Our Hospital Bag and Other Notes from Our Stay

I have a tendency to overprepare, overthink and overpack. So it was shocking to me that I just kept putting off packing my hospital bag for the delivery and hospital stay. Brett had to ask me several times when I was planning to do it, so you could probably say a large percentage of why I finally did it was so he would stop asking me already.

Perhaps the main reason I kept putting it off was because so many of the items that I was going to pack were items that I still used on a daily basis. When our doctor’s appointments started being every week, we made sure to bring the hospital bag with us just in case we were sent right to the hospital for some reason (which did happen once because of my blood pressure, but we were sent home thankfully). We would prepare everything for the appointment and then take half of it back out when we needed it after we got home. I guess I just kind of took a relaxed view about it, that we would have time to come home and get everything before going to the hospital, whereas Brett was more worried about needing to drive 100 mph to get there or we’d run out of time and I’d have the baby in the car. Quite the role-reversal of our normal mindsets.

I also kept having the mental debate of whether to overpack or bring the bare minimum. I ended up somewhere in the middle and even didn’t use some of the stuff we brought. The good thing though was that I never needed anything we didn’t have during the almost 3 days we were there. I call that a success. Here is everything I brought and whether or not I used it.

 

My Hospital Bag

-2 outfits and underwear: I only used one of the outfits, though, and it was to go home in. I wore the hospital gown the entire time I was there. Things were messy and I didn’t want to ruin what I brought if I could help it. If anyone came to visit, I just pulled the blanket up high enough and we were good to go. Same thing goes for the underwear…I only wore 1 pair to go home in. Before you yell “Eww gross” (and if you are saying that now, you’re in for a surprise when it’s your turn to deliver a baby) I stuck with the unattractive mesh underwear that the hospital provides. You will be wearing a pad the size of a college textbook, so don’t think you’ll be walking out of the hospital in a pretty lace thong.

{The outfit I went home in. Notice it is very roomy and comfortable, as I was still very sore and swollen}

-Flip flops: Us Florida girls don’t leave the house without flip-flops. Easy on, easy off…they were convenient if I ever needed to get up and walk around. Plus my feet were still swollen, so closed toe shoes weren’t an option anyway.

-Socks: I brought a pair of fuzzy, no-slip socks if my feet got cold or didn’t want to put the flip-flops on.

-Toiletries: Basically anything you use on a daily basis. I brought sample sizes of shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrush, hairbrush, soap, hairspray, lotion, face wash, facial moisturizer and makeup, among other things. I brought my blowdryer and flat iron, but I didn’t use it because I just put my hair in a ponytail after I washed it. Seriously, I didn’t care…anyone that came to visit was there to see the baby, not me, so I only cared about making myself look presentable.

-2 outfits for Brett and all of his toiletries: Don’t forget about your significant other, unless they will be making trips home during your stay.

-Drinks and a snack (trail mix): These were mostly for Brett since I got all of my meals provided by the hospital (our hospital’s food is pretty decent, and my insurance pays for it, so I was taking advantage of that perk for sure!) and they also provided plenty of juice and graham crackers for me.

-Electronics: Camera, video camera, laptop, iPad, Kindle, both of our cell phones and chargers for everything. Brett took plenty of photos and uploaded them to the laptop and kept everyone updated. We also had free Wi-fi, so we were able to keep busy…besides, you know, having to take care of the baby and stuff.

-Pillow and Boppy: The hospital provided plenty of pillows, but Brett still used the pillow from home. I brought the Boppy just in case I needed it to prop Trent up while feeding him, but I mostly just used regular pillows.

 

Baby’s Bag

-Going home outfit: Trent pretty much just chilled in his diaper, a blanket and his hat the entire time until it was time to go home.

That’s pretty much it for the baby bag, everything else he needed was provided by the hospital, such as diapers, wipes, blankets…and the nurses were expert swaddlers, so nothing else was needed. I brought a blanket, several sizes of outfits (we weren’t sure how big he’d be), some diapers and wipes, a stuffed animal and a pacifier, but didn’t use any of it.

-Car seat: Not exactly a baby bag item, but a requirement if you want to bring the baby home!

 

There ya have it. I’m actually quite proud of myself for keeping it nice and simple.

 

Some other items to note:

We never took any classes prior to the birth. We had considered taking birth and breastfeeding classes, but decided against them for several reasons. I knew I wanted an epidural and didn’t really have a specific birth plan, so I was willing to just go along with whatever needed to be done to deliver a healthy baby. I also read several books and looked up any questions I had beforehand and when we were in the hospital, I just asked the nurses any questions I had and they were always so helpful. It also went so fast that it would have almost seemed silly to spend time at 6 weekly classes adding up to more time than the delivery took! Looking back, I am so glad I didn’t spend the time or money on the classes because I can’t think of anything that I wish I had known more about. I’m not saying this decision is for everyone, some people need classes, but I have always preferred online, self-paced learning anyway.

We reactivated our Netflix Instant Streaming subscription about a week beforehand, and the daytime television was bad enough to use the Netflix, but we didn’t since we either had visitors, were interrupted every other hour by a nurse or were just enjoying our new baby.

We enjoyed all of our visitors, who came sporadically and not all at the same time. The room was pretty small, so any more than 2-3 visitors would have been too much. It was great seeing everyone meet and interact with Trent and it helped the time pass by better.

And if people offer to bring you stuff, take them up on it! I am forever grateful for the kindness and gifts…everything from my first post-delivery Chik-fil-a meal to the full meals at home to stuffed animals for Trent. And even though Brett was home for the first two weeks, some offers to do the dishes or laundry would have been nice!