If you are might be in the postnatal ward for a while.....

[ZombiePlanB]

what might you pack?

I might being having a cs and might end up on the postnatal ward.

I assume earplugs to stop noise from other mothers on the phone.
Flip flops
babywipes
I guess also you are surrounded by various DHs so need decent nightie etc.

Any other ideas?

an eyemask (as midwives have a habit of changing beds int he night with all the lights on IME)

Portable DVD player or ipod

Your own towels and pillows

Magazines / books
Snacks (if not provided)
PJs (several pairs in case of accidents)
lipsalve (honestly!!)
Mobile phone

I was in for 5 days with DS (my first) but was in a private room.. WIll have a think of things I found useful!

A book seriously babies sleep lots so soon after birth.
A notebook and pen always handy.
PJs I felt really exposed in nighties.
Maternity pads.
Toiletries
Maybe a hand held DVD player and DVDs or if you have an Ipod fill it with movies.
Breast feeding bras if your going to BF
Clothes for baby. I forgot these.

A mug and a pint glass - nicer than endless plastic cups

Spatone and senokot

your own secret stash of paracetamol so you don't have to wait up for them to do the drugs round

a breast pump, if you're going to bf and you think there might be problems (don't know why you're having the cs or how far along you are)

Nappies/clothes for baby. Clothes for you - you are allowed to get dressed during the day you know but yes nightie/dressing gown.

Money for hospital tv/phone. I had to pay for a card. Food and drink. We weren't allowed to make a cup of tea due to H&S so you have to wait for someone to bring some. And the food was crap. So snacks/chocolate/willing dh primed to bring takeaway chinese. Books/magazines to read. Phone charger. Nice shower gel/moisturiser.

Do they have private rooms? I spent 2 weeks on the ANTE natal ward and that was quite nice, but after for my induction/CS I requested a side room if one was available and was lucky enough to get one.

Oh thats a good one fruitful I'll remember that, those little cups drive me mad.

Magicool spray.

How's your partner at shopping? You might not need to bring too much in if he can bring bits in for you. Maybe a Mothercare catalogue

With dc3 I was on the antenatal ward for 3 months; I had a laptop and mobile internet connection thingie, saved my sanity.

Games/toys to play with your older children when they visit - hospital visits are pretty boring for children once they've got over the excitement of seeing mummy (i.e. after 3 minutes)

Ear plugs
eye mask
iPhone
books
chocolate
flavoured water
slippers

Oh yes, the cup of tea thing. I brought my own tea bags (hated hospital tea) and asked the HCA to fill a cup with hot water on the tea round. Once I begged a nurse to make me one.

Squash to make the water drinkable.
Laptop for mumsnetting and communicating with the outside world.
Breast pads.
Camera for capturing those first days.
Hand cream to stop your hands getting sore from constant hand washing.
Carrier bags to put dirty washing in.

i was in for 6 weeks before and 6 weeks after with severe pre eclampsia.
I nearly went to the la la farm.

Take ipod
computer for MN
earplugs
lots of bubble bath so you can escape for a bit of pampering
eye make up remover pads
sudoko books
pencils with rubbers

I pulled the curtains shut, whipped out my travel kettle and sachets of UHT milk and sugar, and made my own cup.

I also brought my own pain meds.

Where I gave birth to DS, Royal Alexandra at Paisley, there was no access to TV or radio. None.

You had to get up and go queue up for your food.

You were not allowed to walk the halls with your baby.

They were terrible at answering call button for pain meds.

If you are having an ElCS I'd ask to speak to the doctor doing your drug chart beforehand and ask for some decent pain meds, codeine or something. Stupid bloody paracetamol and diclofenic did not do anything for me till I'd recovered enough to go home. I did get codeine but because it wasn't already on my drug chart I had to wait for the doctor every time I wanted it.

Also, find out when shift changeover is. If you are going to need some painkillers around that time, call them before changeover. In my hospital I had to wait till they'd finished - sometimes half an hour. Not fun when I could barely move and the baby was crying.

expat I've heard the Alexandra is a bit grim but not walking around with your baby?! How did they justify that?

Earplugs - i will never forget trying to sleep through worry and early labour pains (at 30 weeks) while a woman in the next bed and her mother chatted loudly about her birth experience [this was around midnight!] - in the end i shouted ffs shut up some of us still have to give birth! There was stunned silence on the ward.

Lush dry shampoo
pillow
chocolate

Problem with earplugs is that you want to hear your baby.

thediary, they used health and safety as a justification.

but it's okay for postCS and instrumental delivery women to walk unaided down the corridors, queue up for a tray and carry it back.

oh, and go put it back in a rack down the hall.

i had DS at 4.11AM and was moved to the ward around breakfast time.

i'd have a mega epidural and ventouse.

sister came in and asked bluntly why i wasn't getting up to go get my breakfast.

aside from the fact that i was projectile vomitting from the placenta drug they give you plus others i'd had due to high blood pressure, i informed her that i couldn't feel my legs.

i got no breakfast.

i used to be a climber and thankfully had wicked strong upper body strength. i was able to claw myself to my bag and was caught doping myself with paracetamol and ibuprofen.

because they didn't answer the bell that i was in dire pain with afterbirth pains as DS was my third.

midwife got all argy bargy. again i snapped, 'i wouldn't have to do this at all if there were some consideration for the pain some women are in following massive medical procedures.'

i couldn't get out of there fast enough!

i asked to go home at 8AM and by 6PM informed i'd be leaving AMA.

we live quite far away and the ferries stop running at 9.50PM in winter, then necessitating a very long drive around loch lomond.

Bloody hell expat thats awful, I'll be making sure to give them amiss if I ever find myself pregnant in Glasgow or Renfrew! I've never know anyone to give birth there that tells a good story.

I think I know the region you live in thats where my cousins lived (they lived in Dunoon at the time) they were the one who told me how awful the place was. Right no moving to Dunoon either. Or Arran I think they sometimes get taken to Paisley too.

You may not be in too long. I was discharged 12hrs post em cs. They practically pushed me out of the door. But similar to expat, the care was crap so was rather glad.

I wish I'd had some way of telling the time. No watch or clock and it was v disorientating.

thank you all. I now have a lovely long list and am feeling much better about the whole thing. If I am prepared for the stay then it won't seem so bad.......maybe?

I'll try to remember to report back to let you know how it goes, and how St Thomas' is.

Pester power to try and get a private room. I think they were desperate to shut me up and gave in.

It was a much better recovery than in the post natal ward TBH.