Ok I know this has been asked like 1 million times, but I need a different perspective please. What am I forgetting?
For DH
change of clothes
toiletries
For me
robe
slipper socks/ slippers
underwear
going home outfit
toiletries
nursing pads
lanolin
sleep bra
For LO
going home outfit
side snap undershirt
hat
mittens
Still need to pack
camera
baby book for foot prints
snacks for DH and me after delivery
ipad?
Re: Hospital bag...what am I forgetting
DS born via unplanned C-section at 40w6d
Oh this is good to know. Thanks for sharing, J!
Toilet paper...the stuff at the hospital is so thin and scratchy.
Pillows (I used the hospital ones for labor and delivery...but I liked my own for PP
Gum--I wasn't allowed to eat...but I liked chewing gum
Massager (I had a roller ball one from bath and body works...it helped a lot last time)
LIP BALM!! Hair ties, inflatable donut pillow for the ride home. Consider bringing breast pump and Boppy (or similar).
I found I did not need: side snap shirt or slipper socks the hospital provided both. Ditto on the baby book, the hospital gave us a certificate with the foot prints. Shower shoes are also completely unnecessary. Hospitals are cleaned with some heavy duty cleaners. Their shower is definitely cleaner than yours.
I'm going to be in the hospital for three days due to my c-section so I am going to bring some netflix DVDs, magazines and a book for DH, snacks and drinks for DH, iPod and small speakers and my boppy pillow.
Don't forget cell phones and chargers and extra camera batteries.I'd also add hair ties, chap stick and lotion to your list.
We also have to bring some activities for our older son and his diaper bag because he will be there for part of the day each day. Yes, our bags are going to be huge.
You might bring any OTC meds you think you might need for yourself as well. I had an awful cold last time and figured I could at least get some cough drops since I was in a hospital and all, but nope. They finally wrote me a prescription for Robitussin and I managed to get 1 dose the entire 36 hours I was there. Blah.
Others have added a lot of mine. Be sure to have anything you want for laboring - music, massage oil, etc. If you have a baby book, take it. Be sure to have some cash on you for vending machines and room service
~Working Mom~Breastfeeding Mom~Cloth Diapering Mom~BLW Mom~
Blog - No Longer on the DL ~ The Man Cave
Shawn and Larissa
LO #1 - Took 2 years and 2 IVFs ~ DX - severe MFI mild PCOS homozygous MTHFR (a1298c)
LO #2 - TTC 7 months, surprise spontaneous BFP!
They gave us a certificate as well, but because we had the baby book they also did prints directly in the book which is what I prefer
~Working Mom~Breastfeeding Mom~Cloth Diapering Mom~BLW Mom~
Blog - No Longer on the DL ~ The Man Cave
Shawn and Larissa
LO #1 - Took 2 years and 2 IVFs ~ DX - severe MFI mild PCOS homozygous MTHFR (a1298c)
LO #2 - TTC 7 months, surprise spontaneous BFP!
I guess it would all depend upon what kind of baby book you have. I didn't get one with a lot of full in spaces because I couldn't find one I liked. I just got a blank scrap book so having the certificate to put in there made a nice page
Probably does depend on the book. Mine is also a binder style, so I don't actually take the whole book, just the page that the foot prints go on
~Working Mom~Breastfeeding Mom~Cloth Diapering Mom~BLW Mom~
Blog - No Longer on the DL ~ The Man Cave
Shawn and Larissa
LO #1 - Took 2 years and 2 IVFs ~ DX - severe MFI mild PCOS homozygous MTHFR (a1298c)
LO #2 - TTC 7 months, surprise spontaneous BFP!
It all depends on your hospital on what they actually provide. The hospital I'm delivering at doesn't do the foot/handprints so I'll have to do my own. They will give me towel but it's short and thin, so I'll be bringing my own.
I have 3 separate bags. My bag with my birth plan, phone/camera chargers, comfy clothes for me, old underwear (my hospital provides a mesh type underwear), snacks for both my husband and myself since our hospital will provide a meal for me but not for my husband, gum, chapstick, tissues, my laptop/charger which has all of my movies and books, flip flops for the shower, my own pads so I'm not wearin a diaper like my daughter, and my toiletries.
My daughter's diaper bag will stay in the car until we need it so there was no sense in packing her things with mine. Her bag has clothes for her to go home in and items the hospital provides just in case we feel we don't like them or need extras such as diapers, pacis, bottles/formula, diaper cream, etc.
My husband's bag is the smallest of the 3 and again will stay in the car until he needs it since he'll be able to leave. His bag has a change of clothes for him, his phone charger, and snacks and change in case he gets hungry.
Again, it depends on your hospital on what you really feel is necessary and what is not. Since they wont provide my husband with a meal, it's necessary for him to have more snacks, change etc so that he can eat while when my sister delivered a few years ago, they provided her husband with 3 meals a day.
It never hurts to be overly prepared and if you have to pack several bags and leave them in the car so you have whatever you need/want.
Good luck!