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Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

what did you regret not packing in hospital bag?

154 replies

Waterfountain97 · 08/05/2018 19:05

I'm 30+3 and over next couple weeks I'm buying the things for hospital bag so was just curious as to what things people were happy they took things they didn't actually use and things they wish they took
Thankyou 😌

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DwangelaForever · 08/05/2018 21:48

@pastabest I was so sick and brought up my tea and toast I got for breakfast when I was in labour that I couldn't even eat toast the remainder of my hospital stay 😭 no heavenly tea and toast feeling for me!

Girlwiththearabstrap · 08/05/2018 21:54

Dried fruit of any kind - dates/prunes/apricots... makes going to the loo marginally easier.
An old sports cap type water bottle - not for drinking but I used it to pour over myself when going for a pee after and it made my stitches sting less.
I ended up staying in for 2 weeks last time and obviously didn't have enough clothes. So this time I've made a pile of comfy clothes like leggings/jeggings/t-shirts that my husband can grab quickly and bring in if I need to stay longer.

isbossbabyfiredornot · 08/05/2018 22:55

Food!! With my first I didn't get fed from 10pm on recovery after 2 hours post-birth surgery to repair a tear until breakfast and as I'd been in labour the day before and not eaten since 12pm, I was absolutely ravenous!

YetAnotherNewName1000 · 08/05/2018 23:22

Food..especially fruit. I was in for a couple of weeks with my dc and they handed out the leaflet telling you to eat lots of fruit and veg to help with the first pp poo, but when the hospital food came round, there was a severe lack of either fruit or veg!
Also, nice towel and flipflops or crocs to visit the loo/showers.
And a comfy pillow.

WhereIsBlueRabbit · 09/05/2018 00:28

I picked up some useful tips on here, one of which was to have a bag for you and a (small) bag for the baby, the other of which was to only pack what you think you need for the birth/being in for one night, and have another bag at home for someone to bring in if you're in for longer.

Make sure you take a cotton hat for baby, and put their first outfit in a ziploc bag or similar, otherwise you'll be horizontal and trying to explain to your DP/DH what the difference is between a sleepsuit and a vest while he chucks your nighties all over the floor Grin

The thing I actually remember wishing I had was scissors! My baby had long legs in proportion to his body and the newborn sleepsuits were scrunching his feet (but fitted fine everywhere else and he was too small for 0-3 months). I wanted to cut the feet off them and put him in socks but the midwife wouldn't let me have any scissors as "it would spoil the outfit" Hmm.

Not so the lovely lady who did the hearing tests though. Grin

Singadream · 09/05/2018 00:36

Food and drink. I was soooo thirsty after each birth (I have three kids). Personally I wanted Lemonade and ribena. And loads of snacks. Nice ones. Not healthy ones. Though I made dh bring a lovely M&S fruit salad each day too (in for five nights with dc1).

Pen and paper. If there are medical things you will want to write down explanations and questions as you won’t remember them.

Phone charger.

Magazines. Something v easy to read while waiting around

Headphone. To listen to podcasts etc especially if a long boring induction as I had with dc3

Money including vending machine change

A pillow. Hospital ones are awful

I struggled to feed all three of mine and took a bottle and formula in for numbers 2 and 3. They advise against it as they say this stops you trying hard enough to bf but I found the safety net v important. They do great little packs of pre sterilised bottles for newborns which are perfect

Your own supply of drugs for after. Though this will be frowned upon as they keep records of your drugs etc. But who wants to wait for paracetamol when having after pains when you could bring in your own stronger stuff.

An actual list of phone numbers somif anything happens to your phone you can borrow someone else’s.

Singadream · 09/05/2018 00:37

Oh yes and I second the spare bag with more things for loner stay at home

Also spare nightie as first one will get bloody. And carrier bags for soiled clothes

C2205 · 09/05/2018 00:38

My own painkillers, own pillow and for my first birth leggings!
Xx

RainbowsAndUnicorns23 · 09/05/2018 00:44

Lip balm!! The gas and air really does dry your lips! Also a towel, the one the hospital gave me to have a bath was tiny!

C8H10N4O2 · 09/05/2018 00:46

I only did one of them in hospital but:

Gin.
More Gin.
Painkillers.
Food.
More food.
Ear Plugs.
Iron will and gritted teeth.
Socks/blankets, no heating, cold nights.

The others were at home with all the above on tap. Afterpains tend to be worse in subsequent pregnancies, first time around might not be too bad if you are lucky

SofiaAmes · 09/05/2018 00:50

Food, drinks, toilet paper, soap and wipes (for me), warm pj's, sanitary napkins.

