Hellobee

I’m entering the home stretch with Chocolate Baby, and one of the things I haven’t done yet is pack my hospital bag.  With Drake’s birth I went about 6 days early and didn’t even finish packing my bag when I checked into the hospital. I had to send Mr. Chocolate home with instructions of how to finish up before he arrived.  I have a friend who is expecting her first baby right around the same time I am, and she emailed me yesterday to ask what I was taking with me since I had done this once before.  I had to think a little about all the things I did bring vs the things I brought that I ended up not needing, so I thought I would throw up my list of things I’ll be taking with me this time around.

1) I bring a toiletry bag that includes the usual stuff like a toothbrush and toothpaste.  I don’t like a lot of conditioners places offer, so I always bring a separate little bottle as well as my own lotions too.

2) Earplugs– I had my own private room at the hospital and will again since I’m delivering at the same place. But I found that even in private rooms you can still hear your neighbors. A maternity ward is constantly active since you never know when the next baby will be arriving; Drakey arrived at 4:20 in the morning so we checked into the maternity pavilion around 6 AM.  After you give birth you are nothing short of exhausted and the noise can be really annoying.  When I checked into my room that morning, they were actually doing construction on part of the hospital very close to my room.  After laboring and birth with no sleep for over 12+ hours I was dying to get some shut eye, but the drilling and clanging made it impossible. I went down to the nurses’ station eventually to try to get them to stop as I just couldn’t take it anymore.  In the end the head nurse made them stop and come back at a different time. I texted Mr. Chocolate, who went home to let out our dogs and get a few hours shut eye at home before coming back, to bring my ear plugs when he came back.  This time I will be bringing a set ahead of time just in case.

3) I always bring my purse along which will contain my wallet with ID and insurance cards as well as cell phone, keys, and allergy medicine.  I will be packing my cell phone charger as well so I can always use it for messaging on Facebook, mindlessly surfing the net, and calling friends.

4) Camera– Above everything else, this is my must have item.  Perhaps it’s because I love photography as much as I do, but I just cant imagine not having my camera to document our first moments with Chocolate Baby.  I am taking my charger along too as I imagine I’ll be snapping away every chance I get and don’t want a dead battery to slow me down.

5) Change of Clothes– Last time I brought some comfy pjs, night gown tops, a nursing tank along and my going home outfit, but I found out that I didn’t really want to change while I was at the hospital.  After birth I felt like a bit of a mess as well as achey in general, so I found it easier to just stay in the gowns the hospital provided. That way I didn’t have to change and they were disposable so I didn’t worry about messing them up. I only stayed 2 nights at the hospital so maybe if I had been there longer I might have eventually wanted to change out of the gown. I might bring one PJ set with me this time just in case, but overall I only changed into a dress the day we were leaving.

6) Snacks– My hospital was well stocked if I recall.  Not only did they have a good dining offerings delivered to your room, but the maternity ward even had a small lunch room stocked with juices, ice cream, crackers, and small sandwiches for both moms as well as guests who were visiting.  I remember Mr. Chocolate raiding the pantry at least once during his visit.  Between the two I didn’t crave much, but I did send Mr. Chocolate out once for lox and Coke, two things I was craving bad after a long nine months.  This time around I still might pack a granola bar or two just in case I have a midnight craving and don’t want to wander the halls or call someone to get it for me. I can also always offer it to Drake when he visits.

7) Flip flops–  Just like in college, I showered in flip flops at the hospital because I just felt weird standing on the floor barefoot.  It was also nice to have something quick and easy to slip on when I did have to move around the room.  My feet were a little swollen after birth and it was easier to be able to slip on flip flops and not worry about squeezing into shoes.

T H I N G S  F O R  C H O C O L A T E  B A B Y

1) Boppy – You can always use the pillows at the hospital, and you can ask more even if need be, but I find the boppy nice to have for nursing.

2) Breast pump – When I had Drake, I had no idea if I would want to, like, or be able to breastfeed, so I brought my breast pump along just in case. You can probably rent from the hospital if need be, but I like having my own stuff so I can use it immediately.

3) Mittens – Baby nails are sharp.  I learned that very early on with Drake and discovered that a flailing arm can lead to a sharp scratch very quickly on both baby and yourself.  I actually had the very unfortunate experience of being scratched while breastfeeding on my breast, as if breastfeeding wasn’t painful enough already.  Mittens became my new best friend after that incident and I am once again being pre-preemptive and bringing at least one pair with me this time around.

4) Birth book – My hospital doens’t do the cute footprints and handprints sadly, so I won’t be bringing my birth book with me this time for Chocolate Baby, but I did with Drake as I didn’t know.  Not every hospital has this policy though, so if your hospital does do this for you I would bring along something to record it since they are only so tiny once and it’s nice to have that as a keepsake.

5) Present for Drakey- This isn’t going to be applicable to everyone, but for those of us with bigger children at home it might be helpful.  I bought Drake a little toy (Fisher Price Noah’s Ark) to give to him from Chocolate Baby when he arrives to the hospital to visit us.  Having a sibling is a big change for a young toddler, and who knows how long it will be until he can visit once I check in. So to ease the transition of becoming a big brother and being away from mommy for the first time, it might be nice to get him a little something to know that he hasn’t been forgotten and is still very loved.  I thought if the gift came from the baby it might help him adjust a little better, and it’ll occupy him while he is staying in the room with us as we adjust to becoming a new family.

6) Change of Clothes for Baby – Like I mentioned before, I don’t change baby out of the hospital clothes while I’m there since I’m tired and baby goes through so many checkups and exams while you are there. It’s easier to just leave them in what they are wearing in case they get messy.  I change baby right before we leave so I tend to only bring one or two outfits with me for them.

7) Swaddling blankets – I usually keep baby in the clothes the hospital provides until the day we leave, but I find the hospital blankets to be on the smallish side and harder to swaddle with and prefer to bring my own.  With Drake I had the Aden & Anais brand as they were large and plenty big for swaddling tight as well as so soft.  Since Drake and Chocolate Baby are both summer babies, I like that the Aden & Anais blankets are nice and breathable so even swaddled the babies aren’t going to be too hot because of the lightweight material.

8) Pacifiers – My hospital does not provide pacifiers so you have to bring your own if you want to introduce them. With Drakey I wasn’t sure if we wanted to since I had heard it was best not to start with pacifiers as it becomes a hard habit to break. But after the first night one of the nurses mentioned how Drake would always break out of the swaddle looking for his hands, and maybe I would like to try a pacifier since he wasn’t getting much sleep. So I sent Mr. Chocolate out to get a set to try. Drake took to the pacifier like a champ and despite how attached he became to it, we did break the habit fairly easily right before he turned 2, so this time I’m bringing a set with me to start with just in case.

9) Carseat– Technically I wont be bringing this with me when we check into the hospital. Mr. Chocolate will bring it the day we leave, but thought I’d mention it since most hospitals won’t let you take baby with you without one. It’s a far cry from when I was a newborn as my mom said she just held me in her arms in the backseat when they left the hospital.

So I think I covered everything I feel I need this time around.

What did you bring with you in your bag?  Am I missing anything vital?