Hospital Maternity Bag

Mrs_Imp

Food/drink for the father, and maybe a wash kit for him so he can freshen up after the main event. I believe a cigar would be frowned on in a modern hospital.

Mrs_Imp

Mr Imp wrote that! Although snacks for him did prove useful.

A pillow to leave in the car. Lovely and soft to sit on if you had stitches, or a nice barrier between c section and seatbelt.

Write down in advance what you want to text people about the new baby. My somewhat addled brain forgot a few details, like the fact that we were both doing well, and we had a boy.

If you want to tell people yourself, turn off your Facebook wall, or it gets on there pretty quickly.

DigForVictory

I'd have a bag for waiting & another for delivery - for whomever is in there with you. Think just-about-liftable picnic basket - mums get fed (according to hospital policy) everyone else doesn't.

Ask you midwife if pizzas are delivered or allowed, likewise alcohol. You'll be slightly out of your tree on the experience, but planning the meal you've been denying yourself is fun.

By all means stay in maternity garb after, but deffo go for the Just Do Not Ask The Size knickers. You don't plan to keep them, so get a couple of supermarket multipacks in 18 or bigger & if not Bridget Jones style, then definitely high leg so you can angle the fabric a bit.

I'm guessing you have names planned? Then write down what you want sent correctly & to whom. We didn't have facebook, & I still have the cards & letters sent on the arrival of my first child. They meant a lot to me as my hormones sloshed around my sleep-deprived self & I plan to give them to the lad on his 18th...

jackomdj

After both of mine I had to stay in for two nights. With the youngest we had a second bag with "extras" just in case, it stayed in the car until we knew we would need additional bits.

DD2 did so many little poos, I remember sitting in the hospital bed wishing I had a pack of nappy liners (what you put in proper nappies), as I could have just changed that rather than the full nappy.

Towels, take double the number you think you will need. Leggings, take spare. If your waters go dramatically, you may need lots of spare clothing!

Some people are lucky, everything is quick, easy and clean. For others it isn't, better to have lots of unused items than need something and not have it.

skea56

Thank you to everyone for their suggestions - bit of a minefield going through all the different ones online and trying to decide what is actually needed - good to hear from women who have been there.

Am heading out this evening so have made a list of all the things suggested and hopefully get it sorted once and for all. I would never have thought of snacks etc and I must start stocking up on a few magazines or books. Plus the spare bag at home to be lifted if needed is a great idea too.

Thank you all again for your help.

sk56

SG27

Take a blanket for baby
Baby grows too not just vests
A hat for baby
Milk incase you can't breastfeed
My wife used cheap throw away knickers for a couple of weeks after.

Take a change of clothes for farther
Food for both of you.
Ask the father to take lots of pictures throughout even when you both feel terrible.

My wife (and I) where in for 27 hours before baby was born then home that night a total of 43 hours!

Kynthia

SG27 wrote: »

Take a blanket for baby
Baby grows too not just vests
A hat for baby
Milk incase you can't breastfeed
My wife used cheap throw away knickers for a couple of weeks after.

Take a change of clothes for farther
Food for both of you.
Ask the father to take lots of pictures throughout even when you both feel terrible.

My wife (and I) where in for 27 hours before baby was born then home that night a total of 43 hours!

Wow, 27 hours! For both of mine we were only there less than 3 hours before the babies arrived. So no snacks, change of clothes or reading material needed for my OH as it was all action. He then went home hours later while I was stuck there for over a day and a night, which was when the snacks came in handy.

SG27

Kynthia wrote: »

Wow, 27 hours! For both of mine we were only there less than 3 hours before the babies arrived. So no snacks, change of clothes or reading material needed for my OH as it was all action. He then went home hours later while I was stuck there for over a day and a night, which was when the snacks came in handy.

Lucky you! It was actually even longer as the induction process started 13 hours earlier at 9am but contractions didn't become severe until 10pm that night.

Kynthia

SG27 wrote: »

Lucky you! It was actually even longer as the induction process started 13 hours earlier at 9am but contractions didn't become severe until 10pm that night.

Inductions are a whole different experience to arriving already in labour. First timers go off to hospital thinking they'll have their baby that day but then I hear that it's still all going on 2 days later! You definitely need more in your bag in that case.

duchy

DigForVictory wrote: »

Ask you midwife if pizzas are delivered or allowed, likewise alcohol. You'll be slightly out of your tree on the experience, but planning the meal you've been denying yourself is fun.

...

Are you for real?
Most Mothers are breastfeeding (and what kind of selfish git would sit there swigging booze when his partner can't?)