Hospital Bag - What do I take in with me for first baby ? List Please

[Firstbump]

Hello Mums,
I have a week to go and need to pack my bag could someone give me a list of relevant things to take in as I am a little lost. I have been told that new mums stay approximately 2 days in hospital and I intend to breastfeed.

Thanks for the advice!

For you:
NIghtdress, suitable for feeding(i.e. buttons on the front) feeding bra, toiletries, towel, book to read when baby is asleep. Takes clothes for during the day as well as you may not want to stay in your nightie all day.

For the new arrival:
nappies, cotton wool or wipes, baby shampoo and baby bath, towel (they let me out only when showed that we were capable in bathing the baby) baby clothes(vests & babygros)

Make sure that you have plenty of change for the phone as mobiles are not allowed in hospitals.

When taking baby home make sure that your car seat has a good head hugger as the baby's head will be very floppy.

It is also a good idea to take snacks and drinks for you and your birthing partner. You may also want to take CDs or tape to listen to during labour.

Don't forget your TENS machine if you are using one, I left mine in the moses basket at home and DP had to come back for it. Luckily we only live 5 minutes from the hospital.

Each time my labour bags have been enormous, and each time barely used! This is what I/we found usefull BOTH times:

waterbottle with sports cap
small inflatable cushion (to sit on, kneel on, lean on, to hit, to hit partner with...)
loads of carbohydratey food (loads, masses, more!)
fan( hospitals are very hot)
something to celebrate with (liqueur chocs for us, but a friend had a half bottle of champagne for hers)
pregancy notes with birth plan attached at the front
arnica
lipsalve
toiletries (for your partner as well)
change of clothes (ditto) tracksuity/pyjama type for on the ward
nursing bras
disposable knickers
maternity pads
babywipes (alcohol-free, for yourself not baby)
cottonwool, nappies, couple of muslins, couple of vests, couple of babygrows one each newborn and 0-3 sizes
good books/magazines for during and after
telephone cash
camera and extra film

partner can bring going home gear for you and baby later

can't think of anything more at the moment, but no doubt you'll get loads of suggestions.

Good luck (and get cracking - you've left it very late!)

Disposable briefs and maternity pads are also a good idea. You don't need to worry about ruining your underwear.
Almost forgot, breast pads to save you bras for leaking milk.

Dressing gown, for when you stagger to the bathroom. Some nice chocs to celibrate with. Some magazines to read, you will not be able to concentrate enough on a book.

The only other thing I can think of is a couple of cheap face flannels that you don't mind being thrown away. I can't think of a nice way to say this, but you may need to clean yourself up afterwards and it could be a bit messy.

if you stay in hospital any length of time take nice chocolates to offer the staff - it's amazing how much more interested doctors get when they're scoffing

FOOD! Both times after delivery I found myself absolutely starving at 11pm and nothing at all edible in the whole hospital.

Slippers.

Your own pillow. It's very comforting and isn't lined with a nasty waterproof layer like the hospital ones. You can lean on it/cuddle it in labour, balance your newborn on it when trying to feed and, more importantly, sit on it for the car journey home
Buy the softest loo roll you possibly can and take a roll with you.
Flip flops for shuffling round the ward/hospital bathrooms.
A dark towel.

Good luck

Very good suggestions, though I agree with milch about babywipes for yourself instead of toilet paper (I presume thatr's what you mean, milch?). Also make sure that you have dark things to wear for a couple of days because you can leak even when using those enormous maternity pads.

Everything mentioned so far is great.

I also (for all 3 births) took a cheap cassette player (battery operated as some hospitals will not allow you to use mains) and a selection of tapes. Used these whilst in delivery room and found them very helpful - sometimes soothing music, sometimes lively music - really whatever you enjoy (panpipes music was particulary good).

Can't add much apart from a water spray/cooler thing (Superdrug do a nice lavender scented one) and to check the fit of the disposable knickers if you decide to go down that route. The ones I bought were like cheesewire, and I ended up sending dh home for some old cotton ones instead.