Hidingtonothing · 09/05/2018 00:51

Another one saying food! I was in 2 days with DD and the only time I got fed was when DH brought stuff in.

Thundercatshoooo · 09/05/2018 01:35

Yep food, that's the only thing we didn't pack, we assumed my husband could pop out and grab something, but I went into labour Saturday evening when everything was closed. My husband ended up going without food for 24 hours (as did I for that matter)!

Second time around my husband had 2 carrier bags full of food Grin. He literally went straight to the shop as soon as he realised I was in labour!

Jenijena · 09/05/2018 01:50

Having had a terrible food experience with my first (I didn’t even get toast!!!) I packed a couple of those long life tuna meals. Not the most tasty things in the world, but I figured 200 calories of something which includes vegetables was a lot better than anything else I was offered first time round.

As it was I was in a stand-alone MLU with great catering and a fish and chip shop and a pub which plated up meals to take away around the corner.

VirginHoliday · 09/05/2018 02:06

A gazillion maternity pads (actually Kotex Maxi nighttime pads, they're brilliant!). For some reason with baby No.3 I went through loads in a short amount of time. And I was in for hours compared with days for DC No.1.
I also had an unfortunate bout of uncontrollable diarrhoea that finished off the rest. I had to wait in the bathroom until DH came back. (At least I didn't have that fear of the first poop many of us get after birth. 😂)

Extra clothes too. (Thanks to the erm... unfortunate occurrence)

Oh and everyone says, food. Our hospital grub is delicious but it's just 3 meals. I was starving and needed lots and lots of snacks. And Lucosade. I wish I had taken a good flask of my coffee too. DH makes the best brews and hospital/vending machine hot drinks just don't cut it.

SheSellSeaShells · 09/05/2018 02:09

More food and some drinks. My own pillow. Big bath towel. ear plugs

notmypropername · 09/05/2018 02:56

More food and a fan

EasterRobin · 09/05/2018 05:17

A second night dress (that you'd be willing to walk around a maternity ward in). The one I gave birth in got covered in sweat, amniotic fluid and other bodily fluids. But it was the only sensible thing I had to wear, so I just wore it for 3 days anyway.

Wallywobbles · 09/05/2018 05:53

Whatever you'll need for:
Massive bleeding (if you imagine a hemorrhage you'll be in the right ballpark)
Sore throat
Thirst
Hunger
Leaking boobs
Being covered in body fluids continually
Entertainment at 3am

Plus
Tissues
Ear plugs
Sweets
Really comfy loose bottoms and button tops
Nursing bras
Flannels (lots that you can throw away)
Someone to take away dirty washing and bring in clean.
Masses of baby grows

LolitaLempicka · 09/05/2018 06:16

The only things that came out of the bag was my toothbrush and a handheld fan. I had a very quick labour and went home a few hours later. I saw people coming with massive cases, it was insane.

Midthreademergencynamechange · 09/05/2018 06:27

Flip flops to wear in the shower. Great big waist high size 18 granny pants (had a c-section). Was in hospital for 5 days after both of my births so dh had to do a lot of fetching and carrying.

ButtermilkBiscuits · 09/05/2018 06:30

Food...

ImogenTubbs · 09/05/2018 06:30

Someone gave me a great tip - get your DP/birth partner to pack the bag (even if you lay everything out) so they have seen what's in it and where it all is. That way you won't find yourself in active labour shouting, "get me that thing! It's under the thing at the back, on the left, NO, not THAT one. You know, the one your mum got me. No, when she was round last month. Don't ask me what it looks like! It's blue. No, LIGHT blue! Yes, I'm sure it's in there. Have you checked inside the front pocket?" (etc) Grin

Sipperskipper · 09/05/2018 06:32

DH went to get these items as I didn’t think of packing them (we were in for a week post birth):

  • dummies - said I would never use one but was so exhausted post labour & section, I couldn’t handle another 24hrs of comfort sucking! It helped massively.
  • big electric fan
  • pillow
  • loads of massive pjs
lalaloopyhead · 09/05/2018 06:33

Food! To be fair when I had dd3 there was a room with tea/coffee and snacks etc but after dd2 (different hospital) I missed breakfast and there was nothing else available and I was starving! A lady in the bed opposite took pity on me and gave me some of her Pringles.

Possibly a little hand held fan - I don't like being too warm at the best of times but it was sub tropical in that room!