Not the average hospital bag...

[ivanapoo]

Packing my bag at the moment with all the usual stuff: towel, nappies, clothes changes for me and baby, a few toiletries, giant maternity sanitary towels (erk), snacks that can't melt and so on.

Hot water bottle, lipbalm and hairbrush have already been recommended to me too, and something to play music on... But I guess these are still fairly standard.

What I'd like to know is the other slightly more unusual bits to pack or that you wish you'd packed.

Maybe stuff that helped make your room a "home from home" or that helped distract/focus you during labour?

I completely forgot to pack any nappies for DS

Some great ideas in here, thanks! Particularly liking the idea of gin and toffee crisps...

Your own tea bags and your own mug. Sounds daft but I had to get DH to go home and fetch these for me.

A small spray bottle to fill with water - DH sprayed my face after each big contraction, esp when pushing. It was bliss and gave DH something practical to do. A spray-fan combination would have been even better.
Also, next time, I would put snacks & phone in a smaller bag that I could leave on the bed on the post natal ward. Last time I ended up having a spinal to repair stitches and then being taken to the ward at around midnight and DH sent straight home. I was starving and too excited to sleep so it was great to be able to reach my food and start emailing and texting people from my phone. A separate smaller bag would save having to try and rummage quietly through a massive bag or share the bed with it.

Recently someone suggested filling a sports cap water bottle about 2/3 with water and freezing it, then when you're in hospital you can keep topping it up and have nice cold water during labour! Sounds good to me.

Pen and paper so you can write a list of stuff you need oh to bring that you forgot

I froze different size bottles of water/squash and took them. They defrost at different rates so I had cold water all through the looooonnnnngggg labour

Are "gin and toffee crisps" a new flavour? Like those strange new Walkers ones? [hwink]

I didn't feel like eating anything during two previous births, but I was extremely thirsty (probably due to gas + air as well as screaming a lot ). For after the birth this time I'm taking tracker bars, a couple of packets of crisps, dried apricots, sultanas, several juice boxes (orange/apple/pineapple) and I've popped some innocent smoothie cartons in the freezer to add to my bag at the last minute. I did this with DD2 thinking it would be good to have some nice cold fruity/sugary drinks to have as a boost during labour, but DD2 arrived pretty quickly so I had them while enjoying some skin-to-skin afterwards!

Condoms to wave at the MW when she starts wittering on about contraception :o

I took a new (dark coloured) cotton, button up nightshirt. It was really nice to have something new to put on after I'd had a shower & it was practical for breastfeeding & skin to skin etc & looked better in the photos than any of my manky old nighties would have looked!

I wish I'd taken more food, I was starving after giving birth & although the midwives brought me tea & toast I really wanted something more filling like a flapjack but nothing was open on a Sunday night.