Hospital Gear

Leading up to the due date, I watched a plethora of YouTube videos and read a surfeit of lists on the of stuff you would need/ want for your hospital stay.  I think one of the challenges is that hospitals all provide different stuff so it is hard to know what will be provided versus what you might like to pack. 

Anyway, I WAY over packed and here is what I ended up using and appreciating and those things I did not.  I might have used more of the crap I brought for the actual delivery but by the time I got to the hospital I was already 6 cm dilated and progressing quickly.  Therefore, the things I had packed anticipating a longer labor time in the hospital, were useless.  They just put me in a hospital gown and it was go time.

the most surprising thing about the delivery (aside from the actual delivery) is that once she is out, you are on.  You know all those things you know about being a parent and keeping a baby alive?  Like feeding every two hours and changing the diaper and burping and stuff?  Well that starts now, not tomorrow, now Now, after your 24 hour labor, when you are exhausted and slightly delirious, now.  Which is like, oh yeah and duh, but is also surprising and somewhat abrupt. We were fortunate in that George pooped three times pretty quickly after she was born so the nurses dealt with the maeconium (sp?) diapers, horray!

Items Needed:

You own pillows with dark pillow covers: Yup, hospital pillows SUCK and I really appreciated my feather pillow at night and when breast feeding, like alot.  Also bring one for the partner so they can have it at night, and you can steal it otherwise. Honestly, in hindsight, I would have brought two more pillows but that seemed excessive.

Blanket for the partner: Not all hospitals provide this and they need something to sleep with.

Gatorades: Really great for post birth and the two days in the hospital.  Actually, really great during birth. I was breathing so heavy before the epidural and my mouth was absolutely parched. I could not even swallow. A few sips of iced Gatorade really helped though. I remember having a rugby coach who insisted on Gatorade at games. He was South African, so hearing him emphasize the importance of "Elec-tro-lites," was an inside joke for the team. After birth, my preference was for water and ginger ale Rob really appreciated the Gatorade.

Clothing: I had purchased a “Pretty Pushers” gown for delivery, which as noted above, I ended up not using.  I did however, use it as a nightgown once I changed out of the delivery gown and it was great for that since it meant easy access breast feeding and the nurses coming in to check on me could access my various areas with little trouble as well.  Additionally, I brought a set of lounge clothes/ PJ’s that was really nice to have the second day after I showered.  In top of this, I brought a black cotton robe, which was great to cover up my PJs when we went to the breast feeding class offered by the hospital.  Finally, of course, a pair of going home clothes, also stretchy and loungy were real nice.  

Flip Flops:  If slippers are your preference that is probably fine, but I used rubber flip flops in case I got them messy. I wanted something easy to clean. We also had a slew of them left over from our wedding, so, hey, its kinda like recycling!

During recovery, at first, I was going to the bathroom like every other time we were feeding George.  I say "we" because for the first two days, Rob was integral. Squeezing and helping me position my bob to achieve latch. However, Rob could not help with going to the bathroom. Or I guess he could have but that is a little too TMI for me. It is a trial, cause you are moving so slowly and deliberately trying not to tear anything and keep everything in and aligned. They want you to change your pad each time to prevent infection.  On top of that you are wearing a lot of layers down there.  Let me explain:  Disposable underwear + Mega Pad + Ice Pack at first, later on, replace ice pack with witch hazel pads and antiseptic spray.  Each time you change all this out you need to squirt yourself down with the perineal bottle filled with warm water, which you have patiently filled up with warm water while trying not to pee yourself. There is some serious maneuvering involved.

Underwear: The hospital provides some truly crappy disposable underwear, that I totally used.  I might recommend finding a pair of disposable underwear you like and fit relatively well.  Remember however, they need to be large enough to fit all the above mentioned items. Recovery is a bitch and being able to throw everything away as needed is super helpful/ convenient. For the second day, I brought some crappy granny panties from home and ended up using those.

Pads: The hospital provides these mega-diaper-like pads that I think are actually pretty worthwhile.  Make sure your disposable underwear can accommodate them.  You will need pads for yourself once you get home but take all the ones the hospital gives you anyway.

Breast feeding pillow: I brought the boppy, which was stupid b/c I was still inflated and I truly believe you cannot get a good fit with the boppy when you are bloated.  Should have brought the my breast friend.  Breast feeding is hard enough and learning it is challenging and your arms get super tired b/c you are weak and still super elastic from that hormone you were producing so bring the damn breast friend pillow.

Nipple cream: They can give you some lanolin, but I didn’t think it worked that well.  Some of the blogs said bringing nipple creme was not necessary, but that is ridiculous to me. You know when your nipples hurt most? When they first go from being an occasional play thing to a being thrust into an industrial wet sucking machine every two hours. Mama Earth's Natural Nipple butter = awesome. My nipples hurt like hell nursing with colostrum, they started improving after my milk came in three days after delivery.

Toiletries:  I packed up my gym toiletry kit and liked having my own products to shower with.

Big ass towel:  Hospital towels suck.  Pack a big ass towel for yourself and your partner.  It is really nice to have.  It will get blood on it, so make sure it isn’t one you care much about.  I used an old big ass beach towel.

Make up and Hair product:  I totally used this and was glad I brought it.  It would surprise people to know that I cared about this but honestly you look like shit and will for weeks but on the inside you feel pretty good and I just wanted to reflect that in my face, so I totally did this for the breastfeeding class b/c who is going to judge a new mom?

Car seat: Obvi, you have to have this to go home. We got the Britax Chaperone b/c it was the most expensive and the "safest," and don't you love your baby and want her to be safe? Yes, we are suckers. I inherited from my father the belief that if it is the most expensive then it must be the best. Stupid.

Going home outfit: We had this but it was not necessary, it was also too large.  Actually, I have to admit, it has been kind of a bummer the first month that we don't have any cute outfits she fits into. Mostly, because one of the biggest entertainments of my day is deciding what she is going to wear. While clothing is strictly optional while they are a new born, I would argue, having a few cute NB outfits might be worth your while.

Electronic Charger Thingys: Must have, pack for your phone and your partner's.  Make sure you have memory and battery on your camera. After epidural kicked in before pushing we looked at pictures of the cats on Rob’s computer.  I don’t think we needed to bring Rob’s computer ultimately.

People to bring you food: Hospital food sucks and they do not provide meals for your partner.  You are hungry, like seriously hungry. Pack some snacks for immediate post-labor recovery. We brought Saltines and Peanut Butter.  At first I was paranoid about introducing a peanut allergy, but apparently that is not something we needed to be concerned about.

If you have long hair, probably hair things would be good.

Things I brought and did not need

Kindle: Ha!  I was all like, “Two days in the hospital? My oh my, whatever will I do with all that time.  Should we bring DVD’s? Maybe I’ll just read.” Noooope.  You sleep, eat, breastfeed, change diapers and pee.  That is all and it is enough.

Non-slip socks: thinking I would use these for labor walking around.  Nope Epidural > non-slip socks.

Extra Clothing for Georgie: I just wasn't sure what she would look good in. Stupid

My own Pads: Needed industrial strength hospital pads.

Extra outfit for going home b/c I did not know what I would want to wear, nope

Partner Packing- We packed similarly for Rob and he used all the stuff he packed. Clothing, toiletries, electronics