Sara's Hospital Bag

The first thing I thought of is an iPod, with an entire "baby's coming" playlist all set up with "I Am Woman Hear Me Roar" style songs in the queue.

As you can see by my priorities, I will probably make a bad parent.

a rusty icepick. as your husband smiles down on you proudly, you'll want to stab him through the face with it.

ooo, a baby, how exciting. Slippers. Definitely bring slippers.

And chocolate and other snack stuff. You'll be extra hungry after, and you'll need a treat too.

Saritams8 said:

Couldn't I just use the pen I planned on bringing anyway?

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i guess, but this is a special occasion.

I'm going to be annoying and make a huge list all of which fit into a nifty little tote bag:

socks, nightgown, slippers, robe - all black - (hides the icky stuff)
I didn't have time for much of the music, movies, books things, my boys were in a hurry - so that was a waste of space.
lotion, toothbrush, hairbrush, toothpaste, shampoo (I got trial size/travel size of all of these things) That way I could have them packed and not have to raid the shower before I left for the hospital (and saved space too)
clothes for baby.
clothes for you to come home in.
snacks for your husband - if it is a long labor you won't want him running down to the snack machine - so bring stuff.
if you are going to nurse, bring a nursing bra. when you get engorged you'll want it.
if you aren't nursing bring a bra a size too tight. You'll want it when you get engorged.
cameras - video, digital and film (always have back up. when my first was born my camera took pictures that didn't come out in developing. Everone of them blank, good thing we had the video camera or I would have nothing of those precious moments.)
as a writer, bring a pen and a notebook.
list of everyone's phone numbers you need to call (or have them all saved in your cell phone)
an extra empty bag:
there are things the hospital will have that not only do you use while you are there, you will be charged for so you need to take them with you, including, diapers, wipes, pads for you, bulb syringe for baby, peri-bottle, (love that!), alcohol pads (if its a boy and he's circ'd).
don't forget the carseat!

If I think of anything else, I'll add it here.

you're good at this Trish.
hand sanitizer, for the visitors, at least for the children (they'll think it's fun not rude,) who may want to hold the baby. i wish it had been around for my last..lol, is that tacky?

Sara! I haven't been paying close enough attention around here and didn't even know you are having a baby! Congratulations, that is wonderful!

This post sounds like you expect to be in the hospital for a long time...?

For me, while having and first holding my babies, the rest of the world just faded away. It's like the dreamy shots in a cheesy movie where the happy couple (mom and babe) is in soft focus and the rest of the scene is just a soft rainbow of blur.

Snacks for the husband while you're in labor -- that is a good idea. Just be sure that they are non-smelling. Y'know how your sense of smell gets so acute while pregnant? Well, while your in labor, it goes up to eleven. At least it did for me.

Okay, one more thing. The *one* thing I wanted and didn't have while I was in labor was something to hold my hair back.

The scrunchie for your hair is a terrific idea. A

nd one more thing: don't forget your sense of humour. Cuz, if your going to go through labour (are you?) you'll need it. Try and memorize "epidural" in several languages, you know, just in case.

Pack a bit of makeup.

Bring along a pic. of someone cute, a teddy bear to snuggle and lots of rubber balls to throw at people that bother you. lol. Hope everything works out wonderfully well and you and baby and daddy are all healthy and happy.

Ugh, I packed so much stuff I didn't use.

- body pillow - could only lay on my back anyway. My stomach muscles were in protest, so rolling didn't happen.

Bathrobe. I think I might have actually worn this, but don't recall.

PJ's - don't even think about it. There's so much icky crap coming out of you that you'll rather get the hospital gowns dirty.

Slippers- well, maybe, but everytime I've been to the hospital, they give me warm slipper socks with treads on the bottom.

I WOULD bring - clothes for baby to come home in (don't forget them!)
- pads. Lots and lots of pads.
- toiletries - toothpaste, hair care, comb, brush, deoderant, shower gel, all that stuff. Makeup too - in case you feel like looking pretty. I didn't, and the pictures show it. Also, if you wear contacts, don't forget your glasses and all the contact junk.

- Camera (and film, duh!)
- phone book ('cause you wanna call everyone you know!)
- tell hubby to bring something to do and a pillow. And food. My hubby had to go out at least three times for food, and slept on the recliner in the delivery room. They wheeled it down to my room for him later.

And when they say don't eat too many ice chips... DON'T. Yeah, I actually ate enough ice to make myself puke.

My hair was in a ponytail constantly at that time in my life, so scrunchies were a constant. Make sure you have one.

