So, I just packed my bags....

Yes, it's a little early, I guess....but I'm just so excited I want to be ready to go. Packed my hospital bags....was wondering if I packed the right things. (My mom didn't ever pack a bag, she always sent my dad back to the house after we were born to bring stuff for her.)

Baby:
12 NB diapers.
Baby soap and lotion (Both that Aveno or whatever....I just know it said natural and unscented).
4 Baby washcloths.
2 onesies.
2 sleepers....one cotton and one that's fuzzy and warm.
A gown....those long ones that are open at the bottom.
3 pairs of cushy socks.
Cornstarch baby powder.
Diaper rash stuff.
1 fleece blanket (For the ride home incase it's cold out).
2 recieving blankets.
Thermometer....to get used to her temperature....I've heard it was a good thing to do?

Me:
I still don't know what to pack....I have my nursing gown and a nursing bra and some jumbo pads. That's about all I could really think to bring....any suggestions?

 

shampoo and soap for yourself! I forgot that and boy did i miss it! Bring some going home clothes, undies, deodarant, toothbrush, hair brush, and I don't know what they do in kentucky, but here you have to bring a black pen and you tax return to fill out all the damn paper work they give you!
All i can think of at the moment...I'm sure there's more

 

You sure packed a lot for the wee one!

i just packed a couple diapers, an undershirt, a onesie and a "go home" outfit. A recieving blanket and a heavier blanket for the ride home. All that other stuff the hospital will supply, at least they do here.

For myself, I packed a front opening nightgown, 2 nursing bras, 2 pairs of crappy underwear, super-absorbant pads, socks, a comfy cardigan, some knitting stuff, a couple books, the baby book, and focus objects (a Buddha and a picture of my grandparents).

Also packed the digital camera, the video camera, deodorant, lotion, my MP3 player full of relaxing music, some sugarfree candies to suck on, and some moisturizing lip balm.

Didn't you get a list of what you might want to bring from the health nurse or doctor or whomever? I got like 4 lists from 4 different groups... lol.

Oh! And is your car seat installed and ready to go? I don't know about Kentucky, but here they won't let you leave the hospital without a properly installed infant car seat.

 

I wrote all that stuff down! Thanks mamas.
Yea, I packed a lot for baby....I didn't want her to do without....in case the hospital didn't supply something.
No, I haven't gotten any lists yet. They haven't really discussed what and what not to bring with me....
The car seat will be here within a week or two. My mom has a carseat picked out that she wants to get for Alexis (She won't let me know what it looks like). She really liked it, though, so I'll just have to wait and see what it is.

 

oh yeah, definately the lip balm! lips get surprisingly chapped when you're in labour!

 

here babe.. here is a link to a list on the net about what you might want to bring.

http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/pregnancy/childbirth/185.html

I forgot to add that I also packed some apple sauce, some granola bars and some dried fruit for afterwards... hospital food always sucks and I hear I might be really hungry!!

 

Thank you!
Oh....food, yes. I'll be bringing food.

 

You'll definitely be REALLY hungry...

And you probably won't need any of the books, knitting stuff, and the like....I was never bored when in the hospital. When I wasn't busy staring at my baby in awe, there was a nurse, doctor, or social worker in to see me.

You won't need near that much stuff, hon. I packed a ton, and you know what I used?

My "going home" clothing
Moire's going-home outfit
My shampoo, bodywash, and scrubby
one blanket

Most of the time, Moire was in a hospital-provided diaper against my naked chest, skin to skin, while she nursed. The hospital provided baby wash, diapers, large pads, funny mesh underwear, the tucks pads and cream needed for my stitches, gowns for baby, and receiving blankets.

 

Yeah, holly is right. Leane was provided all the same stuff.
I chose to change into my own undies...I hated those mesh ones and they were a mess and I felt all icky wearing them by the time it was time to go.
Since we had 3 days to pick up leane cuz she was in the NICU, they told us to only bring. It was only about 3 daipers, one or 2 sleepers, a recieving blankie and a flannel blankie. That was about it.
As for the food.....I chose to pay for a room where cody could spend the night (the only one in the hospital, all the others required dads to go home at 9-10pm, and I NEEDED him there) but yeah, and I got to choose my own food. It STILL was gross! That was all we ate for a week, since Leane was there at the hospital and we'd spend 7am-1am there with her.
definately bring your own! lol

 

Ah. I guess I should find out what my hospital will provide, then. I think I'll still be more comfortable in my own panties, though....

Aw....your hospital made daddys go home, Kirstyn? Daddys can stay at the hospital at which I'll be. They have little roll away beds and all.

