Bring Your Granny Panties...
I have scoured the internet for recommendations for what to bring/pack for the hospital. I've made a simple, yet pretty exhaustive list of the recommendations. However, I think we'll need to borrow a SUV and a sherpa if we really try to bring this much stuff!
You may want to pack two bags for the hospital or birth center: a small overnight bag for the items you'll both need during labor and a larger bag for everything else that you'll need later.
**To make sure you don't forget items that you may use daily and won't have packed until the day you leave for the hospital, attach a reminder to the bag that lists the item(s) to add.**
Be sure you also have telephone numbers for: OB Doctor, back-up rides and support people, and arrangements for pet care.
Mom List:
- Bring your Granny Panties...the mesh ones at the hospital are a joke.
- Flip Flops for when they let you shower
- My own pillow(use a patterned or colorful pillowcase)
- loose comfortable sweats to come home in
- wipes (to refresh yourself)
- toiletries – toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant
- Witch Hazel pads (if you are planning for a vaginal delivery)
- Your own sanitary pads
- Something warm to wear– those rooms are COLD
- your favorite snacks and beverages & sports drinks
- nursing bra, nursing pads, Lanolin
- Pen and Paper were a must in the hospital - Also handy for a quick game of Hangman in between contractions
- Birth plan
- Insurance card and any hospital paperwork you need
- A hair tie / Hair clips
- A bathrobe, nightgown, slippers, and a couple of pairs of socks
- Lip moisturizer
- Something to read
- Throat lozenges/suckers/hard candy to suck on during labor
- Sleeping mask
- Warm, comfortable socks that can be thrown out without hesitation
- hand-held fan to keep cool during delivery/pushing stage
Baby List:
- A going-home outfit
- Infant car seat
- A pair of socks or booties
- A cap
- Baby nail clippers / Baby mittens
- 2 receiving blankets
- Baby book for recording baby's first footprint/handprint
- Clothes for hospital baby photo
Dad List:
- The list of folks to call when labor starts (OB, Doula, people that will want to come to the birth), during labor (friends and family), after baby has arrived (extended family and friends, Insurance, FMLA/work-related contacts)
- Cell phone w/charger & extra batteries
- Camera w/charger & extra batteries
- Money for the vending machines and/or soft drinks in small cooler
- PJs for the hubby
- Restaurant menus (because hospital food is awful)
- Something warm to wear– those rooms are COLD
- favorite snacks and beverages
- music you guys both like – you’re going to be laboring/waiting for a while
- music that is calming to wife – for delivery
- toiletries, such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant
- change of clothes
- something to read during the early stages
- A bathing suit. If your partner wants to take a bath or shower during labor, you may want to jump in with her
- Watch with a second hand for timing contractions
- Favorite movies to watch while in early labor
- Your own pillow (use a patterned or colorful pillowcase)
- good hand cream--you will be washing or Purelling your hands a lot and that hospital soap is killer on your skin
- Comfy socks--and your own slippers, because you don't want your socks on that grotty hospital floor
- Laptop
- CPAP (if you need one)
- Breath mints – you are going to do a bunch of close-talking with your loved ones.
card games, travel games, etc. to pass the time - It's always nice to pack a few extra ziplocs to hold wet items and dirties.
- Sports bottle to keep water handy for yourself
5 comments:
sounds just about right. Dont forget a little hat for the baby and a pacifier- sometimes the hospitals dont give them out (mine didnt)- by the way i cannot believe that you are 33 weeks pg! it seems like only yesterday you were going in for your transfer. by the way, still no belly pics?
Your list is great! You should market and sell it. :-) My only two cent's worth would be that if you are going to bring a bathrobe and nightgown, that you make them something you are willing to possibly throw away as well. You won't believe how much ICK comes out of you in the days following delivery and the probability that you will mess up anything and everything you are wearing is high.
33 weeks is amazing. It will be here before you know it!
Hmmm...this is just a reminder of how totally unprepared I was to give birth! I went in with NADA (of course it was a little early and all, so I did have an excuse :-)) I might have had 10 things with me by the time I left outside of my toothbrush and toothpaste.
My biggies were chapstick, lotion, and slippers that slip on easily. The airconditioning left me super dry. It would have been the pits without those things.
I probably took most of that stuff the first time around. But I would hate to tell you what I took the next two. Let's just say it was a little more...minimalist.
Just my opinion for the mom-bag. I've had two vaginal births myself, so I'm not just making this up :) I agree with a lot of your items and won't reiterate those.
~ granny panties - if you want to bring your own, then bring MANY throw away ones. I bled SO MUCH, like a stuck pig, that the mesh ones would be thrown away with each pad change. And the blood would be all over the granny panties too, so you'd want to toss them. Although "a joke", the mesh panties are disposable and I used them for the first 48 hours (even after I got home, I took some home with me)
~ I didn't need my own pads. I needed hospital grade ones - the HUGE ones, the ones that aren't sold in the stores, well past the time I left the hospital.
~ I didn't need a nightgown or robe - I wore the hospital ones. You wouldn't believe the amount of blood that comes out. I went through many sets of sheets due to leakage.
~ Ear plugs. Sometimes you just need to rest and w/ people all around and in/out and ~gasp~ if you have to share a room, you'll need these.
~ I also brought makeup. It helps w/ the pictures everyone takes.
Other than that, I agree w/ everything. I totally overpacked when I went the first time, but the second time - nope. Oh - and the going home outfit of your own - I wore what I wore going IN because that whole "you'll be in your 6-month pregnant state" is totally bullcrap! :)
Good luck!!!
Post a Comment