March 2010 Due Date Club
Make new mom friends in March 2010 Due Date club! Talk about the exciting news of expecting your new baby and share your journey with expecting moms like you!
0 Members
Club type:
Common Interest
Leader:
NicholeS
Created:
Jul 10, 2009
Question
Hosptial Bag, Round 2!
Hi Ladies!!
One of my favorite things when pregnant with my first was the preparation. OH, so much fun!!!! And my hospital bag was no exception!
I think my list was 2 pages long. I took every suggested item and then some!
This time, I know what I liked to have the most and what I never used, so I'm making a new list for this next planned trip for the 2nd little one! I'm only 18 weeks, but it's so much fun to think about PLUS, having a 14 month old now, I never know when I'll get something done, so, I thought I'd go ahead and make the list. I might be happy I made it now if I'm pressed for time when it's time to pack!
So here were the things I was happy to have and plan to pack once again:
1. My softest slippers and warmest softest socks. I'm one of those people who's always got cold feet. I didn't know if the hospital would be chilly and make them freeze! It was pleasantly warm, but my feet were still cold, as usual. I was so happy to have warm snuggled toes under that thin blanket! It really did make me feel so relaxed. It's amazing how much more comfortable I feel when my feet are toasty.
2. Bravado Nursing Tank tops and Nursing tops and nursing bra. I wanted to try my best to breasfeed, but had heard friends tell about some babies just don't "take to it" or their milk didn't come in, the pain was too much, etc. etc. With all my worry and eagerness to try to get my baby latched on, hold her the right way get comfortable with the process and all of that, I was so glad that I didn't have to struggle with clothing that got in the way or feel uncomfortable with what I was wearing.
I never know when I'm going to feel hot or cold, so I go with the option of these awesome tank tops (no nursing bra needed!) or a long sleeved top and bra in case it's chilly. When I had my daughter it was hot out and the hospital was pretty warm, so I went with the tank tops. I don't remember how many I packed, but this time I'm thinking 2 of each should cover it.
And it turned out, Thank God, she took to nursing like a champ and latched on like a pro right away! I pray this next baby has her appetite and is as healthy as she!
Ah! Well, as I mentioned before, you never know about time and I wrote so much about just those 2 things that I don't have time to write more right now! Maybe this will be a gradual list?!
In the meantime, I'd love to hear what all the 2nd time expectant mommies (or 3rd or 4th, so on and so forth!) plan to pack their next time around! Maybe I can get some more ideas!!
List to be continued..........
Click to add these tags to your Interests:
Read more: 
4 Answers
Okay, technically I'm not in the March 2010 Due Date club. My baby is due Apr. 6, but there's a chance s/he could come in March, so I hope you don't mind I'm answering in this club too!
I also loved being organized the first time around! One thing I did that I know I will do again is: When I packed up my toiletries for the hospital bag, I tried to get mostly trial sizes. But there were a few things I couldn't do that for, so I got tiny dot stickers and put those on the items I wanted to take with me. That way I knew that if my husband had to get everything ready, he'd know what to grab. As it turned out, I was able to pack everything myself but I still appreciated being able to quickly grab without thinking too much.
I didn't read your other list yet so I'm not sure if I'm repeating anything, but another thing I was glad I had were my own pillows. At the suggestion of the nurse teaching our birth class, I put pink cases on them (the idea being that it's a color other than white, which is what the hospital will likely have) so we wouldn't forget them when we left. Those were a godsend because I so can't sleep without good pillows, and hospital pillows don't cut it!!
I had packed up a bunch of stuff that might have been useful during labor, and then didn't end up needing it because I was only at the hospital 45 minutes before the baby was born! I'm not sure if I'll do that again...though it was nice knowing I had it just in case. :)
This time I will definitely be more particular about nursing clothes for after. I wasn't sure what was going to fit me last time, and what I ended up wearing the day we left was an old-ish grey t-shirt and khaki maternity pants (they're the kind that don't really look like maternity pants, with no panel). It was comfy but sooo boring! I hate seeing those drab colors in the pictures. :( This time I'll give it more thought and be sure to have some (colorful!) nursing tops.
