I am getting my list ready, and starting to gather the items for my hospital bag. Here is my list so far. What is in/will be in yours?
~nursing pads (couple pairs of disposable)
~nursing bra
~lanolin
~new toothbrush (I always buy a new one, and throw away my old one after I come home...)
~travel sized toothpaste
~travel sized shampoo/conditioner
~travel sized body wash
~disposable razor
~recieving blanket and outfit for the baby
~nursing pajamas to wear after I clean up/shower after the birth. (hate hospital gowns!)
~couple pairs of socks
~loose outfit to wear home (t-shirt, sweats, etc.)
~underwear
~feminine pads
~a couple of small makeup items (like a light toned or nude lipstick or gloss, light cream/beige eyeshadow) not as much as I normally wear, but enough to feel a little better about my appearance afterwards when everyone visits and takes photos.
~a hair clip and comb to keep my hair back and neat
~list of everyone's phone numbers who would need to be informed
~camera
Hi, I am Tanya...is this your first one? Congrats either way. Trying to loss weight to have another one.
Well, I would bring a couple of changes of clothes for the little one. Bibs, burp rag, Robe for you, slippers. I would also pack extra clothes for you too...you never know. Oh, hat for the baby, I know it is summer but babies need that stuff. Hair stuff to keep your hair back during the birthing.
I think that is all I can think of. May pillows and a special blanket from home.
I am looking forward to having another...I loved being pregnant...it's the best.
No, this will be my third. I have learned to pack a little "lighter" each time around. I think with my first baby I could have stayed there for a week we had so much stuff packed.
I packed a robe with the last two, and used them a little-but it was April and mid-September at those times. This time it will be early-mid August, and around here that usualy translates to 80-95 degrees, so I wasn't planning on packing the robe...
In the past, I also ended up just keeping the hospital receiving blanket and t-shirt on the babies until it was time for the hospital photographer, and time to go home-so I really never needed more than the going home outfit. Some like to dress their babies up as soon as they are bathed, though.
I breastfeed as well, so I never really use bibs, either, until they start on cereal/baby food a few months down the road. For some reason, they just don't seem to make the "mess" when they nurse, like they do when they get a bottle of formula. (I am not sure why that is-but I can only assume it is because of the faster flow of the bottle nipple.)
Somehow, I always forgot toiletries! Portsmouth was good about providing them, but the civilian hospital here, though superior in every other regard, had only a soap dispenser on the wall of the shower, and towels so small they wouldn't even dry my hair!
I took:
Clothes to go home in.
Clothes to take the baby home in.
Receiving blanket.
Sockies. Even though they always swaddle the baby tightly, my experience has been that their little feet get cold. So I learned to take socks to put on the baby.
Wipes. They give you wipes, but I like mine better than the hospital's.
My digital camera.
Yarn, hooks, scissors, and stitch markers. I crocheted Esther 3 hats in the time we were there. I may have taken some patterns too, but I didn't actually use any of them.
Book.
Pen & paper. (I am such a nerd I made notes about the construction of the crocheted hat the hospital provided.)
Hairbrush. This is the one thing I make 100% certain I don't forget, after all but felting my hair the first time around because I left it in the car.
Deoderant.
Underwear.
Bra. (Haven't worn a nursing bra since the first one, and thankfully haven't needed pads either.)
I made very certain to leave my cellphone at home so I didn't get bothered by family members calling me constantly. Rob also lied & told everyone I didn't have a phone in my room.
I just have some basic toiletries (deodorant, toothpaste/new toothbrush, makeup, face cream, etc., etc.); knock-around bedtime-type clothes; clothes and receiving blanket for the baby; the basics. Also...snacks! I know they won't let me eat after my C-section and I am pretty sure I'm going to be starving. I know...there are reasons for these rules, but come on. I'll be going from midnight until 11:30 AM, almost 12 hours, before my surgery even starts, then it's an hour for all the surgery (C-section, tubal ligation), then 1/2-1 hour recovery, then I'm supposed to hang out until maybe early evening and still not eat? No way.
I am also taking with me:
* a support girdle to help with the C-section pain;
* books!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know...there are reasons for these rules, but come on. I'll be going from midnight until 11:30 AM, almost 12 hours, before my surgery even starts, then it's an hour for all the surgery (C-section, tubal ligation), then 1/2-1 hour recovery, then I'm supposed to hang out until maybe early evening and still not eat? No way.
My first daughter was born by c-section at 9:29 PM 1 March. I'd eaten breakfast at 8:30 that morning. Since I was on antiseizure meds, they didn't allow me to eat until 24 hours after my surgery! So I was over 36 hours without any food. I was ready to barbeque the nurse!
Really, most stuff you're not even going to need until someone brings it to you. If you want to change into your own nightgown right afterwards you'll need that, and of course whatever you might want during labor. Things like your going home clothes & the baby's, though, can be brought afterwards.
Really, most stuff you're not even going to need until someone brings it to you. If you want to change into your own nightgown right afterwards you'll need that, and of course whatever you might want during labor. Things like your going home clothes & the baby's, though, can be brought afterwards.
My only issue with that, is that if I sent my husband home and told him to pack me some toiletries, an outfit to wear home, and something for the baby to wear...it could be pretty scary.
I could easily end up with green sweats and a pink t-shirt, a bottle of Scope and red lipstick for toiletries, and the baby with a 12 months sized sleeper instead of the 3 months sized one.
I think y'all have about covered it. I'm like Aphil and the less the better. I also ditto midwife and bring you own pillows, especially if you are going to have a c-section and BF. I used mine to prop up on my left or right and use the football hold (it hurt to cradle) and the pillows were perfect to get baby right to boob and not put any strain on me.
As for the packing, I'll probably get mine packed sometime after the 4th of July, just in case. Most stuff in there would be items I don't need right now and that way if I were to have an emergency, Jeff would just have to grab my bag and not have to scrounge around for the items I would need.
As for the packing, I'll probably get mine packed sometime after the 4th of July, just in case. Most stuff in there would be items I don't need right now and that way if I were to have an emergency, Jeff would just have to grab my bag and not have to scrounge around for the items I would need.
I agree. I have some of the things packed already (just in case of emergency) and will finish it in the next 2-3 weeks, so that if I were to have an emergency, DH could just grab the bag without searching for anything, either.
Most of the things I packed I already have extras of-so I don't need them at home, etc. I already have a full sized box of nursing pads and a tube of lanolin at home, but I have a couple of individually wrapped free samples of these items that I packed into the bag for the trip. (I love the free sample sized products in that respect...)
I got a free sample of a new Dove deodorant in the mail a couple days ago, and deodorant was on my packing list-so it went into the bag as well. They take up less space and all, so it is great-and I can keep my "regular" stuff in our bathroom without having to worry about packing it.
I thought of something else you might want to include: If you are anal retentive like me and have someone who isn't shutter bug happy, might I suggest a checklist of all the pics you'd like of baby! I was so dissappointed when I started looking at the pics after William was born. I got one (just one) of Mom bringing him out of surgery to the nursery. Nothing of them cleaning him up and just a few of us in the room together. So I will be making me a list of all the shots I would like (I'm usually the one who takes 99% of the pictures.)
What are you packing in your hospital bag?
I have learned to pack a little "lighter" each time around. 
I think with my first baby I could have stayed there for a week we had so much stuff packed. 
Rob also lied & told everyone I didn't have a phone in my room.
