So ladies, what are your suggestions for helpful things to pack for the hospital? My husband has given me a lovely allowance to spend for things I'll need to take when I have this baby.
Last week I got my housecoat which feels like a warm hug of hot cocoa and fireplaces on rainy days. I also have a little outfit for baby. That's about all I got right now. My mom bought Nate massage oil so he can use it on me - but I've had some people tell me that I may not like a massage in labour, so we'll see.
Are there any things you brought that were super helpful? Or anything you wish you took with you?
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12 comments:
I never packed one. My labors were all to fast to really have needed anything in it anyway. I would recommend however, a nice comfy pair of pyjama's. Those nasty hospital scrubs aren't really what you want visitors to see you in, plus I always felt way better after a nice shower and getting into clean jammies.
Take your own pillow for sure. The hospital are terrible. Just make sure you use a colour other than white so it doesn't get mixed with theirs when the cleaners come. Bring your own pj's like R says. They are way better than those gowns which are brutal to nurse in. Did you say slippers or socks? I can't remember but bring some because bare feet on their floors isn't great either. I also suggest a cd player (not sure if your delivery room would have one) and cd's. Music helps. We didn't bring our own this last time and just brought the music but the player in the room was broken (we were at Women's) and they were chained down so we couldn't just switch it with the next room. I NEED music while in labour. It is a must. Maybe make a mixed cd with your favourite soothing songs. Nothing harsh.
Not that I would know at all, but I think Michelle's idea of music is great, but really think about what you will be playing. Make sure you have variety of bands, genres, etc... I was born to about 20 hours of Supertramp and somehow now every Supertramp song seems familiar to me despite growing up listening to mostly country music... Just a thought though, so if you feel like listening to Britney over and over, I guess just do what you have to do. :P
I brought music and never listened to it. It just felt weird to me to be grooving along. Although I love music.
The most important items are the following....
...obvious items for baby, clothes, a few diapers, etc... etc..
...for you
-pj's - extra comfy ones
-socks rather than slippers so you can change them frequently if needed
-PADS
-lotion - the air in hospitals can dry your hands, feet, everything out
-some light make-up especially lip gloss to make you feel like a lady
-if your a clean freak like me then clorox wipes (I cleaned everything before I touched it)
-gummy bears
-cheap slip on sandals from wal-mart for the shower (again part of the cleano freako in me)
-during labour your probably gonna be so excited/anxious that it really doesn't matter much if you forget something don't worry about it Nate can always get it for you later :)
I don't know if I would take my advice..but, pack light and don't spend the night if you don't have to. Forget the massage oil just hold my gas mask in place- and start inhaling before the contraction starts and pretend it has. Get an extra pair of the mesh undies from the hospital and have some water soaked maxi pads ready to go in your freezer. I also wore a black shirt under my gown, just so I looked good in the pictures right after.
remember I might not take my own advice if I weren't me:)
I have no idea what you should take except maybe my phone number so you can call me with the great news and I can come visit you with presents! Good luck with everything and congratulations!
Totally with DoubleDouble : )
Pack light, we took WAY too much for J's birth. I would say gum/mints, though.
Obviously camera/video camera and batteries
Some change for whatever (vending machines, parking, phone).
Take off your jewelry before and leave it at home.
I did the extra pair of mesh undies as well ; )
With J I bled A LOT so I had my dad give me some of those super long pads meant for incontinent people . .. I cut them in half and that solved that. A lot of women get the extra-absorbant, for size 14+ pads.
Diapers. They only like to give you 10 or so.
We expected N's birth to take a long time too so I had a small cooler packed with coke, trail mix for Matt, and a few other things.
And yeah, the hospital is a very unhealthy environment, get out fast if you can!
This last time, going to my sister's birth of twins, I brought a small cooler with 2 turkey sandwiches, gum, mints, I p/u a Starbucks on the way, water bottles (oh yes, bring those!), a book on bugs . . .
You might want to bring something to occupy yourself if you get an epidural and are sitting there just waiting for things to happen.
Deanna
Well everyone has said it already and the following is just my thoughts, but like Deanna and Suzanne, I would definately say spend as little time in the hospital as possible. With B I checked in and was there for 2 nights. Horrible. With G (and midwives) I labored at home until I ran out of hot water in the shower, checked in at 3 am, had G at 7;30 and left by 11:00. I would have left earlier but it took Dh too long to come back. My midwife joked that we used their hot water, their linens and then we were outta there. Snag as many humongous pads from the hospital as possible and definately some of those mesh undies... their not sexy but at that point, who cares. Freeze lots of wet pads, pack slippers as sometimes your ankles swell horrifically and socks are not an option, very comfy pj's cuz nothing will feel comfy otherwise and I think the shower sandals is a GREAT idea! A nursing bra if you are planning to BF. oh and easy to put on clothes for when you are ready to go.
It's pretty much all said but I would change one thing...instead of those silly mesh undies that they give you...bring your own underwear. You will be so much more comfortable and your own brand of pads.
Thanks for all your helpful suggestions! I wasn't expecting that many.. this is great. I guess I should have called it a "Labour bag" because I'm not planning on staying in the hospital at all. One of my cousins is usually in and out and hasn't stayed overnight unless the baby was born in the middle of the night.
I had some pretty yucky contractions this am where they just felt like really bad cramps and my tummy was hard as a rock. I wasn't sure I'd make it to work, but I did. I also had that sick feeling again... but it was short-lived which was nice.
Soon I'll go shopping for all this...
R and I have something for your Hospital Bag...I'll give it to her this weekend when I see her and hopefully she'll see you before Murray comes.
I totally agree with everyone that the hospitals are not the most comfortable or healthy places to be...but I think that it might not be wise to leave right away. Maybe that is the nurse in me speaking, but there is some great value to it. I had some unexpected complications with Avery when he was about 12 hours old, and even with my training and work experience on the labour and delivery ward, if I hadn't been at the hospital he would definately have died. Also expecially for first time moms, there is a lot of resources at the hospital...lactation consultants etc. Hospitals are loud, uncomfortable, smelly and definately not home...but for me it was worth it!!!Just something to think about. :)
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