Wot shall i pack in my hospital bag?

[Gem1355]

Hi i'm 27+5 weeks pregnant with first child due 4th april, got everything i need but not sure wot to pack in my hospital bag?
can't find anything in my mags to advise so any help would be grateful.

when i had dd i bleed for several weeks 5+ weeks being pretty heavy and found that always ultra night time we're the best and mostly had to wear two at a time.

i'll have to buy really huge pants. ahhh!!!

Just imagine a heavy period but saying that everyones different. Defo check out the bottle situation at your hospital as you don't want to be stuck for feeds. You sound very organised tho!!

Well as i'm doing this on my own baby girl daddy doesn't want to know i've had to be! got a new DP and he's supportive but doesn't want to get to close at the mo!
and as baby girls daddy doesn't want to help financially either it's trying to stretch money as far as it will go.
got to look for a new place to live as well, but i think DP will move in as he looking for somewhere at the moment to, but have to look for some where that is nice but not expensive as in theory it's just me!

Oh well good luck, Your partner sounds supportive tho.
I'm going to bed now but hope to hear more from you on mn and good luck again with your shopping!

Maternity pads and breast pads a plenty.
Disposable pants too.
Nice bathroom toiletries too.
Plenty of changes of night wear and nursing bras, or have a mother in law or hubby have a laundry run set up.
Different size vests/babygros too, my baby was quite big so the smaller ones were very tight.

i'd ask your midwife about milk at the hospital our hospital (in nottingham) had every name of bottled milk you can imagine so yours hopfully be the same -

One bit advice i will give is to keep receipes for everything then what you don't use / need can be taken back and either refunded or swapped for things you do need.

best of luck and look forward to hearing your birth announcement.

Thanx everyone for the advise,
i'm off to bed to try and get a bit of sleep as this pg insomnia is driving me crazy!!!!
and have a long 3hr shift ahead of me tomorrow!!!

Found my list so here you go, for what it's worth this is my bag:

Baby's bag -
Vest / nappies, cream, cotton wool/ baby grow / cap or hat / dummy (if you're using them), blanket or shawl / muslin

Your bag - A going home outfit for me - nursing bra / knickers (not a thong!) / maternity trousers (that bump takes a while to go down, if ever!), button down top (something easy to breastfeed in, if you are)

Hairbrush, shampoo, hair ties, facial wash, moisturiser face & body, nail file, mirror, gel for tired legs and feet, shower foam, toothpaste & brush

Something to wear in bed, gown and slippers

Your own pillow

Spare knickers, socks, nursing/maternity bras, sanitary towels

lip balm

flannels (to wah with and bite down on??!!)

rescure remedy

arnica tablets (great to heal bruising)

camera (and film if not digital)

list of numers so you can call everyone with news

CDs

oil burner and candles and a lighter

your tens amchine

food (bananas etc)

That was in my bag!
I did end up having to stay in for 5 days so was glad of it all.

A hint - if you are using babygrows with feet, take a variety of shapes and sizes, as my ds was too long for everything I took with me and I only had one to fit, couldn't get anyone to go to my house to get some more, andf being the youngest and least experienced mum on the ward it made me feel really scummy cos he threw up on the only thing that fit him and I had to try and "wash" it with a babywipe!!!!

Funny now but I was mortified then!

