Fair Warning: If you are a boy you probably don’t want to read this post. You might not want to read it if you’re a girl either, unless you are currently gestating a member(s) of the next generation of humanity or are planning to gestate one or more in the near future.
Hello pregnant lady! By now you know you are pregnant and have therefore started thinking about every possible thing related to pregnancy and babies and labor and delivery and recovery. One of the big things on your list is what to take to the hospital with you when you are in labor. This is important to decide beforehand, as your mind during labor will have roughly the thinking capacity of a rock. A very strong and single-minded rock. If you wait until the time actually comes for you to head into the hospital to pack your bag, you’ll end up with a bag full of whatever is on your kitchen table and nothing that you actually need. But fear not! This post will provide you with a basic list of what should have with you both when you go to to the hospital and when you leave the hospital to go home.
What to take into the hospital when you are in labor:
- Chapstick and lotion: It’s dry in hospitals and labor is, not unsurprisingly, a lot of work. So your lips and skin will get dry very easily.
- Kleenex: The hospital has boxes of paper that they call “tissues” but using them is like wiping your nose with soft-ish wrapping paper. Bring a couple of travel packs of the real facial tissues and you should be good.
- Paperwork, ID, insurance card: You’ll need all of these when you get to the hospital and they’ll need to be readily accessible.
- Hair ties: If your hair is long enough to pull up into a ponytail, bring a few hair ties with you.
- Favorite pillow (with an old pillowcase & pillow cover); spare pillowcase: I don’t know what it is about having your own pillow in the hospital but it really helps, especially during labor. Just make sure your pillowcases aren’t white so that your pillow doesn’t get mixed up with the hospital ones.
- Toothbrush & toothpaste: Brushing your teeth soon after delivery (or sometimes, even during labor) will energize you. I think it’s the peppermint in the toothpaste, but in any case, it often works.
- Warm socks, preferably with grippy things on the bottom: The hospital has socks that they can provide you with, but those are kind of scratchy. Being able to walk around in your own comfy socks is nice.
- Nursing bras: I’d recommend having a couple of nursing bras – a regular one and a sleeping bra – even if you are not planning to nurse. (You will still experience engorgement when your milk comes in, and if it’s while you’re in the hospital, you’ll be glad to have a bra that is made to be more supportive than normal ones.) Wear whichever ends up being more comfortable for you once you’re in the hospital.
- Nursing tank or easy access pajama top: Either a tank or a shirt with buttons is great for labor and delivery. Even if you are not planning to nurse, being able to do skin-to-skin contact with the baby is essential during those first moments and in the months thereafter; nursing apparel makes this easier.
- Comfy pajama pants/yoga pants: Don’t bring your favorite pair, but do bring one that is comfortable. You may stay in them a lot of labor or you may not; it’s nice to have the option. (You can just wear these to the hospital too.)
- Slip-on shoes: If any of your shoes still fit, bring slip-on ones to the hospital. They’re quick and easy to get in and out of if you want to walk around the halls in something more than grippy socks. The odds are high that your feet will swell after delivery also, and slip-ons are more likely to still fit on your feet as you totter out to the car.
- Electronic devices and camera: Bring your cell phones, iPods, laptops, etc. and don’t forget the chargers for all of them (as well as extra batteries for your camera). You may not use any of them during labor, but if you decide to get an epidural, it’s nice to have the option to communicate with people and watch something other than Maury while you’re waiting for labor to progress.
- Glasses: Even if you usually wear contacts, bring a pair of glasses with you. A lot of women don’t feel like dealing with contacts while at the hospital.
- Change for vending machines: Yay for junk food!
- Blanket for you: You’ll probably go back and forth between being hot and cold during labor and it’s nice to have a familiar blanket to cuddle up with.
- Snacks: Yay for healthy food! You may not be able to eat during labor (it depends on your hospital and your caregiver) but it’s great to have things like granola bars, fruit snacks, etc. for immediately following delivery when you will likely be ravenous.
- Birth plan: If you have a birth plan, bring a few copies of it with you to give to your nurses and to have put in your file. Bear in mind, though, that very few births go “according to plan.” 🙂
- Comfort measures for during labor: Whatever helps calm and relax you, bring that. If it’s music, bring a playlist on your iPod or laptop. Pictures of your favorite place or a particular image, cards with your favorite quotes, a stuffed animal – all can provide great comfort while you are laboring.
- Flip-flops: Wear these in the shower.
What to leave in your trunk until you’ve had the baby:
- Blanket for the baby: If you’re having a baby in warm weather, bring a flannel receiving blanket or similar. If you’re having a baby in the winter, a fleece blanket or other thick fabric is better.
