Finally packed my hospital bag - have I forgotten anything?

[ohnelly]

Hello Im 37 weeks & have finally got around to packing my bag ready to go into hospital! So far this is what I have:-

Me - Nighty to give birth in
Pjs for after
Slippers
Underwear & socks
Pads
Shampoo, conditioner, toothpastes etc
Change of clothes to come home in

Baby - 4 Vests
4 babygrows
Sleepsuit & blanket to come home
Nappies
Wipes
Sudocream
Hat, socks, mitts, booties

Obviously I will get DP to bring the car seat when he picks us up, and maybe another blanket with it. My camera is in my handbag, and my notes are on the table ready to grab on way out. Is there anything else I need? I need to put some sort of snacks/drinks in yet. Feel like ive forgotten something!!

music?
phone numbers?

Towels, for you & your baby.

Disposable pants (you are not going to want to ruin your own!)

Breast pads and nursing bras if you intend to bf.

A dressing gown for you.

Do bring nice toiletries (& a wee bit of makeup & perfume if you wear them). Having the first proper shower after giving birth goes a long way to making you feel human! And a bit of foundation & a lick of mascara made me look more human

lip balm

Lip balm - IMPORTANT! (I didn't pack any the first time round, 2nd pregnancy, it was FIRST thing I put in the bag!)

Book (I took a puzzle book so needed pen as well)

Hot water bottle (not essential, but nice to have)

Thank You card or gift for Midwives?

Water spray or wipes

Sounds fine - and what I would do as well is to sort out your loose waisted normal trousers and tops that you think you will wear after, and put them somewhere easy to find. So that if you have to spend longer in hospital for any reason, you can tell DP where they are instead of relying on him to find them.

Couple of dark towels a v good idea - one little one to stand on, plus a pair of flipflops in case the showers are a bit ick

sudocream + wipes, leave them at home, cotton pads and water are recommended for the first weeks.

nightie, take the hospital gown as birth can be incredibly messy on both ends of the digestive system

iron supplements, homeopathic arnica for you

Something to relieve the constipation - lactulose and dried fruit, nursing bra and nursing tops (I packed a normal pre-pregnancy one ), phone charger, hair ties/clips (to keep your hair back when in labour) . Good luck!

Def lip balm and a water bottle/straw.

Disposable pants are cr*p, multipack of the cheapest m and s big pants, much better, bin after.

Flip flops for the shower after.

Your own pillow.

Thanks for this - I am 37.2 weeks and still not packed my bag, had forgotten most of the stuff you need.

Agree about some cheap big knickers. Last time I got disposable pants & they were beyond hopeless. This time (am nearly 38 wks) I just got a pack of super sized pants from Sainsbury's for a couple of quid, so won't mind chucking them away.

Lipbalm a must, as are flipflops (which will double up as slippers).

Toothpaste & brush, along with your other toiletries. Hair brush. More maternity pads than you think.

Cotton wool for the baby - no need for wipes.

Good luck

Something to read and to keep your mind active.
Something to eat as hospitals tend to sell loads of crisps and choccies and not much fruit or healthy food.
I packed a book and 3 magazines and then was kept in for 3 days before being induced so when baby was finally born I had read them all, and eaten all my snacks
Money for the TV. There is something comforting about watching your usual programmes whilst in labour.
Medicines, I am asthmatic and forgot my inhaler with ds. The midwife took the gas and air off me as I was struggling to breathe.

Extra clothes for you and baby just in case. Leave them in a seperte bag and tell hubby 'bring that bag if I am in for more then 2-3 days'

Deffo lip balm, those wards dry your skin out something rotten.

When I got to hospital, at 7cm dilated, they let me have a warm bath, I'd brought a small Dove bubble bath with me, then I enjoyed a banana, a cereal bar and a couple of cartons of juice out of my bag - I felt nice and relaxed then, and ready for the next stage.

I also had with me the fleecey blanket off our bed at home which was of great comfort to me throughout that first night.

tube of lansinoh if you're planning to breastfeed
drinks & snacks - i took some cartons of apple & orange juice, some 70% chocolate for during labour & some snack size bars of choc & mini cheddars for after. you may be more health conscious, but i had GD so was looking forward to pigging out on carbs afterwards!
bendy straws - you might not have the inclination or coordination to drink out of a bottle or cup during labour, this way your birth partner can just aim the straw into your mouth!
a few sachets of spatone, or a bottle of floradix - to get your iron levels up afterwards! (& they don't make you constipated unlike the tablets they might give you in hospital)

good luck!

Good list!
Maybe add numbers written on paper incase phone dies.
Also you know how babies with slushy poo can get a teeny tiny bit of it on the pantyline of their vest very easily, so maybe a couple more vests incase you stay in for 3 or more days..?

• deffo flip flops for walking round minging hospital
• books or magazines (its very boring in there, and my induction lasted 4 days, Im glad I took books)
• huge nasty pants from Asda that you can bleed all over and throw away
• bigger coming home clothes than youve packed, honestly you'll be bigger than you think
• more maternity pads than youve packed
• ipod in case they do nasty things to you. I was listening to the killers whilst the doctor was breaking my waters to block it all out

Also no wipes for baby, it's all about the cotton wool and water for newborns!

This thread is so good, I need to pack my bag!

• balls! I took wipes, much easier and no problems with ds's skin. Each to their own

hey thanks for the list me and dd is going to start to pack her bag this week shes 33 wks pg

extra pillow

foam earplugs (can easily hear baby next to you, just blocks out some of the rest of the noise)

eye mask

Just a thought about what you are wearing to give birth in - if you want to do skin to skin straight afterwards, you might want a nightie (or alternative top) that opens up the front?

oh and snacks snacks snacks and plenty to drink and a water bottle. And if i were going now, I would also take a laptop and boxed set of some good DVDs to watch.

bedside clock that you can just glance at (I needed to see the time for next feed/how long I had feed for etc)

When breastfeeding I didn't have a spare hand to pick up my mobile phone to see the time, often the curtains were closed or partially closed so I couldn't see the ward clock, and I didn't wear a watch as it was uncomfortable for me, and would dig into DD precious skin.
Might be less relevant if not planning to breastfeed

sorry off topic - but why do you need a clock to tell you when to breastfeed? Isn't that what babies are for?