What to pack in my bag for hospital stay after a c-section?

[BumptasticIn09]

Any essentials that anybody can reccomend?

If it all goes to 'plan' I will be in from a Wednesday until Saturday/Sunday according to my consultant.

It is hopefully a few weeks off yet but want to get prepared, looking for any tips, thanks!

When I was in 2 years ago the only thing I can recommend is making sure you get through about 3 -4 jugs of water the first day to flush through all the stuff they give you when you have the c-section.
I managed to do this and was up and around within a day whilst other mums who'd had c-sections didn't drink enough or have energy to get up and move around.

Then because they "have to" keep you in for 3 nights supposidly, take enough books to read.

Don't have anything that is too tight around the tummy for the first couple of days but there isn't anything special you need.

Good Luck

Big knickers that go up to your waist (smaller ones will irritate your wound).

Peppermints in case you get trapped wind.

An extra pillow - NHS ones are like little rubber biscuits.

Get up and (slowly) about as soon as you can as this will help you to heal.

Giant sanitary towels because you will still bleed and you can also use one on the inside of your enormous pants to cushion your scar if need be.

Good luck!

Proper decent maternity sanitary pads - cos you'll still bleed. (I wasn't expecting this when I had my first section)
Big pants - you don't want anything to rub against your csection incision.

MrsHappy can obviously type faster
Forgot to say - Good Luck

Maternity trousers, as normal ones will rub your scar. Big pants that come up to the belly button. I got the mesh hospital pants from the JoJo catalogue for my cs, they were fab. Herb tea, soup you can snack on, I found the painkillers and morphine suppository really bunged me up so I didn't eat much on my second cs. Make sure you rest properly for the first 36 hours, midwives will probably pester you to do stuff, but I recovered better after my second cs as I stood my ground and got them to do most of the nappy changes. I was off paracetamol after 10 days. When I had my first the head midwife told me she was unhappy women were expected to do too much after a cs, so i took her advice with my second and was a bit of a diva! All the best, they're really not too bad if you plan ahead.

big soft pants
arnica cream/tablets
sweets and chocolate
squash - helped me drink more water
magazines/books etc.

also best to make piles of baby clothes & extra night-clothes for you so that your DH can bring a pile a day - as you don't want to have that many clothes initially and you probably don't want to rely on your DH selecting the right things.

I quite enjoyed my stay - just appreciate the rest, the meals provided and the ability to manage visitors around the visiting hours. Also was nice to just get time practicing BFing and there were people around at night to get advice from.

short sleeved nighties - so hot in hospital, you don't want pyjama bottoms

several pillows with non-white covers

eye shades if you end up on a ward

water bottles that you can sip from - you don't want to be pouring glasses of water from a jug

don't buy too many maternity pads - i bought loads this time as I needed them after an emcs, had an elective 10 days ago and stopped bleeding after a week

nipple cream - lanisoh

Hello, rather than re-type I'm linking you to this thread which contains all my advice having gone through it twice! here

nice slippers for schleping around when you get up on your feet again.

headphones (so you can use the tv and not the grotty ones they provide you with).

i know lots of people will laught but i had lovely white company room spray. luckily i got a private room and used as i hate smell of hospitals.

your own comfy pillows and blanket.

dressing grown.

nb i was checked out after 2 nights, if you want to go earlier, you can.

nice tissues

arnica
straws for your juice
flipflips to wear in the shower

I had DD3 by elective on Thurs morning and signed myself out on Sat morning hope it all goes well for you

Ipod/CD walkman

Magazines - useful currency. I cemented a relationship with one of the nurses by lending her my annual (bought as treat by dh) copy of Hello.

Small cartons of fruit juice

Anti-DVT socks - I was stuck in a blood-stained pair for more than a day because there was nobody to find me a clean pair. I wished I'd taken my own.

Thank-you ladies, all very useful advice

Headphones and iPod a v good choice, forgot that.

I think it's dangerous to see how fast you can get out of hospital if you've had major abdominal surgery- you don't get a medal! Take it at your own pace and listen to your body - you may find it v hard work to get around at home (especially up and down stairs) if you leave too soon, plus you might be tempted to do too much physically, like load the dishwasher. I had 4 nights and felt ready to leave then. I'd do the same again.

will again tell you BIG knickers (has it sunk in that you need them yet??)...

i had to have an emergency section 5wks ago, i'd never expected to need a section after 2 easy natural births... sent my DH out to tesco to get me some enormous knickers, he got a 4pack for £2.50 for me and they were fab, came up to my norks!! very comfy!! 5wks later i'm back in my smalls very comfortably but i couldn't have got through the first 2 weeks without them!!

I came home after 3 nights, but had my section late on the 1st day, so only spent 2 full days in hospital. My other 2 DC's were staying with family though and baby was in SCBU so i had DH looking after just me at home. Make sure you take it easy when you get up and down the first few days, take it slow and at your own pace!! I felt i was going to split in two the first few times i got up, was so scared of pulling myself up, used the handles on the beds loads, and my arm muscles got a good workout from supporting my body weight more than normal!!

Anyway good luck, hope it all goes well!!

Yes, ipod/walkman very important for passing the time when visitors aren't there or for drowning out the rackeet on the ward.

Glaskham is right, of course, about the vast knickers. Once I got home, I reverted to my usual drop-dead gorgeous bikini briefs and was chastised by the midwife, as she could see that they were inflaming my scar .

