Hospital Bag - Have I gone OTT????

[CupcakesHay]

I've just finished the last bit of my hospital bag packing, after adding a few more bits in....

To give a bit of background, we live about an hour's drive from hospital, and if plan goes OK - my dad is going to drop me and DH off, then we have baby, and DH will stay at travel lodge nearby whilst I stay overnight.... so no going back for anything I forget and not really any shops that close by - so really can't forget anything!

So here's the list... does it sound OK? Mad? Too much? I'm getting a bit paranoid that I have too much stuff! So any advice would be great...

Hopsital bag (me):

• Towel
• Pillow & Pillow Case
• Crocs
• Bin Bags for dirty laundry
• Maternity Pads x 30
• Knickers x 4
• PJ Bottoms x 1
• PJ Top x 2 (one with buttons, one without)
• Nighties for giving birth in x 2
• Dressing gown
• Nursing Bra x 2
• Knickers x 3
• Fluffy socks
• Normal socks
• Dettol wipes (in case showers/toilets are minging)
• Bag with toiletries - lip balm, shampoo, toothpaste, etc
• Breast Pads and Nipple cream
• Water Bottle
• Ribena
• OJ Cartons x 6
• Hob Nob flapjacks
• Boost Bars
• Camera
• Birth Plan

(still need to put in clothes to wear home for me! And Ipod and Speakers)

Baby Bag

• 2 vest/baby grows
• 2 x outside baby grows (as in coloured)
• Star Shawl to wrap baby in for "leaving hospital pictures"
• Beige blanket
• Cotton Wool
• Wet Wipes
• Socks and Scratch Mitts
• Muslins x 2
• Knitted Cardy, hat, booties and mittens
• Snowsuit
• Pampers - newborn - x 35

PHEW - so what do you think?

Knickers you are happy to throw away would be good, you might not want to store them if you are in for a few days.

I wouldn't clip a newborns nails - they are so soft that you can nibble them. Being the bad mummy who actually managed to pinch the end of her dss finger and draw blood with nail clippers when he was about three months old I am perhaps overly cautious.
Good luck with the baby OP so exciting.

You need more PJs, i only went with 2 sets of trousers, ended up with a csection and had to send my DP for nightdresses as the bottoms were uncomfortable on my wound.

would also suggest more nickers, it takes a few days to get the hang of it all.

more vests and baby grows aswell, also take a baby blanket and use that for the baby in the hospital cot that way when you take baby home he/she will still have the smell with them. x

good luck! x

Hello,

I would add some more muslins and babygrows.

My babies were quite mucousy after birth and so were sick quite a bit on the sheets and babygrows. Muslins placed under their heads saved the sheets and are also good for general mopping up.

I'm also trying to sort my bag out for this time. I usually get the stuff together and then get my DP to pack it (he is very particular about packing), and then he knows where everything is!

Good luck!

I'd bring more PJ bottoms and a nightie or 2 for afterwards in case you don't fancy climbing in and out of PJ bottoms and pulling them up. More knickers. Dressing gown - I was FREEZING after giving birth. Couple more babgygrows/vests - my DD pooed spectacularly 4 times over everthing in sight after she was born. Another towel? And maybe something savoury for you to eat as well in case you get sick of sweet stuff? More muslins. Adds up, doesn;t it? I turned up with a suitcase and a separate food bag . Good luck!

Sounds about right. I would take more baby clothes as my DS went through many many clothes and I was only in 2 nights. Wouldn't bother with baby wipes, they like you to use cotton wool and water. Also wouldn't bother with seperate photo shawl, you will never notice it when you look back at the pictures, you will be too busy wondering where that tiny baby has gone .

My hospital got shitty with me as I used their maternity pads, mine had wings and at the time I wasn't wearing underwear as I had a catheter in and just had the large hospital pad wedged between my legs. When I asked for more, she looked at me funny and asked where my own were. They also reluctantly lent me a baby gro when I (stupidly) took one in for DS and his nappy leaked in the night and I didn't have anymore until I could get DH to bring more in the morning. My hospital provides nothing, so I would say your list is pretty much what I am taking this time with me.

take drinking straws - makes sipping juice when semi-reclined much easier. Also, you haven't mentioned any bottles / formula. Contentious I know but there may be reasons why you need to use them. DS had low blood sugar and my milk didn't come in for a week as I had CS. He had to be bottle fed for a few days on top of the little colostrum I was able to give him. My hosp. did provide disposable teats and the first couple of feeds but DP had to go and get the rest. You can get prefilled bottles of some types (cow and gate) from places like ToysRus so you don't have to worry about steriliztion, refrigeration etc. If you do send him out for anything text him exactly what you want as well as telling him. My Dp just showed it to the woman in mothercare who sorted him out!

I'll be honest, if I was to do it all again, I'd take a toiletry bag and pyjamas (quite a few, as i vomited EVERYWHERE) and that's it (aside from baby bag of course!). Everything else seemed to stay in the bag and get tripped over a lot :) But a squirty bottle of water for the first few post birth wees is definitely recommended! Good luck :)

I got told off because my bag was 'too big' and they didn't have room for it on the ward! Bloody cheek lol. It wasn't even that big-honestly! :) It wasn't a suitcase or anything. The aftercare in the Rosie (Cambridge) is full of grumpy snappy nurses anyway.

It's them not me! :o

I have packed loads of breastpads and cheap knickers rather than disposable ones, which i think are completely pointless, uncomfortable and the same price (if not more!) as a 5 pack from Asda.

Have you got any 'entertainment' type stuff in case you are in there for a while?

Charger for the camera
Charger for the phone

Can you leave a bag in your Dad's car too - I assume they'll be visiting.

I've just bought 22 muslins from ebay for £20 (inc.p&p). I am not mad, i know how you get through these things :)

I also use them for boiling my meat and gravy puddings!