Hospital/Bag questions

[sadies93]

I am 30 weeks with a boy, this is my first pregnancy and i had a few questions about the hospital (that i forgot to ask my doc at my last visit) and a couple questions about hospital bags.

1. How long did you stay in the hospital after giving birth and how did you give birth (c-section, natural etc)?
2. What did you pack in your hospital bag?
3. What did you pack in the babys bag?
4. What kind of bags did you use? Like for the baby did you use his/her diaper bag or a luggage bag for both of you?

Thank you for taking the time out to answer my questions. :)

[Babies411]

I've worked in a lot of hospitals as an agency nurse and most keep vaginal deliveries for 48 hours and c-sections for 72 hours (unless of course there is reason to keep you longer). Some moms like to leave earier and if all is well with mama and baby, the MDs/Nursemidwives will allow you to go home after 24 hours after birth.

As for when to pack, 4 weeks before your due date is a good time; however, since I am a NICU nurse, I usually recommend getting your bag together in your 34th week of pregnancy...just in case.

Here's a checklist that you might find helpful: http://mypuredelivery.babies411.com/hospital-bag-checklist/ There are also prepackaged hospital bags available (check out My Pure Delivery).

Hope this helps and best wishes

[mrssandefur]

Haha snacks not snakes :) that'd be an interesting thing to bring!

[sadies93]

Thanks! You all have been so helpful! Alot of stuff mentioned I would have never thought about bringing like clothes for my bf or socks lol.

[mrssandefur]

Oh yeah IDK.if I put that! I took mine too!!

[Lesley27]

nursing pillow! i forgot to bring that last time...

[mrssandefur]

I knew I was getting a C-Sectioms BUT we had an emergency one so.I didn't have time to.pack. My husband at the time ran home and brought the clothes he wanted for.baby lol oh wow that was definitely a sight! He had rattle socks the were blue and.orange onsies blue mittens a lime green gown and a dark green cap lol oh well he was warm and happy! Anyway he.didn't bring MY clothes and.I went home in the night gown I had him bring the first night I went in BEFORE we.knew we were having the C-Section. I was in from Tuesday to Saturday (supposed to be Sunday but.I begged my Dr to let me leave sonic could go to.my baby shower lol.
Anyway with my second I was much more prepared! Over prepared infact lol. I pack three outfits for baby plus like 6 onsies and socks and caps and mittens. I pack 4 of his own blankets and his boppy pillow. I packed the.kind of binki we were.gonna use because I remembered they had weird ones at the hospital, turned.out he didn't like either of those kinds. For.myself I had my phone and phone charger, shampoo and.conditioner and body wash and.lotion and face wash(their stuff stinks!) I packed of course my tooth brush tooth paste, hair brush Bobby pins clips ponytail holders hair spray, make up and body spray. I packed three outfits although I found my gown more comfy. Granny panties my own pads (thick.ones! I only slept in the hospital ones) socks (none skid ones) slippers, and nursing bras. I took my own pillows and an extra blanket (I think hospital blankets are too heavy) I packed snakes and extra changes and drinks. Oh yeah! Nipple pads! Even if you're not gonna nurse you'll still leak! And you can bring your.own nipple ointment but.the hospital has some awesome stuff. This time I'm gonna pack probably the same way plus extra clothes for my husband (my mom and.my husband, boyfriend at the time, and friend took turns staying the night with me.with my second one) and probably a portable DVD player.
Oh oh oh!! Don't for get camera and charger or batteries! And phone charger IDK if I said that already.
As far as diapers and wipes they provide those (I took the extras)

[Lesley27]

i reccomend over packing! i had a csection with my first, i went into the hospital to get induced on the thursday and got home the following monday... i didnt pack enough clothes for that many days and felt sooo grubby! i didnt know what i was having so i had gender neutral clothes so my sister brought a bunch of pink for my daughter to wear and i liked that a lot better! so im packing enough clothes for each gender this round... basically tho for baby the hospital supplies everything so all you need is a ligth diaper bag for the ride home...depending how far you live away.... my hospital doesnt supply pacifiers unless baby is in the NICU.. but other tahn that they supply the diapers, vaseline, they use clothes to wash babies bum, and they supply swaddle blankets and clothes but like i said i switched to my own for clothing and what not... and for sure pack as if you are getting a csection cause i didnt and i was stupid and packed old undies that i didnt care if i thru away BUT they were bikini cut.... big no no for where the incision line is... so thank goodness the hospital has those mesh undies which i thought were super comfy! but they were very skimpy in how many you got.... i asked for a new clean pair for when i finally got to shower and the nurse was so rude about it... so this round im bringing my own as well... ill use the hospitals as much as i can and then i ll have them for at home

[Heatherm4]

I had a natural birth but my son was very jaundiced so we had to stay the night I had him and 2 extra nights for him to be under the light therapy.
I'd say...always pack as if you expect a c-section, even though you certainly don't expect one....you never know. Better to be over prepared than under. Especially if you live quite a distance from your hospital.
Some extras: Definitely pack a book or something to keep you occupied. Take snacks and drinks that you'd like.
I'd also say...take an extra sleeper or something if you have a boy! My son peed the first few times we changed his diaper! LOL You need them for trial and error!!

