I thought I was prepared this time around for my postpartum stay at the hospital. Last time around I packed everything but the kitchen sink, and while it was nice to have anything and everything I needed, I really didn’t use a whole lot. For round two, I tried to pack less—way less, but I still over packed…go figure.
So here’s a look into what I took and what I actually used. Keep in mind that this was for a med-free birth, and I was only at the hospital for a little more than 24 hours.
For Mama Rabbit:
- Toiletries in one small bag. I basically raided the travel-sized section at Target, and I used pretty much everything for that first shower after delivery: shampoo, conditioner, body wash, loofa, toothpaste, toothbrush, and deodorant.
- Nursing tanks x2. I only wore one out of the hospital, so I could’ve left the other at home.
- Long sleeve sweater and cardigan. I brought these in case it was chilly in my room. It wasn’t, but it was slightly cold when I left, so I wore my cardigan out of the hospital. Could’ve left the other at home.
- Comfy pants x2. I’m not sure why I doubled up on everything, but I wore my maternity yoga pants the day after delivery. I could’ve left the gouchos at home.
- Nursing sleep bras x2. I took two with me just in case I got into the laboring pool (I didn’t), because I wanted something to wear on top. I didn’t use either of these.
- Maternity Yoga shorts. These were also for the pool, and they also didn’t get used.
- Flip flops Yes, yes, yes. I wore these any time all the time, except when I was in bed. I don’t even want to think about what hits the hospital floor and how often they’re cleaned.
- Non-skid socks in case my feet get cold . Nope, didn’t use these at all. I just wore my flip flops.
- Small bag inside suitcase with “extras” like a hair brush, chap stick, mints, nipple cream (I know they have some there for you, but I took my favorite kind), extra hair ties, anti-bacterial sanitizer, face wipes…to wipe off the sweat—labor can be like running a marathon, folks! I only used the following: hair brush, chap stick, nipple cream, hair tie, and sanitizer.
- In the front pocket of my suitcase: Birth plan, family contact info, water bottle, cell phone, a book/kindle…just in case there’s downtime (one can hope). My birth plan was pretty simple, so I just told it to anyone new who came into the room; didn’t need the contact list I wrote, but if there was an emergency or something and my husband needed to get in touch with everyone, I’m glad I printed out everyone’s phone number and email address. I used my water bottle A LOT, and my cell phone was great to have. I never touched my kindle/book.
For Papa Rabbit:
- Electronic stuff: Laptop, real camera, phones, cords, etc. He used all of this, mostly while the baby was sleeping and whenever we had down time.
- Extra set of clothes. He used the spare shirt on the second day, just to freshen up.
- Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste & deodorant). He used these things, and we were all grateful!
- Father To Bee hat. He wore this for the last birth, but it went completely unused this time—we just forgot about it.
- Some loose change for snacks. Not necessary; the hospital had a pretty good on-call cafeteria service for food.
For the New Baby:
- Coming home outfit. I wanted to put her in this, but it was too cold, so she just wore a long sleeve onesie and then was bundled up in her blanket/swaddle.
- Two onesies. The hospital gave her a onesie, but I’m glad I could put her in one of her new outfits while we were there. They’re only little for such a short time, so I wanted to get as much use out of them as I could!
- Cute accessories: a headband and itty-bitty hat. I used both of these, but the hat stayed on her head almost constantly, since she was so new, and the headband went on her head just as I took a few pictures before we left the hospital, so it definitely wasn’t necessary.
- Car seat. Obviously used.
- Blanket. Used on the way home to keep her warm.
All in all, I still over packed since I took double of several clothing items, but I’m glad I took everything I did since I didn’t know what the circumstances would be like with this birth. Last time, despite the fact that it was a vaginal birth, I was in the hospital for four days, and even though I was anticipating another vaginal birth this time (and a shorter stay), you never know what could happen.
What did your hospital bag look like the second time around?
kiwi / 584 posts
what kind of nursing tanks do you have?
blogger / clementine / 750 posts
@Mrs. Pickles: I love, love, LOVE the ones from H&M. You can buy them online now and they often have discount codes! Two come in a pack
pomelo / 5084 posts
This might be a totally stupid question, but I noticed that these lists often include flip flops for the hospital stay. Why? Don’t hospital floors get cleaned, like, ALL THE TIME? It has to be sanitary in there, doens’t it? It’s not a camp! I just always wonder about this, and my (maybe wrong?) assumption that hospitals are probably cleaner than my house … ??
blogger / clementine / 750 posts
@wrkbrk: So, yes, they do clean the floors often. However, I wouldn’t go as far as saying that they’re sanitary. I’m going to give a little TMI and get gross here for a second, but…after delivery (at least for a vaginal delivery), even if you’re wearing a giant ol’ pad and granny panties, you still bleed—a lot. And sometimes all of that stuff isn’t always caught and some may drip to the floor. There’s no way I’d want to walk barefoot on those floors, because what if the one place I stepped happened to get missed by the mop. Also, as another (probably gross and TMI example): my water broke after I delivered my baby, so allllllll of that water (and everything else) went everywhere. Gross!
pomelo / 5084 posts
@Mrs. Rabbit: haha good point!