My current baby-prep task is packing my hospital bag. So far I have piles of things scattered between our bedroom and the baby's nursery - now they just need to get packed in a bag.
Of course I've never had a baby before, nor have I ever in my lifetime been in a hospital, which makes this task just a little tough. However, with a little bit of research, I think I'm off to a good start. Besides, if I don't have everything I should only be there for a little over 24 hours (right?) and we don't live too far away so I can always send my husband to get it for me. Someone's got to take care of the dog, after all. :)
Here is a glimpse of what I'm packing for me, dad, and the baby.
Things for Mom
Pajamas. I'm going with one size larger than I normally wear. I want to be comfortable and know that there will still be some extra "cushion" after the baby is born. Plus, if I end up having a C-section, a little more room around the mid-section is an ok thing.
Briefs. AKA - grannie panties. Yep, I found this as a suggestion and I'm gonna take it! Again, I'm going with one-size larger than I normally wear.
Nursing tank and/or nursing bra.
Going home clothes. I bought myself a new shirt that I've had my eye on at Target so that I have something to look forward to. I'm also, more than likely, going to be wearing maternity shorts or crop pants home. Again - it's the cushion and comfort thing.
Yoga pants.
Toiletries. Shampoo, conditioner, hairspray, toothbrush/toothpaste, face wash, lotion, body wash, contacts and solution, etc... I know that I'm going to want to feel like a human again.
Make up. I'm sure we'll have a few visitors. Again, this goes with the human experience. At the very least, I'll have mascara with me.
Lanolin or lotion too use for your sore nipples if you are going to nurse. Another good suggestion I came across.
Things For Dad
Adam did his own research and came up with the following list.
Shorts. Not sure if these are the type of shorts he was considering but the give a good representation of "shorts."
Toothbrush. He can share toothpaste with me.
Ipad. I included this in his packing list. I'd hate for him to get bored during the process. :)
Things For Baby.
Babies don't need much - at least that's what I'm told so I'm going with it!
Receiving or Swaddle Blanket.
Going home outfit.
Hats. Since you can't necessarily always tell if the baby is a boy or girl in pictures, hats to help indicate this is helpful - especially if we post pictures online.
Onsie.
Socks.
Infant Pacifier.
Bottle. Just in case you start bottle feeding in the hospital it will be helpful to have a type of bottle you might use with you.
Gadgets
Phone.
Chargers
Books
Journal
Magazines
Camera
Necessities
Insurance Cards
Identification/driver's license
Cash
Car Seat. Apparently they wont let you out of the hospital without this properly installed.
Other Things
Nursing pillow
Snacks
Pillow. Put a patterned or colored pillow case on it so that it doesn't get kept by the nurses or hospital.
Blanket. Dad might appreciate this. Or, like my husband says, "we are paying enough to be there, they should be able to afford an extra blanket for me to use..." Agreed!
Gifts for nurses that help take care of the baby and you. I haven't decided on this yet. I'm sure I'll come up with something.
Things to Have On-Hand at Home
Maxi Pads. A couple of blogs have suggested the Always Overnight, heavy flow maxi pads. That's what I went with. Regardless, makes sure to grab all of the extras from the hospital that you can!
Nursing pads.
Milk storage bags.
Diapers & Wipes.
Ok friends - what am I missing??!! Leave your comments below!
Also a HUGE shout out to Carolina Charm. Her blog post on packing her hospital bag was detailed and awesome!!
Take one of those fasten envelopes for all the paper work you will get. And Pinterest has some awesome hospital bag packing tips :)
ReplyDeleteNightchayde
Great idea! Thinking about it now - I bet we will be swamped with papers and paper work to keep track of! Thank you!
DeleteI think you have a pretty good list! I assume you'll be wearing shoes :) but any shoes you don't have to bend over to put on is a big win. The only other thing I could think of was socks...I remember it being colder in the hospital than I thought for a early Sept. baby and wishing I had brought socks! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Sandy! Good thinking on the socks - of course since our baby will be due in July I am thinking it will be hot! I'll make sure to pack some! :)
DeleteHi Beth!
ReplyDeleteI stumbled across your blog one day and said to myself, "Hey, I KNOW this person! We graduated from the same high school back in 2001, we were in the same circle of friends, we caught a huge carp in her parent's drainage ditch and fed it to her pigs!"
Hopefully you remember me as well, Becca, the girl who sat behind you in homeroom and whose dad was one of your middle school teachers.
Congrats on the baby. I had my first almost 9 months ago (it will be 9 months on the 15th). He has been a joy and blessing in our lives as I am sure your little one will be. Your hospital list looks great. The only thing I would add are some snacks for hubby...granola, fruit, that sort of thing. That was very helpful for my guy.
I also want to tip you off to a book I read post-partum. It was a quick and easy read, and if you feel about sleep the way I do (personally, I am a fan), then you should give this book a read. It is called, "The Baby Sleep Solution" by Suzy Giordano. The methods promise to have your little one sleeping 12 hour nights by 12 weeks of age. It has worked beautifully for us and I would highly recommend!
Many blessings on your labor and delivery!
Becca
Becca!!! Hello!! I was just thinking of you the other day, wondering where you were at and what you were up to! Congrats on your little guy - so neat! Thanks for saying hello, we really need to re-connect and catch up sometime. And - thanks for the well wishes and ideas, this is helpful. :) Keep in touch!
DeleteYou have a great list going! For Minden, I loved having some support for her little neck. We used Baby Elephants Ears on her way home from the hospital, as well as the first few months of her life until her neck was strong enough to support her head.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.babyelephantears.com/
I like those! I might have to order a pair! Thanks for the suggestion!
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ReplyDeleteMother Love nipple cream is better than Lanolin. I give a jar to every new mom to be. Good luck. Motherhood is awesome and overwhelming all at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion!! Where do you find that??
ReplyDeleteI brought flip flops to wear walking the halls and to the bathroom :) Also, to pay for the babies birth certificate they only accept a check. So we made sure to bring our checkbook both times. Not sure if that's the same everywhere? But I'm sure it probably is :) I also brought cute little notebook to jot down notes, keep track of visitors and gifts given and anything else you want to keep track of! :) Congrats and good luck!
ReplyDeleteHave you asked your dr or a nurse what the hospital will provide? The hospital provided everything Teagen needed: onesies, sleepers, swaddling blankets, hats, diapers, wipes, everything. We packed a going-home outfit for him and some diapers & wipes. I could wear my own clothes during our stay if I wanted to, but wore the hospital gowns the entire time. They also had disposable underwear and pads to wear (you could bleed a lot "down there"). I didn't wear anything of my own until we left to go home. They had special instructions for bathing (I didn't see razor or deodorant on your list; I recommend those). Oh, and I recommend socks and/or slippers / comfy shoes for you & Adam. We were there for 2 nights. Trelin was on the iPad quite a bit. We had to watch some childcare movies while we there, and we had some visitors, so not much downtime after Teagen was born.
ReplyDeleteBeen thinking about you!!
Kristie
I would plan for longer than 24 hours - Check with your hospital to see what their policy is. Our hospital requires you to stay 2 nights once baby is born, and 3 nights if you have a C-section. I was in labor at the hospital for 22 hours before Clara was even born, and then had to stay an additional night because of complications, so we were there for 5 days...
ReplyDeleteI also put 2 utility totes from 31 in the car for Paul to bring up the day we were leaving. They were great for bringing home all the gifts we had received, the paperwork, and all the hospital stuff - pumping equipment, diapers, wipes, pads, etc. Basically, if they open it, you're going to be paying for it, so you might as well take whatever's left!