Hospital bag tips specific to 'early' induction?

[8dpwoah]

So I got my bag packed all ready for the 'normal' state of affairs, enough for three days' stay to cover a few scenarios.

Have been told yesterday due to SGA/FGR baby I will be induced at 39 weeks at latest. 39 weeks fine in terms of planning, was induced at 40 weeks last time and it took ages so I know roughly what to do with that in terms of supplies etc.

What I wasn't planning for was the possibility of induction at 37 weeks (next appointment is 36 weeks so suspect may not be exactly 37 weeks either...).

If that happens I guess I'll need to tweak what clothes I've packed for baby but I've also no idea about the feeding, particularly if baby needs to have NICU/special care. I breastfed DD1, have got ready made formula in the bag for just in case (had it for DD and wasn't tempted to use it so I've no concerns about carrying it). I'd like to breastfeed this one too but if I end up pumping in hospital do I need to provide a bottle for that? Colostrum harvesting is a thing now too I think?

Any little tips or things to consider when having an induction at 36/37 weeks as opposed to a full term one would be much appreciated.

I will be having the induction if that's medically indicated, I'm not into 'your body your choice' when dealing with an SGA baby having already had one that was only identified at term. It's possible it may end up as c section but I would prefer a go at induction first having already had one so knowing how it tends to work, it's the same hospital too.

Hi @8dpwoah, I was induced with my first at 37 weeks. Things that were useful for me

• many snacks, including pot noodles
• a plug board as hospital plugs are way back
• small electric fan
• anything to distract you!

Good luck, you will hear a lot of induction horror stories on Mumsnet but in my case it was fairly good 😃

Oh I've packed my electric fan from last time, I loved that little fella! Hopefully won't be a heatwave for this baby but you never know 😂.

I did have a bit of a nightmare induction last time so I know a bit more about what I'm comfortable with, DD had no intention of coming out quietly even at 40 weeks so the thought of trying to get things going earlier this time worries me but it's great to know yours wasn't too bad!

Order yourself some syringes and get on the colostrum harvesting. Small babies can struggle to keep their blood sugars up so if you can prime your milk supply and collect some syringes to take in with you in a cool bag (they will have fridge and freezer facilities for milk at the hospital) them it will be so helpful!

A very long charging cable

Not hospital bag related, but I’d make sure people know that your babe is likely to be tiny.

I found it quite hard when (well meaning) people turned up with newborn sized presents, which were laughably big for DD. Obviously with hindsight it was no problem at all - she just wore them later - but in my hormonal and worried state it felt like too many reminders that she was far smaller than she should have been.

(She’s now 20 months and bang on 50th percentile, btw!)

I was induced at 36 weeks. I found a power bank for my phone really useful. Baby couldn’t keep his body temperature up and was put on a heated mattress so between that and breast pump/bp monitor for me I often didn’t have a free socket, and they were difficult to access anyway!

Good luck!

I was induced at 38 weeks. It was slow. I finished several books and also paced the corridors for miles to try to get things moving.
If your antenatal ward is anything like mine, take some ear plugs in case some inconsiderate person decides it’s a great idea to switch on the telly at the end of your bed and blast out Simon Cowell at full volume. Luckily, that was about the point at which I got transferred to delivery.

It's interesting isn't it, I'm finding that friends and family really don't 'get' the potential implications of a small baby and don't really understand why it's quite a stressful position to be in (if I hear oh at least it's not a big ten pounder to push out one more time, I won't be responsible for my actions 😂)

I found antenatal ward quite civilised but I will deffo dig out some ear plugs and also make sure my phone charging can be done, hadn't thought of the precious sockets being more tricky with more kit needed. I hated postnatal with a passion, whoever thought it would be a great idea to put four brand new babies in the same space and expect them not to disturb each other?!

Oh the other pearl of wisdom 'just eat more, she'll grow then'. Gee thanks, I had been living on sweepings and rainwater for the last eight months, maybe if I have some toast now everything will be fine?

Sorry 😂

Hand clean if you end up staying on scbu the constant handwashing routine wrecks your hands. I had premmie twins and bf/esperessed and hospital provided everything for that x

Sorry hand cream...

@8dpwoah
Dont know if the electric fan will be all unfortunately due to covid not all hospitals r allowing them work in a hospital myself. As if covid about it can unfortunately spread it so have been banned for quite a while on wards.

