Hello everyone!! Ross and I have officially completed our prepared childbirth class series and I can honestly say I feel maybe 10% more prepared...hehe. I figure by the time the baby is ready to come I won't remember a lot of what we discussed in class. I think this is why Ross had to go with me :) For the grand finale last night we were able to tour the hospital in a walk through the birthing process sort of way. The hospital has a brand new women's and children's wing called the Betty H. Cameron and it is very nice (and not too hospital smelly). Although I guess the "bed" that is available for dads is not too comfortable - our nurse told us that her husband kept complaining about how his back hurt after sleeping there and she was like "oh really? because my _ hurts!" I'm thinking maybe we should bring in one of those egg crate things for Ross to make it better since he already has back issues.
So this brings me to a question for all you mothers out there...what would you recommend I/we pack for the stay at the hospital? Is there anything you remember being thankful for bringing or that you wished you had? I'm thinking clothes (what did you wear? just pj's or loungewear or a complete outfit?), toiletries, slippers, and a robe at this point.
You can go here to do a virtual tour of the birthplace if you would like...
Here is my advice for the hospital bag:
ReplyDelete-Robe: I wore it while walking the halls to speed up my labor. They made me put the ugly hospital gown on right when I got there so I was glad I had the robe.
-Nursing Tanks Tops: I love these b/c they are super easy and look just like a regular tank. I have some from Target that are pretty cheap.
-Cute new PJ's: I bought brand new pj pants and tops to take specifically to the hospital. I liked that I had something brand new to put on.
-Large panties: My sister warned me about this so I'm glad I listened. At the hospital they give you these mesh panties that are just really weird. She told me to buy some panties that I wouldn't mind if I had to throw them away. So I bought a pack of Hanes Her Way one size up from my regular size to fit those huge pads they give you.
-Baby nail clippers and/or baby nail file: Everyone I've talked to said the hospital wouldn't clip their babies fingernails and this was also the case with ours. Holden had some pretty long nails when he was born!
-Meal for Ross: This sounds weird but I was in labor during lunch time and the last thing I wanted Kyle to do was leave the room. Luckily we had the foresight to pack a lunch for him when we were leaving for the hospital just in case. Everyone says to bring snacks which you will definitely want but Kyle was glad to have "real food."
-Cute hats for baby: I'm not a huge fan of the hospital issued hats so I was glad I brought one or two cute ones for all those photos. The nurses were so concerned about the baby's temperature so they always wanted a hat on him.
-Baby Book (if you have one): I asked the nurse to do Holden's footprints right in the book. They also give you a piece of paper with them but my book had a spot for the footprints. It also has a spot for handprints but the nurse said it is impossible to get a handprint b/c the baby has his fingers scrunched up or swaddled all the time. I had never thought about that.
-At home I would recommend buying several different size pads (sanitary napkins). The hospital lets you take home theirs but they are huge! I like the thinner ones so I was glad I had some on hand.
That's all I can think of for now! If I think of something else I'll let you know. I'm sure whatever you take you'll have what you need and if not someone can bring it to you:) I'll be interested to see what others say to bring!
Message from Sarah