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Babies: 0 - 3 Months
mlwurster
member
Hospital Bag/Coming Home Question
mlwurster
member
Now that I have bought everything that I could possibly buy for the baby I am starting to think about what I am going to need in my hospital bag. What do you ladies recommend bringing? I don't know what my hospital provides, so until I find out I'm going to assume that they don't give anything until I find out otherwise. Also, what do you recommend to have ready to go at home for the first few weeks after the delivery?
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Re: Hospital Bag/Coming Home Question
Light robe, slippers/socks, your own toiletries, laptop, cell phone, camera and charges. And something to wear home.
ETA: My hospital provided a gown, mesh undies, peri bottle and pads.
hospital bag: sounds cliche, but I craved chocolate the days after delivery. make sure to bring yourself snacks that you really enjoy. and possibly compression hose and socks! other than that, you will probably mostly be trying to sleep, so not too much else!
coming home: I reccomend bringing home ALL the disposible underwear, and even ask for more! I was a goof and didnt think I would need anymore nursing pads than they gave me there, sooo wrong. I leaked like a faucet! Frozen meals are also a lifesaver if you dont have a mom or friend staying with you!
Good luck!!
Ditto this. I wore the hospital gown the whole time. It was just easier, especially since I had an emergency c-section. Maybe bring some snacks too! The hospital food was awful.
Definately bring snacks! I was starving about an hour after delivery and I really hated most of my meals.
I brought a nighty and I was really glad to have it. I was able to shower the next morning and I just felt much better getting into pyjamas instead of a hospital gown. I also had buttons in the front to make breastfeeding easier.
I brought a laptop and dvds. We actually watched all the dvds while waiting around before they started induction and at the beginning of my labour. We watched a few during the day when Jacob was sleeping too.
I was also really glad to have my own pillow. The hospital pillows were awful and I used my pillow to breastfeed.
My hospital didn't provide anything except the peri bottle. So I brought granny panties and super big pads.
At home, I would prepare some meals, I just didn't have time or the energy to get anything ready, neither did my FI. We ended up ordering in quite a few times the first couple of weeks.
Good luck!
This exactly. If you plan on BF, bring some nursing bras/tanks and maybe some nipple cream (it was a lifesaver). We also brought some clothes for the LO. I found you really don't need as much as you think you do. HTH!
I barely used anything out of my bag. I could barely get out of bed to get it, and even if I could (or had someone else do it) I didn't need it or didn't have time.
I brought everything just in case my hospital didn't have it, but everything you need, they have. I could have shown up with nothing and just the clothes on my back and I would have been pretty much set.
The only I used was my shampoo/conditioner, toothpaste/toothbrush, and my camera/video camera/cell phone.
The mesh underwear was great and I even asked for extra to take home. I still have some left over. Their pads were also nice and soft (they gave me two large packages to take home)...that's one thing I didn't like about Always pads (which is my preferred brand), they made my stitches itch. They provided Dermoplast for the pain and itching, hydrocortizone cream, and milk of magnesia to help with the first bowel movement.
As for baby (stuff to take home)...I was set with newborn diapers from the hospital. They gave me 2 40 packs of diapers, 4 packs of wipes, about 20 already made up formula bottles, a nipple shield, and the Medela manual breast pump.
ditto, the first response. you will need something comfortable to wear home, still bring preggo clothes, they will be the most comfortable. i had a robe, nightgown, slippers. my hospital gave me, the mesh undies, pads, soothing spray, and a quirt bottle (you'll see why!) and a sits (dont rememeber how to spell it) bath.
Bring an extra bag for freebies. my nurse gave me a bunch of diapers and formula, and sample diaper bags). they were great!
What we used: Clothes for me to come home in,clothes for DH (he never left the hospital and I was there from Wednesday to Saturday), flip flops to shower in, cell phone and battery, camera and charger, laptop, video camera and charger, toiletries, Girl Scout cookies (I had GD, so I wanted them after birth), gum, and hard candy.
What I did not use and brought, slippes, robe, extra clothes.
I didn't bother bringing any of my own clothes/robe/slippers to the hospital. Just the outfit I showed up in and the outfit I went home in. I just wore two hospital gowns (one open in the front, one open in the back) and socks while I was there. I did bring my own pillow and thank goodness I did!! I highly recommend that. Otherwise in our bag was DD's coming home outfit and blanket, snacks for DH and I (juice, granola bars, chips, goldfish crackrs - obviously during labor for him and after labor for me), my portable DVD player (and DVDs obviously), bag of mini toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face lotion, cutips, hand/body lotion, toothpaste), camera, cell phone & charger, books and magazines. I honestly didn't read a single book, but the DVD player came in VERY handy the whole time.
As far as what to have when you get home - meals frozen!!! And possibly someone home to help you and DH out for a few days if possible. DH was home for the first week and 2nd week my mom came and stayed with us. It made it so much easier!!
Robe, slippers and a few comfy nightgowns that opened in the front, clothes to go home in. Bag of mini toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face lotion, hand/body lotion, toothpaste), wish I would of brought a normal sized towel from home the hospital ones are very tiny. Flip flops to wear in the shower. Camera, cell phone & chargers. Snacks the hospital food was pretty gross. Clothes, blanket and pillow for DH he slept over with us. For lo a couple different sized going home outfits, blanket, obv car seat. I brought my boppy but didn?t end up using it. Some magazines and that?s pretty much it.
My hospital provided disposable underwear, pads, the most amazing ice pack pads, and tucks pads and hospital gowns but I felt better in my night gowns.
Everything Lo would need was provided and he had to stay in there hospital clothes .We pretty much just let him have his blankly.
Turns out my insurance even paid part for the Brest pump I did not know you might want to find out if you plan to bf.
As for going home someone to cook and just help out the first few days are the hardest. Are families were lifesavers. Gl!!