I wished I'd brought a mug so I could have had decent-sized teas and coffees.

Snacks. If you're going in on Wednesday for an elective, they'll fit you around emergencies. I was in at 8am but didn't get my CS until 5pm and by the time I was up on the ward, I'd missed dinner and was ravenous but didn't have any food with me!

Also, you get dinner really early and I found that I got really hungry in the evenings/night when I was bfing.

What would be brilliant is if your DH could bring you a flask of tea late afternoon. The tea machine was broken in the maternity wing and I was gasping for one.

Bring a credit/debit card too for the telly/internet. You can MN from your bed

Ok here goes!

Nintendo DS - helps to pass the time
Cordial & bottled drinks - not fizzy tho, as you want to avoid wind after a CS
Windeze tablets - these are safe for pg and bf
Big pants and lots of them (cotton ones not horrid paper ones)
Maternity towels x 20
FLIP FLOPS for showering - you'll be very glad you brought these!
Slippers for bedside
Charger for your mobile! you'll be there a long time after all with lots of people texting you
Camera
Cotton cellular blankets x 2 & plenty clothes & nappies for baba
Lightweight dressing gown - is hot in maternity wards - don't take the fleecy one...
Nightshirts x 5 - have a nice fresh one for each morning and evening
Own pillow is nice
Pay for a private room if available, seeing as you are there 2-3 nights it's worth it as mat wards are like Grand Central station for noise and disturbance
Eye mask for reason above if you dont get a private room!
Maternity trousers for coming home in!

Err... that's all!

Right - I had a C section nearly 10 months ago now - baby arrived over 5 weeks early so I didn't have a bag packed and had to rely on hubby to bring things in every day - he did his best but well he's a man So my best advice is to pack your bag well early I will totally ignore the pack your bag at 36 weeks malarky next timeand do it sooner!

You'll need big pants
Ask for a private room - C sections get priority. I had a private room and it was a godsend I didn't have to pay for mine but I suppose it depends on your hospital policy.
A bra for every day you're in unless you can trust your hubby to wash your smalls!
A nightie for every day and a lightweight dressing gown/matching slippers - don't get dressed until you need to!
I wasn't bored so didn't have any iPod or anything but my baby was in the neonatal unit so I was there everyday. My hospital had a patientline thing where you put money in and got TV and phone calls through it so I used that.
You'll need sleepsuits and vests for your baby, I didn't bother with an outfit for baby to go home in but a lot of people did. You'll need something to wear yourself to go home in - if you just take your normal maternity clothes you'll have lost loads of weight and feel really good when they are falling off you
A lot of what you need will depend on your hospital though - mine had maternity towels and perfectly good pillows for eg but obv. others don't!
Above all - enjoy being in hospital and get your strength back you'll be home soon enough and having to cope with everything!

Thanks ladies, so far I see big pants appear to be top of everyones list! M&S here I come

It's a small unit, so I know for the first 24hrs I am guaranteed a private room, after that who knows!
We don't have the patient line things, but I'll have a tv in my room, so I'll pick up a universal remote for that, as last time I was in hospital the hca couldn't find one and it was stuck on 'tiny pop'.
I'll try & remember my phone charger & take my sony reader as it has books & music on it and my camera, don't want to forget that!

Snacks, arnica, peppermints, sports bottle, cordial, windeze & flip flops also to be purchased tomorrow.

Should I go for nighties or pj's? I am hoping to bf but I didn't manage to with ds as he was in scbu, hoping I can this time though.

I really should get organised, I either have 2 or 4 weeks left to go, the consultant hasn't decided yet, I should know this week. Agh, I'm so nervous!!!

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions so far.

Bump xx

Hello everyone. I've been told that due to having had fibroid surgery 5 years ago i'll have to have a c-section. It feels like i won't be doing the whole birth thing properly. i know peple say it's the easy option but i would much prefer a natural birth. Can't change the past though so i'll have to do as i'm told.

Don't forget the camera. You'll want to take a couple (or hundred) of pics or the new arrival.

bye

Big pants here too, best tip

private room, I was on ward of 4 and got no sleep as at least one baby was crying all the time.

snacks and drinks

change and mobile/charger

pads

lots nighties and bras

I had 3 sections and stayed in 8 days, 5 days and 3 days.

ear plugs for when the snoring mummy is driving you crazy ;-)

OMG Aquababe, you had a snoring mummy too!?!?

IT DROVE ME CRAZY the first night, the snores from the woman in the next bed were like a pneumatic drill, I'm not kidding!

I pitied her poor DP but not as much as I pitied myself after a 24 hour labour and an EMCS (having been awake 36 hours in total with no sleep and no water or food bar 2 glucose tablets) and the crying babies were mere whispers compared to her!

Plus she got up in the night and put her light on (tilted away from her but straight towards my bed) then fell asleep snoring again with the light shining through her curtains and mine.

I got not a winkette of sleep.

Fuming, moi?!?!

I still offered her a baby vest the next morning when she realised she hadnt brought any.

Hence the move to the private room.

To conclude, yes, do take some ear plugs

As well as the essentials people have mentioned, some non-essentials:

dried apricots to make you go to the loo (all the morphine, codeine etc really bungs you up and though they do give you a laxative, apricots are nicer to eat)

A hand mirror and wipes for your face. At first when it's hard to get around, at least you can freshen your face a bit, maybe put a bit of make up on to look a bit more civilised for visitors, photos etc