Hellobee

Food! Hospital cafeteria food is barely edible and not always available.

Snacks and chapstick? We have our boppy in the trunk just in case–I figure DH can go get it if we want it. I think our hospital has My Brest Friends that we can use, though. Wouldn’t hurt to have yours if you do end up wanting it!

Chapstick, hand lotion (youll wash your hands a billion times and they will be so dry!) and a sleep mask.

We ended up bringing a SwaddleMe blanket from home (one of the ones with a foot pocket + velcro to wrap the baby up). We (especially me) never mastered swaddling with the receiving blankets given at the hospital, so using these swaddlers made life so much easier.

Has anyone ever successfully used mittens? They never seemed worth the effort to me! Plus you have the bite the bullet at some point and learn the scary task of cutting tiny nails. I second/third the chapstick & snacks & SwaddleMe. Bring the boppy, keep in the car. I used the hospital pillows, but couldn’t manage to recreate the comfort level with them at home.

I’m SO excited for you!The boppy was a life saver for us, we used it to prop A up in and to stuff at the side of the bed if she was in the crook of my arm so she wouldn’t roll off. Definitely snacks and water. Also, it might be good to have your own baby blankets as the hospital ones can be a bit rough and worn. Good luck!

Baby nail clippers or emery boards, they come out sharp
Your own swaddles are nice, and a blanket or shower cap cover for the car seat, but not a bundle me

Snacks are a must. And a water bottle.

Also check out the bunting Danamadeit.com used on her daughters hospital bassinets, so cute in the photos.

Chapstick. Snacks and drinks (hospital food sucks and drinks are expensive). Swaddle blanket. Bring the boppy, but leave it in the car. Hand lotion.
Heh, I just realize other people already mentioned everything I just said. Oh well. It’s all true! :)

Love, loved having my boppy at the hospital! I put a A&A blanket over it, and used it to prop her up in my bed, so I didn’t have to keep getting up to get her out of the bassinet. When she was sleeping in her bassinet, I used the boppy to sleep myself. The hospital only gave me two really flat pillows, so it was nice to put the hospital pillows behind my back, and have the boppy for my head. The boppy is also really nice for bottle feeding too, since you can just lay your LO there and have both hands free. My LO is bottle fed, and I use the boppy for all of her night feedings!

ETA: I second the snacks/drinks recommendation!

I really liked having my sleep mask. And slippers. And I agree – no need for books or magazines! I never had time and just wanted to gaze at the baby anyway. Good luck!

Love that camera! It is what we used before my aunt handed her rebel down to me. It saw us through some really great times!

I will bring good shower supplies this time. Our hospital had terrible shampoo etc. I also might bring something to get the tape residue off of my arms and back (from my epidural) – maybe makeup remover?
That first shower feels so good and so necessary.

Slippers or flip flops? I’m with you on no books or magazines, I didn’t have time for either. We watched TV and chatted with our L&D nurse while I was in labor and once LO arrived, I felt like I didn’t have a free minute.

Not sure the hats are a necessity. My hospital no longer uses hats on newborns because the current SIDs recommendation is to avoid them unless you are outside to prevent overheating.

Shower supplies are a must. We had much better luck with shirts with the fold over cuffs than the mittens. The mitts just never fit our little guy properly.

Snacks for sure! And you didn’t mention anything clothing-wise for you. Yoga pants, nursing bra, toiletries, etc. I never used the mittens either, as LO seemed to get frustrated when they were on. We just made sure to keep his nails trimmed as best we could. I also brought a pillow from home and I’m so glad I did. The hospital ones are super flat.

Socks or slippers for you! You might want them for walking around.
Toiletries for you, including shampoo. I personally only took body showers in the hospital and never washed my hair, but you might feel up to it.
Maybe a robe/yoga or sweat pants/nursing top? I wish I had motivated myself to put real clothes on. I stayed in the hospital gown the whole time and while convenient, was super ugly in all the pictures we took.
I wouldn’t both with much in the means of food- most hospitals have great menus you can order off of at any time! But definitely check out what the situation is with your hospital.

We brought an extension cord with multiple plug-in’s. I was induced and played a boring waiting game for a few hours. So glad we could plug our phones and laptop in!
Toiletries – I’m super sensitive to soaps so I brought my own, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, hair dryer, flat iron, make up, make up remover, deodorant, all that stuff!! Glad I did take it all because it made me feel so much better, and we had to stop at the store on the way home for ?? I can’t remember what we forgot!!

SNACKS. :D esp for dh. there’s a lot of middle of the night munchies!

So, I loved the Boppy for nursing/feeding, but it also makes a GREAT — super comfortable + perfect height — laptop holder.

I was a skeptic about the boppy as well, but I now RESPECT THE BOPPY. On day two my arms and back were already incredibly sore. The boppy made a big difference. Bring some sort of cozy lap blanket from home that you can easily wash when you get back. Hospital blankets are scratchy and you’ll want something that reminds you of home. Definitely consider a swaddle me blanket. They work so well – it’s hard for new parents to swaddle the babies as well as nurses do with the regular receiving blankets.

Still preggo, but like previous posters said, I’ve been told numerous times already to bring snacks for myself and the hubby! You never know what time you’re going into labor and what food will be available before/after you deliver so having something to eat is important!