Hospital Packing

This may be overkill...but I was thinking it might be fun to share how we get ready for the hospital and what kinds of things we pack to make our stay a little more comfortable.

A little sidenote... After we had Briggs, I had no idea I was going to get to jump up and get a shower right away so I wasn't really prepared. There were tons visitors, oh and did I mention a photographer?!?!...I just had to ask the nurse to grab me a couple things out of my suitcase and wasn't really put together when I came out of the bathroom.  

Well not this time...As you can see below...I decided to pack a little bag to keep inside my suitcase that anybody can grab for me.  It has a comfortable outfit (pants and shirt), flip flops for the bathroom, a pair of granny panties (trust me, you need them at first with those massive diapers pads they give you to wear), a sports bra, a pair of socks if I want to throw them on with some slippers when I'm done, hair tie and head band, a little makeup (powder, lip glass, blush and mascara) and a robe. The goal is not to look like a supermodel, but at least somewhat presentable for visitors and the camera.

Here are both my "go" bags somebody can just grab and give to me.  The orange bag is my shower bag that is stocked and already in the suitcase.  

It has the following:  soap, face wash, moisturizer, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, deoderant, toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, hairbrush, headbands, hair ties.  and in the outside pocket I have disinfectant wipes and a mini hand sanitizer.

A few other things to make your trip a little more comfortable:

A bag for your dirty clothes (blue bag), lighter pads (the ones they provide are like diapers but I didn't need them the whole time, so I was glad I had some lighter ones with me), nursing pads, makeup remover face wipes, disinfectant wipes, tissue, hand sanitizer, change purse with money for the drink machine in case one of us wants a drink while we are there.

*And I know the cleaning stuff might be a little overkill for some people, BUT, I work in healthcare and know how dirty hospitals can be.  I'm our hospital is super clean, but I keep disinfectant wipes with me to wipe down the bars of the bed, the rolling table surface and tv control.  I guess I just feel like there are lots of people who go before me in this room and it never hurts to make sure those surfaces are clean.  

For the baby...

boppy pillow and clean covers ( leave the boppy in the plastic bag so it isn't laying around the hospital room and getting all dirty), nursing cover (if you want or you can just use a blanket when you have visitors), sleepers (I pack about 5-6 ),  a couple little outfits with hats, swaddle blankets, burp cloths, coming home outift (Aunt Abs got them big/little brother shirts for both Briggs and Parker...SO CUTE and can't wait to use them!), baby socks, if you have a special paci you want them to use...clean/sterilize and pack those, and something special I also packed is a blanket, booties and hat that my grandma knitted for Briggs, that now I can use it with Parker.

The hospital provides everything you need for the baby including clothes, diapers, etc. 

So it's really personal preference if you want to have your own things for the baby to wear.

*The nurses will probably tell you this, but when it's time to leave...clean out the baby crib.  Trust me, they charge you for all that stuff, so you might as well take it with you since you're paying for it.

I keep a folder with a notepad to record gifts, visitors and any important info I need to remember.  It's also a good place to keep important papers together that you get from the hospital.  I threw some thank you notes in there to have on hand if I need them.

You're gonna thank me for this one...if you're like us, you will have some heavy traffic on your phone at the hospital with texts and phone calls...unless you have a super long phone cord you won't have access to your cell when it's charging.  So...I had a small extension cord at home, plugged my phone charger into it and works great.  Reaches all the way to the bed so I can carry on with business as usual :)

 A few other things that are helpful to have:

• favorite pillow if you have one
• fan or noise maker to help you sleep...IF you get a chance :)
• pack like you're staying 2-3 night.  

*I pack comfy stuff, but try to think about having visitors.  So I usually stick to pants and tops that will work no matter what kind of birth you have

• house shoes

*whatever you do...DON'T walk on that floor barefoot!)

• a couple nursing bras
• granny panties and a few regular panties
• hair dryer and straitener
• camera and charger (make sure the camera is charged ahead of time)
• phone charger/extension cord
• snacks..the kitchen isn't open 24/7 and if you have your baby in the middle of the night or wake up hungry when you're feeding the baby, it's nice to have something to snack on
• hand sanitizer
• Lysol disinfectant wipes
• chapstick
• mints
• gum
• wreath and door hanger (if your hospital does that)
• computer...for blogging of course :)
• book or magazine to read if you have any down time

 Last but not least...make sure you get daddy packed up.  They will have a cot/fold out couch for him.  I always make sure Justin has a couple tshirts, jeans, sweatpants,  underwear,  jacket, belt, toiletries, & houseshoes.  They don't need near as much as we do, but you want to make sure your man is taken care of!

Hope this helps some of you new/expecting mommies out there.  From experience, it does help to have the things you need at the hospital and (un)fortunately, being a "Parker", we tend to go a little overboard with things at times, but we do have what we need in situations like these.  Don't know about you...but it does help to have some comforts of home to make your stay a little more pleasant.