What's in your bag....Follow Up

Packing for the hospital was quite stressful for me. I remember being overwhelmed by the amount of information out there on what to take, what not to take, and then all the recommendations given to me by fellow mommies. In the end, I packed what I thought was what would work best for me, although I was still unsure.

First thing to note- your hospital is likely not too far from your house. Someone can ALWAYS go back for something. This never occurred to me until I was in the hospital. So here is what I would change, bring, not bring the next time I find myself in the delivery room.

-Rolling Suitcase. A girlfriend of mine recommended this. It was genius. Did it seem a little odd? Sure. But who the hell cares at that point. I know my husband loved it as he was following Adly and I to the Mommy and Me unit at 2 something a.m. with all of our crap. Additionally, you will steal EVERYTHING from your room. You want to have a little extra space to pilfer those precious items into. In fact, my nurse came in and told us to take everything from the baby cart. Diapers, wipes, panties, ice packs, pads. All a must have. 

-Robe/slippers. The slippers are an absolute must have. I used those the entire time I was in recovery at the hospital. The robe I put on after I showered the day I was being discharged. It served its purpose and I'll bring one next time because by then I wanted nothing to do with those awful hospital gowns.

-Toiletries. Great call. The hospital didn't offer any in my room, so I used everything I brought. This included shampoo, conditioner, soap, face wash, toothpaste and toothbrush.

-Makeup. Thinking back, I want to laugh at myself for putting a little rouge on after my shower the day of discharge. But honestly, I'd do it again. It helped me to feel like a human being again.

-Towel. Going off of the shower items, next time, I will bring my own towel. I know it's a hospital and it should be a germ free zone, but honestly you don't know where that towel has been. So I hated washing off all the grime and ick from delivery only to wrap myself in an itty bitty scratchy hospital towel. I think I honestly thought I wouldn't shower there. But I can't begin to tell you how nice it felt.

-Boppy. Bring whatever type of breastfeeding pillow you plan to use. I didn't bring this, but my MIL and SIL were kind enough to bring it by on the day after I delivered. It can also serve a dual purpose of keeping your torn undercarriage off of the rock hard bed you're sitting in. I wish I had thought of that while I was there. That idea came to me once I got home and could barely sit without wincing in pain.

-Pillows. I love to sleep on a few pillows. Our pillows in the room were flat as pancakes. This only adds to your inability to sleep. Next time, I will take every precaution to ensure I get a good nights' sleep by bringing one or two of my own. Because that's going to be the last time I get some shut eye in for a loooooong time.

-Granny Panties. You may remember that I went out and bought some super sexy, reliable cotton briefs in a larger size prior to delivery. Best purchase ever! However, not for the hospital. You will wear nothing but the stretchy, meshy hospital boy shorts. Believe me, those are all you'll want to wear. There's blood everywhere and those do a bang up job of holding in the massive diaper pad you wear. I never touched my own undies while in the hospital. But have no fear, they are all I wore for the entire 6 weeks after. Why ruin your good panties?

-Clothes for Baby. I would still bring a variety of sizes for the newbie as you learn in our case, when the doctor yells out "that's a biiiig baby!" as she pulls her out, you don't know how big they're going to be. Even though our little darling was much bigger than expected, she still only wore the newborn size. I would bring a onsie and a long sleeved onsie with footies. I'd also bring a hat for baby. It gets chilly in the hospital and they are so itty bitty.

-Snacks. I brought a few granola bars. I'd definitely bring those again. They helped to tide us over throughout our stay and also saved Adam from a near fainting episode right before delivery. *Additionally, if you deliver late at night or are expected to, get someone to go to a local restaurant and get you some food. You will be famished after delivery and will want something. I was shoving food in my mouth the second Adly came out.

-Magazines. Never even looked at them. Wouldn't bring again. The waiting game is anything but boring. You're exhausted, visitors are in and out, nurses are in and out poking and prodding you in some way.

-Delivery Music. This ended up being awesome. I wasn't sure I'd ever listen to it. But when it came time to push, it was essential to giving me something to focus on other than the fact I was about to pass out from exhaustion. Ask me what songs I heard and when....I have no idea.

-Pacifier. No way. If you're breastfeeding, they strongly recommend against using a paci until breastfeeding is well established. Those sat untouched.

-Blankets. These are great and we did use them throughout the stay. I'd bring two again. Gotta keep baby looking fresh in something other than the ugly hospital blanket!

-Baby Book. Somehow, in all the commotion, we got her footprints into the baby book. I'm so glad we did. This is a must bring, I think.

There you have it, my condensed list. There are probably other things that people would say to bring or not bring, but this is what I will go off of for baby number two...way down the road when that happens.  Either way, I think the most important thing to remember is what I said at the beginning of this post. Someone can always go get something for you if you need it. Happy packing!