Allowed lol

My baby was In the nicu and I had brought too many clothes as all she wore for her time there was a nappy. But I was reallly glad of a little power pack for my phone, there were no spare plugs at her incubator and I was spending a lot of time down there so it was nice to have that for my phone to do some video calls ect as my partner was not able to come in at the time.

I've had 2 very small babies and 2 c sections so I can't help with the induction side of things however the hospital will 100% support you breastfeeding your baby even if they are in the nicu , I've seen many success stories.
If you baby is healthy but small they'll likely only be in hospital for a few days for checks ect and then you'll both come home. Ideally they'll stay with you for that time too.
I've had a 2lb 14oz 33 weeker and a 5lb 3oz 36 weeker, so tiny babies and stayed for a minimum of a month but there were serious complications (all fine now)
Chances are that the hospital will try to get you to 37 weeks if it's best for baby. Mine were only delivered early due to pre eclampsia with my first and static growth with my second

I was induced at 37 weeks for slow growth. It was my first so I have nothing to compare it to. Induction was slow initially but baby born in the pool 7 hours after induction started. I’ve heard that inductions for second/third can be quicker as your body knows/remembers what to do.

Tiny baby grows (M&S and Asda were great for us - he was long and skinny). We ended up staying in for a week to establish feeding and for jaundice treatment, thankfully I was given my own room. I was determined to breast feed but took some pre-made formula bottles just in case. I didn’t use them but breast feeding was really slow to get started. The infant feeding team were very supportive and gave me a pump after a couple of days. I was given storage bottles but baby fed from a cup - they were very clear about avoiding nipple/teat confusion.

And yes, I totally remember the annoyance of people’s comments about how small I was just before delivery. Naturally I was worried about having a small baby and unsolicited remarks from total strangers about being “too small” was extremely frustrating.

Sorry forgot to add that my 33 weeker spent 5 weeks in the nicu and my 36 weeker spent 4 week on the maternity/children's ward with me

My baby was born spontaneously at 36 weeks and he weighed 7lbs even though the scan the day before had him at below 6lbs, so not all babies born slightly before "full term" (defined at 37 weeks) are small/light, even if they're induced for that reason. He's now 2.5 years and between 9th and 25th percentile, so similar build to us. It really seems to vary when they're born week 35-37, some people end up in scbu and have a tough time then others just go home the following day like we did, so you never know even when they're inducing for it being small.

I am likely to be induced at 37 weeks (I'm 35 now) too as baby is measuring small.
This thread has been really useful so thank you 🙏🏻
I've already packed tiny baby clothes as it was expected for him to be small even at full term.
I am worried though about a potential NICU/special care stay. My other 2 children were full term and home the same day x

Smaller nappies (size 0 or size 1), and smaller clothes. Your midwife should be able to provide syringes for colostrum harvesting

Hi OP, I was induced at 37 weeks due the DS measuring small. He was my first so nothing to compare it to, but the hospital were great at providing syringes for colostrum harvesting, a breast pump, sterilising stuff and little bottles to help get feeding established. It might be worth packing a few more clothes for yourself as you might have a longer stay. That apart, probably not too different to what you were expecting to pack.

I totally get what you mean about the small baby comments. One of my colleagues said to me I had a "nice neat little bump" just before I went on maternity leave. He meant well but I was fuming.

DS now 16 months and measuring between the 9th and 25th. That's about the same as me. He is healthy and strong.

Very best of luck!

This is all really useful stuff, thanks everyone. I'll ask my midwife about the fan as can see how that could be a bit of a bugger at the moment, and taking that out would make room for a pot noodle or two, I did get sick of jacket potatoes every day last time!
I hadn't realised cup feeding would be the way round the feeding side of things if we do end up having extra care so that's a big weight off my mind 🙂
Lovely to hear of all these babies that had, on paper, rough starts but are doing well now. DD was 9th centile and has been 25-30th ever since so she's not big still but nothing to raise any eyebrows. This one is on the 10th so it's just a case of if she dips below she'll be fetched out earlier, if she pops above the 10th line at next scan it sounds like they'll leave her in til 39 weeks assuming everything else is looking ok. Everything else is coming up as fine at the moment, she's just dinky, but I know that could change again yet.

Thanks again for all the replies 🙂

@Anotherdayanotherdollar

Smaller nappies (size 0 or size 1), and smaller clothes. Your midwife should be able to provide syringes for colostrum harvesting

Yes to size 0 nappies. I didn’t think about that at all, but a lovely work colleague suggested it and I’m so glad she did. They were still massive on him and we didn’t move up to size 1 until he was about 6 weeks old.