What's the best thing you took in your labour bag?

[teacups]

Two of my girlfriends are due to have their first babies in March and have asked me what was the best (and worst) thing I took in my bag when I had dd.

Worst - disposable knickers. Huge, scratchy, lasted less than a few hours as I made DH go to M and S on the way home after being up for 2 nights to buy me some bigs to go over my caesarian scar.

Best - food! Took a big stash of prunes and apricots as was worried about first poo afterwards but ended up eating them on first day before DH came back as food provided was totally inedible.

What were your best and worst things?

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I took lots of nice smelly bath/shower stuff so that baby could snuggle up to a nice clean smelly mummy.

Maternity pads - waste of space as hospital provided them.

best - bottle of water and snacks (raisins, cereal bars, mints)

worst - well nothing (wasn't in hosp for more than a few hours each time) but forgot scratch mittens with ds and he had really long nails and kept scratching his face!

best - magazines, chocolate cornflake bites from m&s (not technically in bag i took, dp provided them the following day, but if i had another baby i would pack some!)

worst - took one of those shower scrubby ball things instead of a flannel and shouldve taken a flannel, didnt expect to have sponge bath after delivery but wasnt allowed to sit or stand upright so wasnt able to have a shower.

Can't remember the best but definitely will be taking magazines (I was so bored after dh had gone home when ds was asleep - I read all the info in the Bounty pack about 3 thousand times!!) and food (wasn't offered anything after labour and hadn't eaten for 24 hours by the time breakfast came round - a lot of people get offered toast and tea whatever time they give birth but sadly not me!!). Don't forget basics like dressing gown, comfy clothes, slippers, little things that make you feel good.

rose mister spray bottle filled with water

packets of mini cheddars for DH

ds1 - salt and vinegar kettle chips
ds2 - didnt have chance to get it out of the car

Best - nutrigrain bars

Straws. It's really hard to drink water any other way whilst in labour IME and I got very, very thirsty.

Also I liked my halva for quick energy bursts.

All 3 : BEST: pillow from home. Smelt reassuring, was comfy and in one labour suite they didn't have any left..!

MOST USELESS: Big t-shirt to labour in. Got really rucked up with tens machine, so ended up un hosp. gown and with no 3 in water pool anyway.

best : socks - my feet got so cold during labour and I'm normally a really 'hot' person

useless: book - ended up gassing to the mum in the next bed when I wasn't tending to dd. I honestly don't think I'd have been able to read it anyway .... something to do with having the concentration span of a goldfish after giving birth. come to think of it, it hasn't improved much since then

Best - Food, mags, mints, lip balm

Worst - went out and got nice pyjamas, mens style with trousers and tops. Except you can't wear trousers with a...crap...what's the word...you know...bag of pee....

Nicemum, I just started a thread on that exact thing!

Best - definitely food and small cartons of orange juice. With 1st labour the OJ kept me going because they wouldn't let me eat after a certain point (high c/s risk). Also those energy sweets. dh was stuffing them into my mouth (at the mw's insistence) right at the end when I was pushing because I was getting very weak and hadn't realised it. They definitely gave me the boost I needed. Agree with whoever said straws as well, drank gallons of water from hospital dispensers but used the straws from my OJ cartons.

Worst - I can't really remember! Certainly didn't do any reading either time so if I took a book I guess that was it.

Nice Pj's
Nice smellys

Some decent mags or a book.

Best things: radio with earphone, and earplugs (use in one ear, and actually get some sleep afterwards. Yes, you will wake up when the baby cries)
I packed all manner of rubbish in first bag. Including Kendall mint cake and scented candle

Good - those dextrose sweet things
Bad - magazines - no time to read them too busy gossiping

best, very very soft loo roll (actually had to get it brought in the next day cos my bag was packed with uneccesaries like lipstick and fake tan - only a tester size though)

Best - throwaway slippers taken from a hotel (they got v manky), big bottle of water, mints, camera.

Worst - one of those Evian facial mister cans - arfissimo (as cod would say) it's still in the bathroom upstairs, 5 years later.

pmsl - fake tan

hot water bottle for the afterpains!

1. Multi-purpose cleaner - because hospital hygiene was so bad. Advised by a friend to do this - excellent advice.

2. Chanel soap, to cheer me up 3. Walkman CD player. 4. Agree on the awfulness of disposal knickers. M+S biggies were great.

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Best - lucozade tablets, although didn't get the chance to eat them!

Worst - 6 x vests/babygro's - only stayed in overnight so didn't need them all.