- Lanolin: If you are nursing, you will want this, I guarantee it.
- Nursing pads: Your milk may or may not come in while you are in the hospital, but these are nice to have just in case. And again, even if you are not nursing, you will likely leak milk and will need some of these anyhow.
- Car seat: Make sure your car seat is properly installed in your car, preferably around the 36-week mark of your pregnancy, just in case.
- Going-home outfit for the baby: The hospital will have side-buttoning shirts so you don’t need to bring a bunch of clothes for the baby unless you want to. They usually don’t let you take these home with you, though, so you’ll definitely need at least one outfit.
- Mittens for the baby: Babies have incredibly sharp fingernails and will scratch themselves to pieces unless you a) cover their adorable scissorhands with mittens or b) cut their nails. As their fingernails are super tiny, mittens are easier.
- Snacks: Hospital food is, well, hospital food. So have another stash of snacks in this second bag. Fresh fruit is a good thing to have in this bag if the weather is appropriate; otherwise I recommend asking someone to bring you some the day after delivery. It is so great to have fresh fruit after so much packaged and lukewarm food.
- Maternity t-shirts: After giving birth, you’ll still look about five months pregnant so don’t head back to your old favorites just yet. Short-sleeved t-shirts are the best so that you don’t have to keep rolling up your sleeve when the nurses come in to take your blood pressure every time you have just fallen asleep (how do they know?!).
- Granny panties: If you don’t like the mesh underwear that’s provided, it’s nice to have some high-waisted cotton briefs on hand.
- Clothes & toiletries for your support person: They’re sticking around too and will want some of their own things handy.
- Pillow and blankets for your support person: They’ll definitely want their own bedding to supplement the not-so-comfy pull-out chair/bed on which they’ll be sleeping.
- Olive oil: Bring a small container of olive oil to wipe on baby’s bum to make the meconium easier to wipe off during diaper changes. I learned this awesome trick from a client – thanks, guys!
- All other personal hygiene things (shower stuff, shampoo, deodorant): The hospital has these but it is nice to use your own familiar items. Just bring travel sizes; there’s no sense in bringing those massive bottles for just a short stay.
- Nursing pillow (optional): Contact the hospital where you’re planning to deliver and ask if they have nursing pillows provided. Most have one in every room so you won’t need to bring your own, but it can’t hurt to check ahead of time.
Things to take home with you:
- The baby: Really, if you forget everything else, this is the one to remember.
- All the newborn diapers you can get your hands on: These are donated to the hospital by diaper companies as marketing tools, and any diapers left from opened packages will be thrown away. So take them home with you and save yourself some money. Even if you are cloth diapering, I would suggest using newborn disposables until the meconium has completely passed through the baby’s system. It’s really not something you want to deal with getting out of cloth diapers.
- All the free mesh underwear you can get your hands on: Having underwear that is disposable is really great during those first weeks until your lochia is completely finished, or at least until it settles down enough to wear your regular underwear and pads.
- All the ginormous pads you can get your hands on: I had a bunch of overnight maxi pads at home, which were thinner and more comfortable but really didn’t work as well as the hospital ones when my lochia was still heavy. Stock up on them!
- All the Tucks (witch hazel) pads you can get your hands on: This is another expensive item that hospitals are given for free and you’ll use them at home for some time. Even once you are home, spend the extra money and buy the name brand Tucks. I didn’t and I regretted it.
- Peri bottle & sitz bath: Both of these are very helpful for postpartum healing, particularly if you tear at all during labor or have hemorrhoids. Even if you don’t have either (LUCKY!), you’ll be sore and these will both help.
- Any medicine given by your care provider: You will most likely need OTC painkillers (ibuprofen is safe for nursing moms) as well as stool softeners. The hospital will provide you with some; make a note of their recommended dosage, which often differs from what is on the OTC packaging, and buy it in bulk after going home.
- Any material and equipment from the lactation consultants: If you are breastfeeding, please, please take advantage of the lactation consultants at the hospital. If at first you get an LC who you don’t quite gel with, wait for the next shift or ask for another one. They can be so helpful with any sort of breastfeeding issue and it is essential to have support, especially at the beginning. Any equipment (breast pump tubing and parts, breast shields, hand pumps) that you are given cannot be used again at the hospital; take it with you! Hospitals have the top-of-the-line equipment and it is really great to have it available for you at home.
- Discharge paperwork: You can’t leave without this.
- Everything in the hospital room that was once in your home: Make sure you check all of the outlets and retrieve all of your chargers. Check in seat cushions for anything that may have fallen down in between them. And check the bathroom to make sure you have everything that you came with.