Tips on packing my hospital bag?

[Indiana]

Hello

I am due to have my baby in a month and need to pack my hospital bag - any tips out there from recent mums?! There's lots of lists online but it makes it seem like you will need a small suitcase!

Thanks

[craigy]

i'd say a must is lip balm. all the hoofing and puffing really dries the lips out

and don;t over pack because your not too far from home if you have to stay in longer than planned and don't have something you then feel is vital...

[Fuschia]

Socks. Cheap black cotton knickers you can throw away after. Full pack opf maternity pads, and have another at home in case it has to be brought to you, or several packs of night time towels. Dark coloured towel, pjs. A book. Crunchie bars. More sets of bbay clothes/vests than you think you need, new born baby poo cannot be contained by a mere nappy!

[lorraineliyanage]

For the baby: A hat if it's cold when you leave the hospital, and a nice fluffy blanket as the ones in hospital are a bit scratchy. And maybe a pillow, as I don't think Kings provided pillows, but I may be wrong!

[catgirl]

If you're planning on breastfeeding then bear access to said breasts in mind when you choose your bed attire. I had some breastfeeding nightshirts from mothercare that button down the front and found them ideal as meant I didn't have to expose my delightful tummy to all and sundry when feeding the baby.

I also found the heating / dry atmosphere made me really thirsty - they provide lots of water but was good to have a few little cartons of juice. and lots of jelly babies, yum.

[pebbles]

Definitely

Straws as i got really thirsty however never was at a right angle to be able to drink from cup

Energy sweets - the ones you get from chemists - buy more than you need cos i forgot how addictive they are and ate most of them before labour day!!

Hair bands - make sure you put your hair up as tightly as possible before you might not be able to cos although partners can be brilliant at everything the one thing i found he was dreadful at was tying up my hair and i had a water birth so hair over my face is actually my lasting annoying memory of childbirth

Mini fan - gets seriously hot in the wards

Water spray - the ones that they advertise to cool you down in the summer etc - labour is hot work

Flannels - for same reason as above - 2 of them so one can be in cold water and the other being held on your forehead and then swap

Ipod/speakers - with a play list - i actually had two as i didn't know whether i needed fast paced music to keep me going or chilled out music to calm me down - in all honestly i have no idea at all what was played but it was nice having music in background

If you are a pillow person then bring a comfy pillow from home - it's nice having the smell and the comfort.

This list seems endless - sorry

Good luck

[snowboarder]

Definitely pillow(s).

I had a slightly extended stay - and found I really didn't want to hang out all day in a nighty - yoga pants/jersey jogging bottoms were great for feeling slightly more normal, and much better for modesty! And a couple of breastfeeding vests from jojo maman bebe. And flip flops or crocs or something for the bathrooms.

Nappies.

It was so bloomin' hot in there the baby was mostly in little vest/body suits!

Anything you want to eat or drink - the food is not nice.

[Bumpkin]

Face wipes in case you can't be bothered to wash your face. Comfy baggy, elasticated trousers. Big pants... Dressing gown - I was in a week and it was quite cold in my room in Kings (although partner could bring this later if need be). Phone charger - if you do have to stay, you can use mobiles on the maternity wards.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Food, food and more food. I was starving during my labour (despite a full cooked breakfast in the canteen). They wouldn't let me eat during the later stages and I'd packed no food - I was conscious of my stomach rumbling throughout. A sneaky sandwich would have been marvellous.

Some sort of flip flop or plastic shoes for the bathrooms which were pretty disgusting.

[Jessie]

trashy books and magazines. My labour was v long and drawn out and I've never been so happy to have a copy of Heat, which I usually only ever read over someone's shoulder on the tube (honest).

[Pickle]

Apologies if I repeat what others have said, as haven't read through properly. For me the essentials were:

For you:

- something comfortable and baggy to wear in labour which you can throw away afterwards

- food (high energy, chocolate is good!) and drinks, I took Lucozade sport which had a sports top and made it easy to sip from when in labour

- books/magazines in case it takes a while (Mr Pickle and I played Monopoly while waiting for induction to work 1st time round!)

- pillow

- old slippers for walking round the ward (I picked up some cheap ones in Primark)

- cheap dark knickers - don't bother buying "maternity" ones, they're a waste of money... Primark do packs of plain pants for about ?1 and they wash quite well

- nightdress or pj's to wear after the birth, something easy to breastfeed in

- a cheap robe... once again Primark came up trumps with a really lightweight yet warm number for about ?3! (and shhhh, don't tell anyone, but I still wear it)

- maternity pads, or just some heavy duty "Always" type things with wings. The hospital will provide pads if you ask, good to know if you're running low

- an old towel for using after you've showered, or try asking for a hospital one - better to mess theirs up than yours!

- camera, mobile phone, charger!

- selection of favourite CD's, as most rooms at Kings have a CD player. Think about the music beforehand, as with benefit of hindsight the James Blunt CD was quite a depressing choice :-S

For baby:

- selection of babygros, vests, socks, hats

- nappies (one pack of newborn will be fine, you can always get more if needed)

- muslins

- blanket (but keep an eye on it if it's special to you, they tend to go missing in hospital!)

- cotton wool or wipes for nappy changes (I used cotton wool for #1, straight to wipes for #2)

At the end of the day there's nothing that can't be obtained pretty easily within the hospital, so try not to worry too much. Focus more on things that will make you comfortable during labour.