It's been a while, but these are some of the things I packed and some of the things I WISH I had packed:
Packed: nice socks
a couple of outfits for little babykins to wear home. One of them probably won't fit like you think it will, so you gotta have a backup. Newborn clothes are huge on an actual newborn.
a button-front nightgown
a camera
extra ponytail holders
lip balm

WISH I had packed:
a lightweight blanket from home - a lap blanket is a good size. Hospital ones don't smell very good and they aren't soft.
a handheld mirror. Visitors pop in at the strangest times.
disposable wet cleansing cloths like the Dove ones for your face. You get to feeling pretty ikky sitting in a hospital bed.
baby-nail clippers (or bite them yourself) Dan had really long, sharp nails when he was born and he clawed his face pretty bad at first. The hospital wouldn't clip them so I actually bit them. Careful with baby clippers. I cut his little finger with the first snip because he jerked. That's why I ended up biting his nails.
a nice robe
TONS of breastfeeding pads. It takes a while for the milk to regulate and the minute you hear any baby cry it's like Niagra Falls.
(sorry about this one, guys) some hospitals actually still give you a sanitary belt and pads. Yuck. Bring your own pads - you can't find those hospital kinds in stores anymore for a reason. Also, make sure they are the "overnights" kind.
baby booties. Seth constantly had his feet uncovered and hospitals get cold.
A journal. There may be things you really want to write down, and after babykins is here you may get sidetracked.

I'm so excited for you, Sara. Best wishes to you, hubby and little wonderous-one.

Cigars?

YES YES YES! I forgot the food thing!

After 25 1/2 hours of labor with Dan, the hospital cafeteria was closed and I was freakin starving! jerk-face had to go out to find something open at zero-dark-thirty a.m. Lemme tell ya, it wasn't good but I ate it anyway.




Also, just remembered about the clothes thing: I was SO very ambitious and brought pre-pregnancy clothes. Nope. If you have something you like from early-on in your pregnancy, that would be a better choice. Your tummy might be a lot smaller, but it will still be smooshy for a little while.

LOL Carole. Yeah, newborn clothes won't fit... especially if, like me, you had a 10lb + baby... the newborn clothes JUST fit. He wore newborns for about five minutes.

Cuban cigars?

Pack SAT vocabulary cards. It's never to early to start prepping the little one for college


Only kidding. I can't help it though, my youngest of three children is heading off to college this fall,
and yes all THREE of my kids will be in college this year at the same time

So you might want to pack a piggy bank too, to start taking up collections for college tuition. It's not so bad really, my husband and I will be out of debt by the time we're ready to check ourselves into a nursing home.

Seriously, it all goes very quickly; enjoy each and every moment Hugs for you, hubby and your best ever WIP!

Oh, and bring several changes of underwear. I hate to say it, but after pushing out that bowling ball, the muscles that help me make it to the bathroom were on strike. Seriously. You thought you were incontinent now, just wait. I felt like I had been run over by a truck.

Christine N. said:

I felt like I had been run over by a truck.

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~laughing~

Oh, I totally forgot about that!!! Start right there in the hospital, Sara...do your kegels!!

Oooh a baby, I love babies and I even found labour rather exciting - in a desperate, painful, "ultimate fighting" type of way (labour - I've found my sport). In fact if it wasn't for the fact that they grow up, I would have had more than two. Congrats! As for your hospital bag, it is my belief that the people who write those books include the hospital bag and it's myriad items, just so that it takes your mind off of the whole thing. Unless you've taken birthing classes and you've gotten used to certain music or an item to fixate on, my advice is to take what you'd take over night at a hotel (toiletries) minus the pj's. As mentioned above, bring slippers, mega absorbent pads (along with high waisted panties) and clothing to wear home - I would suggest a skirt with an elastic or draw string waist (maybe one of those loose ethnic pleated types) and a tshirt. You won't ever want to see your maternity pants again. At the risk of giving you TMI you might also want to check into taking a cooling or freezer pad with a couple of thin cloths or some zip lock freezer bags to fill with ice chips. After giving birth, your "nether parts" can be quite sore and swollen, and applying something cool helps. Also, immediately after the whole experience, adrenalin is still streaming thru your body so you will be really shaking - You might want to pack some juice boxes to sip after. Congratulations again and good luck!

Saritams8 said:

I'm starting to make a list of things to pack for our trip to the hospital when we have the baby. Does anyone have any recommendations? Things you wouldn't think of, but turned it turned out you really needed it/them? Or something obvious I might be missing? I have a few good books that make some recommendations, but I'd love to hear from the many Moms and Dads we have around the board. Also, are there things they tell you to bring and you never ended up using?

So, what should I pack? What shouldn't I pack?

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For you: Chocolate, in all its gooey incarnations. For your husband: earplugs and a portable TV.