STM what did you do to prepare for labor

kyleegail89

Good evening, everyone!! FTM here and I had a couple of questions on what you think you did to prepare better for when your water broke, what made things easier for the hospital and what your go to items were for labor?

My biggest question is, what did you place on your mattress incase your water broke?

I hope everyone is having a great weekend

adreajoy713

My water broke as I was getting ready for bed. I was able to make it to the bathroom with little mess. I ended up using a hand towel as a diaper for the ride to the hospital. I looked silly, but I suppose it worked.

lovethatcolosun

I placed a shower curtain loner under my fitted sheet to protect my mattress. Sat on a beach towel on the way to the hospital just in case it broke in the car. It didn't break until I was in the hospital, in bed.

Go to items for the hospital:
-Light weight robe and slippers, tank top and Capri style pj bottoms (this was my wardrobe for labor while roaming the halls trying to dilate).
-Bikini for laboring in the bathtub. In the end I basically ended up naked when I was pushing because I was so freaking hot and honestly I could care less about who saw what at that point. -Chapstick
-Hair ties and headband
-iPod and docking station, headphones if you want to zone out
-phone and charger
-iPad (something for hubby to do while we waited around)
-camera

I know you didn't really ask about items you might need after labor, but I thought I'd throw this in just in case.

Post labor items:
-nursing tank tops
-nursing bra
-Underwear
-Extra absorbent pads (super plus flow) with wings (the hospital provides pads, but I preferred my own brand)
-Beach towel or similar and shower items (their towels are so rough and small this was a luxury item I loved having)
-leisure wear (yoga pants or whatever you feel relaxed in).
-toiletries
-snacks
-going home outfit
-baby going home outfit/hat
-car seat (leave installed in car until you're ready to be discharged)
-baby mitts (in case they start scratching themselves with their razor sharp nails.)
-extra cloth bag(s) (like the reusable grocery bags). You will somehow be leaving with more stuff than when you got there.

annatta79

My water broke (and got all over my midwife) while I was pushing. For most women, it isn't a dramatic thing. A lot of women will leak a bit; most will not have their water break until they are in active labor. Nothing wrong with putting down a waterproof pad, or the like, but this is not something to stress about.

megmama

The nurse had to break mine after I was already in labor and at the hospital! I agree with a previous post, most of the time, it is not that dramatic. 

walshbunnie

My water breaking wasn't as dramatic as you might expect. I slept in Depends Sillouettes for the last week and a half of my pregnancy just in case it broke at night. It broke as I was getting out of the bathtub and I wore the Depends to the hospital. I also preferred Depends to pads for the first week of post partum recovery.

henrytviii

I wouldn't worry about your water breaking in a dramatic way in bed. Its rare, usually happens in active labor. You'll be uncomfortable enough in your last weeks of pregnancy, seems crazy to me sleep in depends or on a plastic sheet. You could be on that for 3 weeks which sounds terrible. My water did break in a fairly dramatic way and I was sitting in the passenger seat of the car coming out of the hospital garage after an ultrasound. I was able to lift myself off the seat, my shorts absorbed the first few gushes, hoped out of the car and DH put down a sheet of plastic the garage had left on the floor from an oil change. It wasn't a big deal at all and it was huge gushes. Normally its more of a slow trickle.

AlyLynn07

As others have mentioned, it's uncommon to have your water breaking as the first sign of labor. My OB told me it happens about 10% of the time. In my case, she had to break my water when I was 10 dilated and had the urge to push!

kyleegail89

Thanks for the advice ladies! The reason I asked, is because it happened to my sister. She was laying in bed and just thought she urinated on herself. I just don't want to deal with the potential after math of it happening on our very expensive/new mattress.

MJMum524

Get a mattress cover. In my opinion, everyone should have one, especially if you have kids. All kinds of mattress covers available, even ones that are waterproof and super comfy (not plastic).