Giving birth is amazing, beautiful, wonderful, and scary as hell (especially for the new mommy).
I gave birth to my first child 14 weeks ago, an amazing little boy named Isaac. Prior to that time, I gathered birthing stories from every female friend that had them, just to make sure I was prepared for any experience. Tales ranging from the horrifying to the serene; I heard them all. While this didn't exactly calm me down, it did help me to prepare for the birthing experience and the hospital stay. I went to the hospital very prepared and it truly helped make my stay there much more comfortable.
Aside from the normal items to bring with you (change of clothes for you and your support person, toiletry items, going home clothes for the baby, slippers and robe), here is a list of *VERY* nice-to-have items that you might not have thought of:
If your hospital is as good as mine was, they basically supply you with everything else you will need to care for yourself and the baby. Don't expect to get too much sleep though, as hospital staff come into your room to wake you up every 2 hours around the clock.
Enjoy your stay!
I gave birth to my first child 14 weeks ago, an amazing little boy named Isaac. Prior to that time, I gathered birthing stories from every female friend that had them, just to make sure I was prepared for any experience. Tales ranging from the horrifying to the serene; I heard them all. While this didn't exactly calm me down, it did help me to prepare for the birthing experience and the hospital stay. I went to the hospital very prepared and it truly helped make my stay there much more comfortable.
Aside from the normal items to bring with you (change of clothes for you and your support person, toiletry items, going home clothes for the baby, slippers and robe), here is a list of *VERY* nice-to-have items that you might not have thought of:
- Depends Undergarmets. I know what you are thinking - I'm not an 80 year old incontinent woman! After giving birth, you will shed the lining of your uterus for weeks. This continued for me for about 5 weeks. The first week is the worst and there is *A TON* of discharge. It looked to me like I was losing all the blood in my body. NOTE: This also happens to women who have given birth by c-section.
The hospital will supply you with mesh, stretchy panties. Then they will give you ice packs, pads and medication to put into the mesh panties. Once you get everything in there, the panties are swinging like a hammock between your legs and virtually sagging to your knees. Plus, having a huge pile of stuff by your "area" is especially painful for those who just gave birth vaginally. I've never been so unsure of sitting down before.
Luckily, I brought Depends with me, so I only wore the strechy panties once before opting for Depends. Depends stay in place, have a lot of absorbancy, and are much more comfortable. The nurses were all impressed when they saw I was wearing them. Heck, I even wore them to bed a few weeks before my due date just in case my water broke.
[No, I have no affiliation with the Depends company.] - Breast Feeding Pillow. If you intend on breast feeding, having a pillow to support the baby makes a world of difference. I've tried regular bed pillows and a Boppy, but the My Breast Friend pillow (http://www.mybrestfriend.com) reins supperior. It latches around you, so it won't slip. It even has raised areas to support the baby's head and a pocket to hold a water bottle (or in my case, an iPhone).
Bring your regular bed pillows and any body pillows to the hospital too, since hospital pillows are as supportive as a stack of newspapers. - Food. If you are in the initial stages of labor, eat before you go to the hospital (something light and filling) and drink plenty of water because once you are admitted, you won't be eating anything but ice chips. They won't even give you water to drink. I was in labor 20 hours, and I was so extremely hungry, I ate a Tums like it was a 5 course meal, savoring every tiny chalky nibble. After you give birth, you'll be ready to eat voraciously (in a non-c section scenario). I brought snack bars along, but my husband had eaten them all during the 20 hours he spent with me. Depending on the time of day, you might not be able to get food from the hospital cafeteria (as was my scenario). Frozen meals and a sack lunch were my alternatives for nourishment, but it seemed to take too long to acquire them and then they were sub-par. So, my suggestion to you is that you bring enough food along so that some is left over by the time you give birth.
- Easy Entertainment. My brain was so shot from lack of sleep, I could barely do a cross-word puzzle while at the hospital. My husband and I never touched the strategic board game we brought along. Choose entertainment that is easy on you mentally and physically. Bring a some sitcom episodes or a movie that requires little thought to watch. Believe me, now would not be the time to study for a Neuroscience course or attempt to understand string theory. Truthfully, you may be too tired for any entertainment outside of being with your new baby.
If your hospital is as good as mine was, they basically supply you with everything else you will need to care for yourself and the baby. Don't expect to get too much sleep though, as hospital staff come into your room to wake you up every 2 hours around the clock.
Enjoy your stay!