Good luck xx

[everywoman]

for you: disposable knickers from Tesco. very good and if you have a c-section use your partner/ husband boxers. They are starngely very good as it does not cut over your scar.spare clothes, maternity sanitary towels.

for the baby, a baygrow, nappies, a hat, a coat, a blanket.

Maybe you will be lucky to go home soon after the birth. That is what happened to me and that was the best thing ever.

good luck.

[curlykaren]

natural or baby sponge for washing ladies bits after labour...you won't want a loofa down there!:))

[Jo]

had baby last month so this is all fresh. things I was happiest to have:

- umpteen cartons of juice (freeze some so they are still cold)

- flip flops

- pillow

- straws! vital for drinking during labour and even afterwards if you cannot be arsed to lift head from pillow

- primark knickers.

- boots maternity towels (v padded, v comfy)

good luck!

[ludoscotts]

I know the focus is on you really but pack some extra food for hubby, you will be fed after the birth but dads are not so if you have a long labour you will either have a grumpy hungry man standing there or worse have him nipping off for food!-luckily I knew this and had some with us my friends husband wanted to go for food but wasnt allowed so was famished by the time her little one popped out.

its worth writing down phone numbers of the people you want to call after the birth-depends who you have in with you when baby arrives as to wether you can use the phone or not so might be worth having no's written down so hubby can run to pay phone(you will be told off for turning them on in hosp to get no;s out of it as it still sends out signals even when they are not being used for a call) and some change for the pay phone- you know he wont have change!

camera and spare batteries. it may be a few days before you get out so you should have one in your bag so you can get a newborn pic.

and talk hubby through bag as to where everything is. Or use a bag with 2 sections 1 for baby and 1 for you. I didnt show hubby where and what everything was so he kept dumping everything out them stuffing it all back in! he will prob be the one that will have to find the nappies, clothes etc for baby while they are sorting you out/ you are having bath or shower.

and show him what are the indoor and out door clothes are. No kidding a friend of mine had a baby 12 weeks ago she had to go off to surgery to have the placenta removed the nurse asked the hubby to get the baby dressed. She came back to find baby in its going home clothes hat, coat and mittens etc- she was staying in overnight so should just have been in sleepsuit, and when she commented on it he said how was I supposed to know its all white!

hope it all goes well for you,

[Fuschia]

Yes good idea to be aware partner will no doubt rifle through the bag a few times!

Having a second bag/s at home, maybe some carrier bags with extra stuff for baby and you in case you are in longer than expected either before or after the birth. Then your partner can just grab the relevant bags.

[charlottep]

I found milton wipes handy - to quickly wipe down the loo seat or bath tub

[Hornpipe]

Loo roll- theirs is scratchy and often absent! And wet ones/wet loo roll in case you tear - makes going to the loo a bit easier.

[sillywoman]

In fact, get everything ready & then get your partner to pack the bag. It reduces the "are you sure you packed xyz??" factor.

Also make sure you've decided what clothes you'll be wearing to go home in and put them in a separate carrier bag somewhere (probably, but not definitely, still maternity jeans for a few weeks post birth). I know a couple of women who've spent longer in hospital than they anticipated, and when asked to bring in clothes for them to go home in partners have bought their size 10 jeans, and (with one friend) a skull & crossbones T-shirt from her heavy metal youth. It just wasn't what she wanted to take the baby home in! So, if it matters to you - plan ahead!

[Fuschia]

I quite liked arnica tablets and herbs to put in the bath to help recovery of my bruised bits...

[The Nappy Lady]

Breast pads at the ready for if you are in for longer than planned, plus a BF bra of course.

Molly

[Mrs TP]

Pack one bag for you and one bag for the baby. Highly likely that your partner will be put in charge of dressing the newborn for the first time and you don't really want him spilling your smalls (or bigs as mine were) all over the place whilst trying to find the baby vests at the bottom of the huge suitcase with all your combined stuff.

Take everything everyone says. Hopefully you won't need half of it in hosp and it will be all fresh and ready when needed at home in the following few days.

Good luck.

[little h]

I ended up staying in for 5 days which was completely unexpected and I wish I'd packed more rather than less as my poor husband had to bring all kinds of stuff in (carrying it miles from where he could park the car or bringing it on the bus).

It was absolutely boiling on the labour and maternity wards - covering up whilst not being too hot was a challenge!

Definitely pack now though - my son arrived 3 weeks early and I had only just packed my bag the day before! (infact my husband had to finish packing it for me when I was in labour as I was in no fit state!)

don't forget the camera and a copy of your birth plan

You'll be fine though - good luck :-)

H

[sunbob]

Slightly off the subject of hospital bags, but after my little one came along I wished I had taken the advice to make up some easy dinners and put them in the freezer. Alternitively you could get a load of ready meals, ready made up pastas, sandwiches, anything you can just grab and, of course, if you are breastfeeding, cakes, biscuits and more cakes!

[little h]

hello

I've remembered something to add. If you end up staying in then a pair of earplugs and an eye mask would be useful (if you have any of those they hand out on airplanes to help you sleep that would be just the job). This isn't to block out the sounds of your baby - don't worry you'll still hear him/her - it's to block out the noise of the ward. My baby didn't keep me awake all night it was the other mothers snoring and making phone calls to relatives at 3 am. As my mother in law said - she never knew so many women snored so loudly until she had her first baby.

H