Right. What do I need in my hosp. bag for a planned c-section?? Help me pack!!!

[WhipMeIndiana]

this is baby no. 2, but my first c-section.
What will I need??????????????????

thanking y'all in advance X

[pollyblue]

I was in for 3 days after dd was born by section, although i've heard of women being discharged earlier.
Don't be frightened by the thought of drips, catheters etc, that side of things is over with quite quickly and painlessly. My list of essentials are

Big knickers - waist-high granny pants
Magazines, lots of cheap and cheerful ones for when you can't sleep
Maternity sanpro for the first 24 hours, but not Boots ones! I thought they were cr*p. Always/Kotex night-time pads for afterwards.
Dark towels
Dark coloured nightie for immediately afterwards then dark pjs
Socks/flipflops
Snacks and sucky sweets
Wet wipes
A good thick pillow
Muslins
A couple of terry nappies or travel changing mat to pop under lo when changing in case they wee

So the same as everyone else really! And yes, make sure you put the essentials in your bedside cabinet so you can reach them easily.

[ILikeToMoveItMoveIt]

Welshlinz - I had an emerg cs at 6am on the Sunday and was home for lunch the next day. I wasn't kicked out, I wanted to go home.

[youngbutnotdumb]

I had an ES in June 2006. All I can say is:
BIG GRANNY PANTS!

[AtheneNoctua]

Arnica (lots of it)
Food for you!

[youngbutnotdumb]

I was 6 days late with my DS and I was terrified and exhausted after 12 houyrs of labour to be told that DS's heart rate kept plummeting on contractions due to cord being round his neck twice so had to 'do things the easy way' as the tactless MW told me!!!

But TBH if I was having a planned section I would be very calm because it is painless and easy catheters etc don't hurt only thing that hurt was the bloody dry shave!

WAX I SUGGEST!!!

[CurrantBun]

Agree with loads of the above. Arnica was brilliant. I was really, really bruised from the scar down to the tops of my thighs (midwives said they had never seen anything like it) and it was almost gone two days after taking arnica tablets.

Surgical spirit is useful to remove the incredibly sticky residue left behind by the dressing.

I had my C-section at 9:45pm and was out of bed going to the loo on my own at 8am the next morning (midwife accidentally took out my catheter early) but it was fine. Try to stand and walk straight from the start - it's easy to hunch over so as not to put pressure on the scar.

Definitely second getting the call button and anything you'll need to access (drinks, mobile phone etc) put as close to you as possible - I couldn't reach the call button and ended up holding my son all night after a feed as I couldn't call anyone to put him back in his crib!

Earplugs and an eye mask a good idea - if you're on a ward with others as I was, all the babies cry at different times and lights are on and off all night which means you get bugger all sleep, and sleep is what you need!

I had some big incontinence mat things which I put under the sheet at home in case my waters broke in the night, which came in very handy to change baby on while in hospital - you have to do this on the bed and it's not very good if they wee all over everything! I found hospital beds exactly the wrong height for nappy changing after a C-section - my back ached like hell.

The worst bit of the whole thing was having to get the dressing off the wound after the first day - was told to go in the shower and thoroughly soak it and take as long as I liked. The dressings they use are so sticky I was in the shower for 45 minutes and came out looking like a prune. Had to ease it off bit by bit as obviously did not want to tear anything!

[oregonianabroad]

haven't read so sorry if repeat, but take your own pillow. so comforting.

[oregonianabroad]

haven't read so sorry if repeat, but take your own pillow. so comforting.

[MummyAnnabella]

had emerg c/s 10 months ago and having planned one in 4 months.

contrary to above i loved my mothercare disposable pants which held me all in - had no idea how spongy my tum would be. they are designed in really good shape compared to normal big pants. liked just binning them too.

loads of maternity pads as though nurses changed mine in was nice to have extra ones on standby.

nightie for when you have catheter in.

loads of cartons of juice with straws.

bikini wax defo. i was shaved by 2 nurses while 2 more washed my tum 2 more undressed me and put gown on 2 more started wheeling me off to theatre all the while doctor had his hand up my bits for an internal!! was an emergencey though but it is just one less thing to worry about. they didnt manage to take my nice toe polish off though in the rush which i was happy about!!

[JulesJules]

Agree with all the above, just wanted to say that I was in exactly the same situation, had elective CS following nightmare first delivery and post natal repair surgeries. Best thing I ever did, there was no comparison, for example post op pain was nothing compared to how I felt the first time, so hope it turns out well for you too.
Big pants, wet wipes, mascara, lip balm, def flip flops for shower (my top labour bag tip anyway) I took a lovely l'Occitane all in one milk wash thing (hair and body) to save messing about with different bottles. I also took a coolbag full of juice, bottled water, grapes and um mini marsbars and got DH to bring me M&S salads and Greek yoghurt.
The other thing I'd say is make sure that you do take the pain relief every 4 hours. They tell you this beforehand, but in the post natal ward they seemed reluctant to actually hand it out. You do need post op pain relief so you can move around as much as possible. Good Luck!

[lorisparkle]

Not something to take in but see if your hospital do cots that slot onto the side of the bed rather than the ones on wheels. This means that you can bf your LO as soon as they need it rather than having to buzz someone to pass you them.

I also agree about taking loads of food onto the ward. The food is often rubbish and not when you want it so take loads of fruit, chocolate, etc etc.

I have had 2 elective CS and the 2nd was so much easier because I made a conscious effort to get up and moving as soon as I could, ate as much as I could, and put on make up / nice clothes. Remember though it is major surgery so don't push yourself too far. Oh yeah take all the pain relief on offer!!!

[ilovewashingnappies]

Hello!

Had c-section 10 months ago. It was unplanned but I was glad I had:

• mega cheap, huge knickers from Asda. I couldn;t stand the thought of paper knickers and they were a quid for 5 so didn;t matter what happened to them.
  
  
• Treats - never have I felt so guilt-less than nibbling on mini caramel shortbreads in the middle of the night feeding! Also fruit, fibre stuff
  
  
• make sure dp puts everything in your reach before he leaves.
  
  
• Nice flowers and lots of visitors - twas nice to feel loved. Also enjoyed having other mums around - we had some great laughs and it made the time pass really quick. [didn;t want to be transferred -having too much fun!]
  
  
• Relish the time in hospital and don't rush - get lots of breastfeeding help
  
  I didn;t really have time to read a serious book - trashy mags are the way forward.
  
  How exciting!!!!! Good luck and congratulations

[WhipMeIndiana]

lovely......thanks for all this stuff its very interesting! 3 weeks to go!