Patti
SAHM in SoCal and administrator of the Sleep Forum group, http://www.mothersclick.com/group/sleep-forum and Tri-Counties Moms, http://www.mothersclick.com/moms-club/tri-counties-moms-sb-ventura-slo-c...
Oh, no! Are we not supposed to post in clubs we're not members of?!
I'm quite a rookie here and still learning the ropes here at Mothersclick!
I love your sticker idea!!! Wow! You were prepared! That is such a good idea
My daughter came in at 7 pounds, 3 weeks early-she was ready! It's like she went, "Mmm.....okay, I'm done.", so you just never know when they're going to make their "grand entrace"! I think I had packed my bag a week before she came, thank goodness! I read
I did think about bringing my own pillows, but when I thought about it, I really wanted them to be fresh and clean when I got home and just chance "dirtying up" the cheap hospital pillows instead of mine. I can completely see the appeal in bringing them, like you said, hospital pillows aren't good, but I can usually sleep on any ole pillow, as long as the pillow cover is nice and the hospital's cases were soft, thank goodness! Also, I was so incredibly drugged, I think I could've slept on burlap and been fine
And you know, that's a really good thought about the clothes you're wearing in the pictures!! I didn't think about it when someone took a picture, but my milk had come in and I looked like a Playboy bunny in the tops I wore underneath (the nursing tanks) and they did NOT look like sweet family pictures-it looked like I was dressed for porn
I had some tops to go over the tanks, but I wasn't thinking about that at the time-I was worrying about feeding my brand new baby!
Needless to say I won't be putting those photos in the albums. So, that does make me think more about what I'd like to wear this next time! Definitely things that cover me up more.
Okay, now let's see. What else did I take that I would like to take the next time aorund.....
(Gosh, the very first thing that comes to my mind every time are my warm soft slippers and socks that made me feel so comfortable! Maybe I should go on a hunt for some even softer and warmer ones and upgrade my old ones!)
OH MY GOSH, this was something we were SO glad for, mostly my husband:
3. An accordian-style folder for all of the paperwork. We were given so much paperwork!! My husband was able to neatly file it all away and kept saying, over and over how glad he was that I brought it. It is a must have in our opinion!
4. Camera/Video camera. It's not that I thought we would forget this, but I put it on my list anyway just because it's such an important one. My husband filmed her being cleaned up and when they first gave her to me and it is absolutely priceless to us. We cherish the photos and footage of those moments.
5. A foldable bag for dirty clothes/towels/blankets/etc. Okay, I've disclosed how I'm a little particular about certain things (
) and dirty things in my bags/luggage are yet another little "thing" I have. I just don't like it, so a while back I bought this dirty clothes backpack to take on vacations and I LOVE it. It's very large and can hold a TON, but very light. You throw your dirties into it, carry it out over your shoulder and toss it in the laundry to clean it with your laundry!
So, I liked being able to throw in everything from the hospital that I wanted to re-wash (which was everything, including the clean things because I just wanted to sterilize everything!) and I'd like to have it again!
6. Your favorite, most delicious smelling body soap. I love the scent of roses in soap. I am forever on a mission to find the best smelling on the planet and have come across some heavenly ones. I brought my very favorite, one with a touch of gardenia, that I was saving. After I took a shower with that soap, I felt SO incredible.
And this might be a little TMI, but when I visited my best friend after she had her baby, she kept saying how she just kept smelling blood. There are alot of pads you go through, so there is alot of blood around and you can smell that metallic scent.
So, I had also brought a little pouch of some great rose scented potpourri (I think it was from Crabtree and Evelyn, so it'll be easy for me to get it again-yay!) and put it in the bathroom. The nurses kept coming in and commenting on how ours was the best smelling room
And it sure made a difference with me too. A hospital sure can change if you make it smell wonderful!
I better head off to bed, but list to be contiunued!
No, no, no, it's fine to post in any club that's public! I don't know what possessed me to say that! I guess I was just sort of announcing that I wasn't technically due in March but I loved this question so much!
I LOVE the idea of the accordian folder, and I bet my husband would too. He's the guy who, on our honeymoon, had our itinerary, passports, tickets, all in a nice little folder that he kept meticulous track of. You're right, you do end up with so many papers, and how nice to have a neat little place to put them all.