[kaalaharvey]

I stayed from Sunday to Tuesday. You will want just one or two outfits for the baby. Socks and mittens as well for the peanut. For you, you will need your own shampoo and body wash. People are right about the hospital pads, they are wicked bulky and uncomfortable. So definitely bring your own and make sure they are the extra large ones. Nursing bras and pads. Phone charger. Besides that we didn't need much.

[happyfeet88]

then i probably overdid it, i packed two hosp bag for baby only lol, didnt pack my bag yet im scheduled for a csection this is my first, 33wks

[mamainmay]

Hi! This is my first pregnancy as well so I can only tell you about the hospital bag .. but I've done a lot of research on what to pack so I thought I would give you my 2 cents .. so I packed 2 comfy outfits for me (a big tshirt and stretchy pants that fit me when I was 6 months-ish) nonskid socks, nursing bras, breast pads, undies, overnight period pads, chapstick, lotion, toothbrush, toothpaste, brush, nipple cream, deodarant, 2 outfits for hubby, cell phone charger, camera and extra batteries, 2 newborn and 2 0-3 months outfits for baby, diapers, wipes, scratch mittens, ipod, a roll of toilet paper (they say the hospital toilet paper feels like sand paper), and bibs .. I packed mine and my husbands things in a duffle bag and the babys stuff in her diaper bag .. every hospital is different so i wanted to be prepared I would rather have too much stuff than not have enough :) .. good luck to you!

[mamainmay]

Hi! This is my first pregnancy as well so I can only tell you about the hospital bag .. but I've done a lot of research on what to pack so I thought I would give you my 2 cents .. so I packed 2 comfy outfits for me (a big tshirt and stretchy pants that fit me when I was 6 months-ish) nonskid socks, nursing bras, breast pads, undies, overnight period pads, chapstick, lotion, toothbrush, toothpaste, brush, nipple cream, deodarant, 2 outfits for hubby, cell phone charger, camera and extra batteries, 2 newborn and 2 0-3 months outfits for baby, diapers, wipes, scratch mittens, ipod, a roll of toilet paper (they say the hospital toilet paper feels like sand paper), and bibs .. I packed mine and my husbands things in a duffle bag and the babys stuff in her diaper bag .. every hospital is different so i wanted to be prepared I would rather have too much stuff than not have enough :) .. good luck to you!

[marishaxoxo]

My first was csection, stayed for four days.... brought loose fitting comfy pjs, blanket from home, warm socks, bathrobe,slippers.... personal hygiene stuff (soap ect.), overnight maxi pads, granny panties, cell phone

[marishaxoxo]

My first was csection, stayed for four days.... brought loose fitting comfy pjs, blanket from home, warm socks, bathrobe,slippers.... personal hygiene stuff (soap ect.), overnight maxi pads, granny panties, cell phone

[trying43]

My first we were in 3 1/2 days, 2nd and third 2 days, all were natural deliveries, to add to what others said,  u may also want to pack some snacks for yourself, extra change for coke machine, camera and charger, cell phone charger, chap stick, socks, and bring your own pads, the hospital ones are uncomfortable and don't stay put, socks, and slippers. If your spouse is going to stay clothes for them too. Also all three times I had my kids the hospital never gave enough wipes or burp rags so pack extras of those.

[sadies93]

thanks ladies!! Thats all really helpful! I hit me today that im 30 weeks! Only 2 more months to go and im going to have a baby and i havent planned anything, and in general i plan everything lol

[RippedonScotch]

I just left the hospital on sunday.   The hospital here keeps you for 48 hrs after delivery so I had my son on friday and they released me Sunday. I think every hospital is different. In my hospital bag I had some comfy clothes, underpants! the hospital fish net things are not that comfy, my tolietry bag with my toothbrush and such, my ipod & charger, phone charger, and a portable dvd player with a couple movies in case I was bored.  and then we loaded up the diaper bag with some outfits based on the size we thought the baby was going to be.... he wasn't.  dr thought he would be between 7.5 and 8.5. lbs....baby was 6lbs 10oz.   he was however also 12 days early so if I went the full 40wks we would have been around that size.  My husband also had a backpack that had his running shoes and a change of clothes just in case.  
I didn't use half of the stuff I brought though!
Good luck!

[alaysha]

I used one bag. I packed makeup, hair supplies, my favorite body wash and shampoo and conditioner. I packed I couple comfy sleep outfits that I wouldn't mind getting blood on. A camera and a book. I packed the baby 2 outfits. They will provide clothing, pacifiers, bottles, diapers and wipes at the hospital so you don't need to pack a lot. I gave birth vaginally both times and the first time I was positive for strep b so we had to stay for 2 days. With my second I was released within 24 hours.