 

yeah, they had 3 styles of rooms....public, where 4 moms would share the same room, semi-private, where there were 2 beds with a curtain, and the private one I was in. The public one was government funded, the semi-private, you need insurance for, and the private, you have to pay, regardless.
I fainted after I had her while I was in the shower....I hadn't been allowed to eat or drink for over 40 hours, I had the flu, and cody said that I filled up roughly 3-4 ice cream buckets of blood. So I was a mess, and they ordered me to sleep. Plus with Leane having all the problems taking my boob, I needed cody there. I don't know what I would have done without him!

 

I am bringing that stuff for more of the first and second phases of labour than the after part. Having stuff to occupy my mind will help me ignore the pain and discomfort...same with the music.

 

I was actually planning on doing that, but since I decided to just not pack after Leane had gone a week over her due date (the whole, "ok, this is never going to happen" thing)....then the day that labour started, I was packing and cleaning EVERYTHING. I forgot all about my crochet stuff.
But when I got to the hospital, besides focousing on the contractions when they hit, I was bored soild. My dad bought me a word search to keep me busy, lol

 

I'm trying to learn to crochet! I can make a string so far....
My memaw was really good at it and I was going to get her to teach me, but she passed away yesterday. So, now I have to teach myself looking at her books and stuff she has.

 

Oh, gee, I'm so sorry to hear that
Crocheting was actually pretty simple to pick up. I bought one of those "how to crochet in 10,20,30 minutes" books when I was pregnant, and a month later, I was making afghans! I was so proud of myself, lol
If you look at lotsa pictures, and really pay attention to where the yarn is supposed to go around the hook, you should pick it up in no time!

 

you probably won't need anything for baby besides the going-home outfit and a carseat. Everything else is usually provided by the hospital, and I recommend you take full advantage of using their stuff. Just make sure to pack a couple different size outfits for baby to wear home, because you just never know how big or small that baby will be. Everyone kept telling me Jenny was going to be huge. Her ultrasound measurements were estimating her to be 8.5 lbs. She didn't even weigh 5.5 pounds, and had lost down to 4lb2oz by the time we went home. Premie size clothes were huge on her for a while. A nine-pound baby might not fit in newborn clothes.

Make sure to get extra toiletries and have them packed, because you won't think to get your toothpaste and deodorant (and stuff like that, the things you use every day) when you are rushing around in the early stages of labor. If you can do a crossword or crochet, it's probably way too early to be going to the hospital. Wait as long as you possibly can before you go in. The longer you are there, the more chances they have of talking you into all sorts of unnecessary, possibly dangerous, interventions.

Going home outfit for mom - bring something that fit you at about five months pregnant. Your body will not immediately bounce back to normal size for a while. Bring your own nightgowns and old comfy loose clothes to wear instead of putting on a hospital gown. At least for me, that hospital gown made me feel like a sick person, and put me in the submissive role where the nurses and doctors could bully me around and talk me into things I already knew I didn't want. bring your own pads. some women really hate those hospital pads and mesh panties, some don't mind them so much. Bring lots of healthy snacks and candy. Bring something from home to focus your attention on during labor, it can be anything with lots of special meaning to you. Bring your own music and a cd player (even if they say they have them, not all rooms do). But bring a wide variety of music, because what you want to hear during labor might not be at all what you think you will want to listen to! For me, it had to be instrumental, I didn't want someone's lyrics in my head while I was concentrating on relaxing. And bring a doula, too. The only women I know who have managed to have natural births in the hospitals here where I live had hired doulas to be there with them.

 

lol, reading mamaboogie's post made me realize how much I've already forgotten! lol
Yeah, definately about the baby out fit~ bring a few diffreent sizes....we had the most adorable one for Leane, and it wouldn't even go up past her bum...I even brought some bigger sleepers, and they still didn't fit. She was wearing 3 month stuff from the day I brought her home.

 

Thanks....I never thought of the different sizes thing.

Going home outfit for mom - bring something that fit you at about five months pregnant.[/QUOTE]I was still wearing my usual clothes at early 5 months. I didn't start showing until almost 6 months....unless I just pushed out so people would quit telling me I wasn't pregnant just gaining a little weight. Lol.

 

i'd just say to bring some baggy clothes....I still looked really really really pregnant after....oh, adn I'll never forget this.....when I laughed, my belly would like, "ripple"....you know those funny videos where chubby kids are rolling their bellies? Yeah, that's what mine was like. I felt like Santa.

 

LOL!