I brought candles in case I wanted them for relaxation during labor, but never thought of potpourri. What a wonderful idea! I did also have a spray bottle of water with a few drops of lavender essential oil. I don't remember if I actually used that at the hospital, but I used it at home a lot. In fact I just bought a new bottle of lavender and need to get a new spray bottle soon because I'm sure I'll use that again.
A couple of other things I packed (but didn't use because I gave birth so quickly after arriving at the hospital): Hard candies and lollipops to suck on in case my mouth got dry (can happen to women in labor); a boom box for music; two tennis balls inside a big sock to roll behind my back in case it was hurting.
I'm sure there was more. I think I was more prepared for labor, which was all stuff I didn't need, than afterwards. Although I did have cozy jammies for me and the baby, a few extra diapers (which we didn't need because the hospital kept us well supplied), burp cloths, a receiving blanket, and a cute outfit for the baby to wear home. :)
Patti
SAHM in SoCal and administrator of the Sleep Forum group, http://www.mothersclick.com/group/sleep-forum and Tri-Counties Moms, http://www.mothersclick.com/moms-club/tri-counties-moms-sb-ventura-slo-c...
Oh-okay!!
I see what you were saying!! I wasn't sure, but wanted to check! I know, I LOVE this subject, it's so FUN, isn't it!?
Oh, I like lavendar too. It mostly reminds me of my favorite oil I use for stretch marks and brings back memories of being pregnant with my baby girl
Such a fresh, clean scent. Will you tell me where you bought yours? Do you love it?? I love hearing recommendations!!
I didn't really pack much for labor, now that I think about it! I'd have to find my old list (which is saved on a file on another computer, but I do want to refer back to it at some point), but I packed a huge storage sized zip lock bag of candies, gum and all kinds of snacks and goodies......and not one bit was touched
When in labor, I had some of the hospital's really yummy grape popsicles and I really just had them because I was bored. So I wasn't snacking on anything I brought and my husband want' hungry at the time. By the time we were hungry (and after I had my baby of course) we ordered room service and our hospital has THE best food ever, so we were constantly ordering in.
Which brings me to this: honestly, I'm having a hard time thinking of things for list because they provided and gave us so much and now I know what I don't need to pack!
For example, I read suggestions to bring your own pads and bring comfortable underwear that you don't care about ruining, but the hospital provided the most comfortable, padded, wonderful disposable underwear you could imagine. They had excellent protection and were very soft-I loved them!
Also, they provided all those small things like spray bottles and medicated pads for soreness that worked like a charm. They sent us home with a TON of everything, including these swaddle blankets that my husband was obsessed with. He could do the best swaddle in the world (I think I called him in to swaddle her for the first entire month because he did them so perfectly and so much better than I could) and his favorite were the ones from the hosital. I think we brought home about 8 of them.
They also gave us an entire pack of newborn diapers, so I know I don't need to pack those this time, plus a diaper bag as a gift from the hospital with cute little things like a sippy cup and other little things (I can't remember what else was in there).
Also, hopefully this next time, I can get ahold of a bag full of their nose bulbs because I have yet to find ones from stores that work better than the one they gave us. I accidentally melted it in the sterilzer (whoops! didn't know that would happen! Another "now I know" moment), so I'll be on a mission before we leave to get as many as I can.
All of the "essentials", the hospital provided! So I think this next list is going to be alot of the luxuries instead of my original list that had things I wasn't sure if they would have or not. So in that respect, this list will be more fun!
Ooo, but this one I want to try this time:
7. Boppy pillow. I do want to bring a Boppy. I bought and brought the "My Breast Friend" nursing pillow with my daughter and it didn't work for me. It just didn't feel right. Pillows worked better. The Boppy seems to be smaller and I think would work better for me. I'm going to try it out, but if I'm just "not feeling it", like the My Breast Friend, I'll just return it like I did that one.
8. A Book. I'm going to bring a book this time, in case I have a while like I did the first time. Like I've mentioned, my water had broken, so because of that, they needed to give me Pitocin. It took a while to "kick it up", so we were just hanging out. Once, my husband got hungry and I told him to go get some dinner, so I was there by myself for a little while and would have liked it if I'd brought whatever it was I was reading at the time. So, it's just something definitely couldn't hurt to bring!
Another to be continued!