As a first time mom, I am going to go ahead and say that I probably overdid it, but here goes the list:
- Black bikini top for birthing pool (had to get a new one as the girls no longer fit in any of the tie top old ones).
- Plenty of socks. The midwives recommended many pairs because apparently they will get "messy". awesome.
- Big, dark colored towels. The hospital has itty bitty ones that are not fluffy, so I bought big fluffly ones...in a dark shade to hopefully avoid needing to throw them out after my first shower.
- New sheets for the bed, white and bleach able should any water breakage or post baby issues necessitate that.
- Black cotton underwear. 'Nuff said.
- Those stretchy athletic headband things that make me feel like a pro athlete, and keep the hair out of my face.
- Waterproof mattress cover for the bed at home. Husband is super afraid that i am going to "ruin our mattress" with water breaking, though I have told him how many times that most women do not have their water break at the beginning of labor like in the movies...
- Face cleansing cloths.
- Huge overnight type maxi pads. Ahem. These are the first stash for after everything we steal from the hospital runs out.
- Nursing camis
- Motrin for once we are home
Stuff I have:
- Lanolin
- Chapstick
- Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash, etc
- Hairbrush
- Make up. I care, sue me.
- Glasses and contact solution
- Wisps, gifted by Meg for the hospital bag
- iPod
- Cell Phone
- Camera
- Laptop - we have wifi and it might be fun to Skype parents and such, we shall see.
- Chargers for all electronics
- Pillows and colorful pillowcases (in flattering to me colors, naturally) so they don't get mixed up with the hospital ones
- Heatable rice therapy bag
- Coming home outfit for baby
- Coming home outfit for me - plain black cotton dress probably with flip flops and sunglasses. My goal is to look like a celebrity departing from rehab
Stuff I still need to get:
- Some sort of nightgown/robe that is nice enough to feel like I am dressed when/if people come to visit, but I'm not going to be heartbroken to throw away. Again, birth is messy apparently.
- Bottle of "the good stuff" cold pressed castor oil
Anywho, that's where we stand as of now. Crazy to think we are going to need all this stuff for like 24-48 hours of life (we probably won't) but I would rather be safe than sorry.
Over-packers anonymous, that could be a thing, right? Maybe I should start a group.
There will be a couple of things we will need to add to the baggage on the day of - peanut butter and honey sandwiches for me (in case I feel like eating or need energy), a few snacks and drinks for the hubby, etc. But since we plan on laboring at home for quite some time we should be able to take care of those things then. And since we plan on laboring at home for a while, and I will want to be as comfortable as possible, we have a few items for home as well (new mattress pad, pillows, birth ball all inflated and ready, a sparklin' clean bathroom and bathtub, etc).
Whew. All of this stuff is really coming together and making this feel so...real.
Ah! We are having a baby!
35 weeks, 1 day along
...and I really just want to go home right now and fast forward to the part in Gone With the Wind where Prissy says this:
YouTube has failed me in not having a clip for this.
target has some really cute gillian o malley jammies right now that are super soft cami style. easy for boob getting out. also, a mattress cover is a great idea. Amniotic fluid probably wouldn't stainf BUT breastmilk DOES! and it gets everywhere.
ReplyDeleteMy midwife suggested that we bring a small crock pot for warm water compresses! We used it, ask Megan, she held cloths on my perineum. BFF. Also we brought a little plug in desktop fan that was clutch. During active labor and pushing it felt really good to have it blow in my face and the white noise of it was great too. Not sure if you are planning on wearing the hospital gown or just being naked, but if not I recommend wearing a cotton Old Navy maternity skirt. I bought two, one I wore all through labor until it was time to push and they took it off me to get the monitors attached. The extra skirt was great to have after labor and the next day because I could wear it over the giant mesh panty filled with giant pads and ice pack. No one could tell it looked like I had a phonebook in my underwear like they would have if I was wearing pants! Another thing you guys should have handy is a barf bucket. Luckily we left for the hospital before I threw up (not by much though because I think barfing was the first thing I did when we got in the room!), but when I needed to get sick I had about .7899 seconds between the realization I had to get sick and needing a trash can. Could be helpful to have handy at your house and maybe for the car ride to the hospital. Another helpful item was a container of Tucks pads. I didn't have problems with hemmoroids or anything but they feel nice down there anyway. Megan had me lay some on top of the ice pack you wear for a day or so inside the mesh panty. Another thing that we didn't end up using in labor but was AWESOME in the last few weeks was having Jim use a rolling pin on my back!
ReplyDeleteJust my two cents, but the item on every hospital packing list that I have always thought seemed like a waste to pack was pillows. They are cumbersome to carry around and pack, and you won't actually get around to doing any sleeping in the hospital anyone. And if you do sleep at all, it's that "I'm so exhausted I probably could pass out on the floor of a busy mall at this point" and you don't care if you have a pillow or not!
If you start Overpackers Anonymous, I'd like to be the Vice President. Seriously, I have credentials.
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