Top tip: take two bags - one for labour and one for the ward - that way it's easy for dp to take the labour bag home once you've settled in on the ward. At my hospital, there was very little room for bags on the ward so I was glad to get rid of some stuff!

Also, take more baby clothes than you think that you'll need - the meconium is very messy!

And check to find out whether you're hospital provides nappies - could save you a lot of space in your bag!

Take a plastic water jug and lavender oil. Then when you need to go to the loo after delivering, put some warm water and a drop of oil in the jug, and pour as you go! It helps take the sting away if you've torn or had stitches and smells lovely to boot!

Also, a shaped breastfeeding pillow can be really useful for getting bubba into the right position when feeding, and take your own pillow in too - nice and comforting to have something that smells of home.

What not to take is baby bath and shampoo (sorry Mocha) and babywopes. Best to use water only for the first 2 weeks to avoid baby developing skin rashes and eczema

see this thread here

babywipes even

mears - the midwives on my wards were amazed when I insisted on washing my babies in plain water! It seems so obvious to me not to use soap (and therefore not to use babywipes either) on young babies.

The disposable knickers I got were v uncomfortable also, depends on your size, but I bought the biggest and they still were too small (I'm about a size 14!!) Personally I'd go for comfortable old cotton ones too.

NCT catalogue (or someone in your local branch) do fantastic disposable knickers - a bit like netting but much more comfortable than nasty paper things you can buy. V comfortable if you have to have c-section (apparently - and i hope you dont have one) and easy to rinse and dry in seconds.

Ooh and lots and lots of maternity pads - sorry but you will need them!

I'd definitely second the NCT mesh knickers - not exactly Agent Provocateur (sp???) but they were brilliant after my caesarean.

Also take dried fruit/ prune juice to keep the body moving - it can play havoc with your systems and the last thing you need is constipation.

All good things on here ... nothing to add.
BUT ... here is something to think about ...
DO NOT ... I repeat ... DO NOT ... take anything that is precious to you! I had my watch stolen from the delivery suite when I was in labour ... I was devastated ... it was not valuable but had an awful lot of sentimental value and I still want to cry when I think of the b who took it while I was powerless.
Interestingly ... 2 and a half years later my sister had her watch nicked in the same hospital while in labour ....
East Surrey BTW!!
FirstBump ... good luck with your first baby!!

Hi,how exciting! you're in the last stretch now. Although I was really scared in the run up to having my ds, in the last two weeks or so I became quite excited that I would see him soon. The only things I could think of to add - and this might seem stupid but ear plugs. I was up all night as ds was born just before breakfast. i was exhausted and moved on to a ward just as visiting time started. i felt very very tired and emotional and all I wanted to do was sleep but it was so noisy!
Everyone has already said, maternity pads but buy three time more than you think. Nobody warns you how much you continue to bleed afterwards - please dont let that scare you its perfectly normal but not very nice. Also about 8 babygros and lots of new born nappies. I kind of thought that I'd only need about 2 babygros but somehow newborns do get messy! a lightweight dressing gown is a good idea as you can go and sit in the tv room or just have a walk and not feel self conscious.
Oh.. good luck... hope it all goes well!::

im a week overdue and i took a trip around my labour ward yesterday nite! i was not impressed! they have these bedside t.v and phone units which also play radio! it costs £3.75 for a 24 hour veiwing card which is 24 hours of continuous veiwing! as if us new mums don't have enuff to pay for! there is not even communal t.v room and their waiting room is the size of my airing cupboard! im going to be induce on wednesday and am not looking forward to my stay but i guess i'll have my baby to keep me occupied!
(p.s firstbump- remember breast pads! i made that mistake b4! not very flattering)

Someone I know suggested taking a pack of those toilet wipes in case you're not lucky enough to get a private toilet

What you need to take does depend how long you stay in for, presumably dh can get you more stuff if needed but for my second dd I only stayed in 8 hours after the birth so all I needed were Evian face spray, clean nightie for first photos and the clothes to come home in for myself and baby.