

So that’s how I ended up in the hospital to have my first child with two suitcases and a backpack.

Unarmed with information, I brought everything I thought I could possibly need – clothes for me, clothes for the baby, tons of reading material (mostly work-related, ha ha), iPod, laptop, blackberry, a journal to capture those wonderful first moments, etc. This was all packed and ready to go at a moment’s notice – in week 35 of my pregnancy.

Oh, the benefit of experience. With my second pregnancy, I packed the one and only bag in week 39.

I took FIVE things only – and here’s what they were:

1. Old work-out socks. I’m not going to go into all the details here, but trust me on this: you will not want to wear any of your own clothes while you are actually in the hospital. The hospital gown works just fine for nursing and sleeping. You are going to be so exhausted, the thought of changing clothes will tire you out, anyway. All you need are socks, and bring your oldest pair that are still good enough to wear in semi-public but that you don’t care about throwing away if needed.

2. A robe With my first delivery, I wouldn’t have even needed this because I didn’t leave my room the entire time (my entire stay was less than 48 hours). However, with the c-section, I was in the hospital longer and they were more diligent about me roaming the halls. So, for decency’s sake, a robe was necessary. Target has some great options!

3. Clothes to go home in. When you have the baby, you lose a lot of weight – the weight of the baby, the placenta, a lot of fluid, etc. But, even with fewer pounds on you to lug home, you will need maternity clothes to go home in, because it will be a while before your joints and body shift back into position (I’m kind of wondering if they ever will). Don’t let anyone sell you on “transition” clothes for going home; if your maternity clothes actually end up being too big for the trip, count yourself as one of the lucky few.

4. Clothes for the baby to go home in. While the baby will be quite happy in his hospital t-shirt and blanket for the time he’s in the hospital, the hospital really doesn’t want you to take the baby home dressed in their property (although your baby wouldn’t care). But, you probably want to get some cute pictures of the baby in his car seat for the first time, and in your home for the first time, so an outfit for their memories is a good idea.

5. Something to read (or your laptop). Neither one of my labors were long (with Jack, my first, I only had 4 hours in the hospital before he was born; 2nd one with Luke was an elective c-section, so labor was nonexistent), so I didn’t even need either of these before delivery. And after delivery, you are a) so tired and sleepy, b) trying to nurse/feed a baby who’s very tired and sleepy, and/or c) so overwhelmed by the astounding experience you’ve just had, that somehow reading your latest O Magazine or the news on CNN.com doesn’t seem remotely appealing.

Now, armed with more information, you can pack confidently for what will be one of the most important days of your life.

This post is dedicated to Baby Abigail Theresa.