when I had my dd in July, I had, 4 packs of always ultra nightime towels, 3 packs of disposable knicks, from boots, breast pads as you will still leak even if you dont bf. 3 cheap nighties that I could bin afterwards. Apack of cheap bridget jones style knickers, disposable camera.general overnight stuff, dextrose energy sweets( which I didnt need as my labour lasted an hour!!!).I had nursing bras but I would recommend getting a cheap sleep bra( about £6 from tesco) as your boobs will still feel uncomfortable.Box of tissues, lavender oil, parazone toilet wipes!!!and a soothing pad from mothercare that you place on your perineum in case of stiches( I didnt need any this time but had millions with ds)I was actually induced so I had time to plan but I would recommend taking a couple of your own pillows in from home as its a godsend on the postnatal ward , they never have enough pillows and the ones they do have arent all that comfy.Also make sure you have a vest, stretch suit and at least one nappy in yout labour bag as my hospital didnt even provide a nappy.If your hospital dont provide milk , you could take some steri-bottles and some cartons of ready made milk, rather than try to sterilize, make up feeds, my hospital did not provide bottled milk as they were a breastfeeding friendly hospital and only provided it if you or your babay were ill.

forgot to add, in your ward/going home bag you will have stuff for your baby and a going home opufit for you, in my local hospital bounty provide a very good new mum pack which has a lot of baby essentials in there like baby wipes, baby bath etc and I got a seperate overnight pack which had dove soap, oral b toothbrush, handcream and shampoo and conditioner

Yeah i've been to asda and got some of the ready made SMA gold cap cartons got some bottles which i'll sterilise the day/nite i go into labour,
got loads of nappys, wipes etc, couple of baby gros, but just have to get an outfit for baby to come home in, hopefully won't be in overnite when baby finally arrives!!!!
i'll probably end up backing abag where it looks like i'm going on holiday for 2 weeks! ( I WISH)

I did too!! the midwives must have been very alarmed when I turned up with 2 large suitcases!!

Also, take some savoury things to eat as well as chocolate, etc. At the hospital (only stayed about 10 hours but still...) they only offered toast with jam, sweet yoghurts, and desserts, like creme caramel. Plus all the snacks I took were also sweet. After the birth I really wanted something substantial like a sandwich, or slice of pizza or some cold left-overs from a proper meal. I was so hungry!

Also echo everyone else about needing the millions of maternity pads (i took always ultra nights) and disposible pants (brilliant invention). I also took some really nice stuff for my first shower after the birth, lovely shampoo and shower gel (Space NK!) as a real treat. It was worth it. I would also take your own dark coloured towel as they only give you a tiny white hospital one. Crap.

It does look like you're going away for a while. I had about 3 bags, 1 for labour, 1 for the ward and a third full of spares like vests, nappies, pads etc which we kept in the car for when DH visited. We only took the labour bag in at first too. That way, you don't feel like you're turning up for a fortnight.

Ooh yes take your own towels, good point hello mama, glad I did as the only ones there are horrible scratchy white things like face cloths!!!

Towels how many will i need? we have only got dark ones any way so thats alrite!

Well if you are not planning on staying in long, I would take at least 2 good size ones, you will be encouraged to have a shower straight after the birth, or if you dont feel like it, you can just have a wash, but you wont want to use that towel again, till its been washed!!, then if you go home the next day or after a few hours, you can have a shower before you go,the hospital towels are good for using as bath mats to put on the floor when you get out of the shower!

Trust me i'm not planning to stay in there long, i'm petrified of hospitals!
and i definitely want a shower because it's kinda wrong not to!!!!

i took a big and small towel for showers, shower gel, one pair of pjs, about 10 knickers, 6 bodysuits, 6 sleepsuits, one baba's hat, 4 scratch mitts, a pack of nappies and wipes, babys bath towel, 20 bibs, 3 cardys, your own dressing gown and slippers. = this is for if you have natural birth and only is hossy for 2/3 days BUT i ended up with emergency c-section and i has to double everything as was in hossy for 6 days....

plus your birth partner or relatives can go back home to collect more things if you needed them... i got all the dets from an excellent mag called "im pregnant"

oh and maternity towels and disposable knickers or youre own knickers as you will be on HEAVY

One of those gel pads you can cool in the fridge to slip into your knickers to ease the pain of the stitches. They are fabulous.
Definitely take your own pillow.
V. comforting.

Kinda hoping i won't need stitches. but i'll take anything to ease any aching after.