A few weeks ago I
posted what I thought I needed to pack for our hospital stay and had tons of feedback about what to bring and what to skip. It was so helpful and I reviewed your comments several times as I packed. Needless to say, I completely over packed, just as I had expected, but there wasn't anything from home we needed to have (although we only live 2 blocks away and it wouldn't have been a big deal to run back and grab something).
After my c-section, I stayed at the hospital only 3 days. I checked in
at Wednesday and left early afternoon Friday. There were a lot of things I packed and didn't use, but that may have been different had I not had a c/s. We had such an awesome
experience at our hospital, all of the staff was so friendly and sweet
and our room was pretty big and had most of everything we needed. You can see our birth story in pictures in this
post.
Here's the list I posted and how it worked out for us:
THE BASICS:
Photo ID and insurance cards: This is given, I just gave my cards to my husband to hold so I could leave my wallet/purse at home.
Large envelope for paperwork: I had already pre-registered so that was taken care of, and at the maternity tour they gave us the paperwork for the social security card/birth certificate that I had finished and put in a folder they provided us. I also brought along my FMLA information to activate my maternity leave claim with work and started my EDD paperwork when I was at the hospital. It was nice to have everything in one place and ready to go.
Pen and paper: I just included this in the folder I used for the above items.
Contact list for baby updates: Didn't bother to do this and didn't need to.
Light reading materials: I didn't bring anything for myself and never found the time to read. All my free time I had I used staring at my little girl and touching her sweet cheeks.
Phone/camera/IPad + Chargers: Absolutely! This was great, also, one reader suggested bringing a power strip which we did, but didn't need. I would still suggest bringing one because it would have been super helpful had our room been set up differently.
Pillow and blanket from home: My husband used the pillows, I was fine with the hospital ones and we never unpacked the blanket from the car.
Snacks and treats: Surprisingly, I didn't eat a thing from our snacks, but my husband had a few things. Mostly the Gatorades. We definitely had too much snacks (I brought Fiber One bars, dried fruit, cheese/crackers, Wheat Thins, pretzels, and candy), but at least it was there should we or our guests need/want anything.
Thank you cards: Didn't bring them and didn't need them. I wrote all my cards once we were home.
Journal: I brought it, but I didn't use it. It's actually staring at me as I type this.
Cash/Change: Our hospital's snack machine actually takes card so we didn't pack change, we already had cash, and with the snacks we brought the change was not needed.
FOR MOMMY:
Going home outfit: I wore some cropped yoga pants and a tank top home, but I also packed a maxi dress as well in case that would have been more comfortable with the incision and such.
Comfortable PJs (is a bathrobe necessary?): I brought yoga shorts, a button down night shirt, and a robe and didn't wear any of it. I was really comfortable in the hospital gown. Maybe if I hadn't had a c/s I would have changed, but who knows.
Nursing gown, bras, tanks, and pads: I packed all of this, but only wore one nursing bra while I was there. The rest could have stayed at home. My milk didn't come in for several days so the nursing pads were completely unneccessary for me.
Cotton granny panties: These were packed too, but the mesh ones the hospital provided were so dang comfortable. I even asked to take a pair home for the recovery!
Flip flops and non-skid cozy socks (I don't think I'll need slippers, I never ever wear them): I brought cozy socks, but the hospital put some on me when I was in pre-op so I never used my own. I only wore the socks that first day and took them off once I was in my room because I was too warm with them. I did wear flip flops to walk to floor the next few days and for my ride home.
Glasses and extra contacts: Brought these, but didn't use them. I always sleep in my contacts, but had these with me in case they were more comfortable or if I lost a contact I'd have a back up pair.
Lip balm, hair ties, lotion: Every list I read had lip balm listed saying how their lips dried up so much, but I didn't use my lip balm once the entire stay and my lips never dried up. I did use my hair tie to sleep with my hair up at night. Each morning I put lotion on my face and my family rubbed my swollen feet with body lotion I had packed as well.
Toiletries (including dry shampoo) and make-up: I used a little bit of make-up the 2nd day, but put some on to go home. My hair never got greasy enough to use the dry shampoo. The makeup remover wipes felt nice as did putting on deodorant each day.
Blow dryer and curling iron (yes, I realize I may never use it): I didn't pack the blow dryer, but did pack the curling iron. Lucky for me my curls lasted my whole stay, but if they hadn't I would have definitely used it at least on the front pieces.
Nursing pillow: We brought our boppy and it was great! I didn't use it personally, how the bed moved and the extra pillows I had made it unnecessary for b/f, but all our guests and my husband used it to hold her. It was really nice having it there for people to use, it made us and them feel more comfortable holding such a little one.
FOR BABY:
Infant car seat: Yes, we obviously used this and you cannot leave without having one installed in your car.
Newborn and 0-3 Months outfit: I ended up bringing NB sizes only and they were the perfect fit for her for her going home outfit. We had two 0-3 month onesies for her to wear, but they were huge on her.
PJs: We had our own pjs for her to wear each night and it was nice having her in them.
Swaddlers: We used the ones the hospital provided every day, but the last day we used one that we brought from home to take some pictures.
Blanket: I thought we'd use a blanket for her as a prop for pictures, but never ended up using it.
Socks and mittens: We had socks and mittens on her 24/7 while we were there. The hospital didn't have them and told us to bring our own on the maternity tour. I'm so glad I listened, because her nails were really long and she had scratched her face before we even made it to our room.
Grooming Kit (mostly for the nail clippers): After so many comments about this, we didn't pack it and didn't need it. We could have filed her nails down while we were there, but the mittens did their job. It would have just been another thing that we packed and didn't use.
THINGS THAT WEREN'T ON MY LIST:
Earbuds: There were a few times my husband watched tv on his IPad and used his earbuds to keep the room quiet.
Power Strip: We didn't use this, but thought it was genius to pack! Our room set up was very convenient, but I would advised everyone to bring one just in case. That way, all your electronic chargers and such are in one place and easy to pack up without forgetting one.
Guest Book: I brought an Alice in Wonderland book and had each guest (and our nurse) write a little note to Ellie in it. It's a sweet keepsake to always have and remember who came to visit us and meet our little bunny.
Ziploc Bags: I packed all of Eleanor's items in Ziploc bags, that way nothing would get lost and it was easy to keep them organized.
There it is! You seriously need hardly anything, the hospital takes really good care of you and your baby. With our next child, I'll listen to everyone and pack the minimum. You just never know until you've done it I guess and even still, I'm a firm believer that it's better to overpack than under. Hope this list helps any mommies-to-be. Feel free to ask me any questions below!
