Labour & Hospital Bag?

[Jess234]

A question that has probably been asked loads of times before, but what do I need to back ready for the labour and stay in hospital after. My first baby is due on 25th August, and I?m not sure what I need to take.

Thanks

Jess

Jess, try looking here HTH

Thanks Pie, thats very helpful. Will be able to get the bag packed and out the way for a while

Jess

Jess 234, if it is any help I don't think you need anything - let me explain. When I had dd I thought I was very organised but dh still had to go backwards and forwards for things I had forgotton, when I had ds, again I though I was very organised (afterall I was now an expert, when I opened my bag I found that dd now 18 months had substituted most things! Didn't have a full outfit, had to wash hair and self with royal jelly bubble bath can't remember what else but definately should have chcked bag before going to hospital. (Also forgot to get car seat out of attic and dh had to get it down and dust it off! Oh the plans I had)

Lol, I am starting to think the more organised I am the more things can go wrong. My last day at work was Friday, so I now have the time to begin to get ready, But as i do this I realise how much of a big task this is. Before the only thing i worried about was work, I'm starting to wish I could go back for another week or two.

Jess

Jess234 - you probably know from all the other messages what to pack by now but one thing that i did find was that in the earlier stages of labour i was starving so i would suggest lots of snacks for you and your partner plus hospital food is never much cop. Another bit of advice would be vaseline, i found that by putting this on the baby's bottom before they have their first poo (which is like sticky tar - sorry to be so graphic)it is much easier to clean up without it sticking to their bottom. I didn't know about paper knickers with my first but i would recommend them to anyone plus i really underestimated the amount of pads i would need.

Thanks; I Have got some disposable knickers and plenty of pads. My mum is my birth partner and when I said that I would need to remember to take snacks and drinks, she laughed and looked at me like I was mad. But from everyone?s advice I will be taking plenty of snacks and drinks. Not heard about the Vaseline before but if it makes it easier for the baby and me it?s worth a try.

Thanks again for the advice

I looked at disposable knickers but they worked out as expensive as cheap ones so I just bought a job lot in Peacocks and threw them away when necessary, much more comfortable.

Go to your local market and get some 'polo neck' knickers that come really high up. If you end up having a caesarean for some reason you will find these much more comfortable as they won't irritate the scar. If they are a good fit they will keep your pads in place too. Loads of pads (I preferred wings so that they didn't scrunch up too much) and loads of breast pads, once I started producing milk I just didn't stop and was constantly soaked. I had to sleep on a towel because I leaked so much.

Don't forget your list of phone numbers and plenty of loose change for the phone. A notepad and pen to write lists for dh. At least one spare nightie.

shorts pjs better if you cant sit on you bottom and have to lie on your lower bak - legs up.

Oh and always ultra pads are fantastic

Thanks for the advice.

Best advice I can give is don't take loads. They tell you in books to pack this and that but you will not need half of it. As long as you have the basic's you can get ppl to bring in what you need.

Another tip is buy big lose slippers as your feet swell no one tells you that. Otherwise you will be walking out of the hos bare footed

Take lots of trashy mags for labour - I read ok, hello and heat during mine and you can chat about Oscars dresses to your midwife to distract you!

For afterwards a couple of loose tshirts and shorts/leggings (preferably dark in case of leaks) so that you can get dressed but still feel comfy, bearing in mind hospitals are hot places. Getting up properly somehow made me feel more inclined to move around and feel normal. Agree with short pyjamas - more discreet if you need to recline and b/feed, and loose slippers.

A few nice smelling toiletries to make you feel fresh, including a atomiser of water (good for labour too) and a small pack of Domestos wipes, in case the bathroom isn't left quite as you would wish to find it.

One thing I wished I'd thought of first time was an inflatable neck pillow, for reading in bed or to sit on if you feel a bit sore!

So long as you have people who won't mind popping to Boots or home for you you should n't really need to pack too much ahead of your stay.

hth

My sister is having a baby end August and I have advised her to bring plenty of high fibre snacks and pure orange juice with her!! It does no harm to keep everything as loose as possible (sorry!). Also if you need mild pain relief they usually give you a codeine based painkiller, which really really blocked me up. Apologies for being so graphic! But when you get constipation you become obsessed!

Never used my v expensive atomiser.... I took a hair band - good if you end up delivering on all fours

Never used my v expensive atomiser.... I took a hair band - good if you end up delivering on all fours

A friend went into labour while still at work and hubby miles away with labour bags in the car boot. She got to the hospital in a panic with absolutely nothing, to be calmed down by the midwife saying 'Don't worry, dear, all you need is love and a boob'. And apparently it was true. Still, I wouldn't risk going in with nothing!

Have different sized baby clothes!

I bought some Hennes 0-1 month for the first few days having been told I'd have a mid 7 pounder... 9'11 later and very long, none of the clothes I'd packed fitted the poor boy so he was wrapped in a sheet for the first day of his life until DH brought in the Gap 0-3 month clothes that evening.

I had surgery following the birth in my reserve t-shirt and so that became pretty grotty. I didn't feel like wearing my nice new nightdress so I spent my first day in a hospital robe.

We were the paupers on the ward but it didn't matter because I had the most beautiful baby!

Thanks for the advice everyone, planning to have my bags ready by the end of the week, so there is less to worry about. There are a lot of things people have suggested that aren?t in my book, so it was worth asking.

Thanks again, Jess

Make sure the tops you take have button-up fronts if you are planning to breast feed. Also I would pack some throat Soothers or similar in case of sore throat from screaming (although I may just be a wuss). And a couple of dummies in case baby is the type who likes them, if you don't object. And some hospitals don't provide enough pillows, so take one or two.

Lip balm for after all that gas and air - the superdrug raspberry one is yummy!

I would say to take a 'sports drink' eg Lucozade sport (the flat stuff, not fizzy is what I preferred). I wasn't hungry at all during or after labour so found this to be really good for keeping my energy levels up. The other suggestions are really good too.