Packing the Hospital Bag

Maybe I am weird, but I love getting my hospital bag ready to go.  I definitely over-packed for Eddie’s birth, (I also packed a gigantic snowsuit for him to wear home from the hospital, and he ended up going home in just clothes, and bundled in the car seat under blankets–I totally had no clue how big the suit was (there was no tag) in comparison to the size of a baby. It was January.  My first parental fail was on the books!) but since then I’ve pretty much gotten it down to a science.  I’m finishing up work this week, so the coming weeks will involve lots of baby prep and packing my bag is high on my list.

I always buy myself new stuff to bring to the hospital.  I don’t want their toiletries, I don’t want their gowns and I don’t want their tiny cans of warm ginger ale (ok, I’ll take the ginger ale.  And Lorna Doons.  Give me All the Lorna Doons). Having new and exciting things in my bag makes the hospital stay a little bit better for me.  I can deal with the 25 wake ups per night to take my blood pressure when I know I can take a shower in the morning with a luxurious smelling soap and sample sized shampoo.

Here is what goes in to my hospital bag:

• New Pajamas.  I will wear their gear on the first day when they are “checking by bottom” and while I deal with…other issues. Generally though, I hate the hospital gowns and I prefer to wear pants. I like to buy stretchy pajama pants at Target (Something O’Malley) and matching shirt–something that is stretchy and conducive to nursing, but that isn’t a mumu.  I’m hoping to get multiples this time around on the off chance that I will be in the hospital for longer than 2 nights.
• New Slippers and new socks.  My feet will not touch the hospital floor, no they will not.  New slippers and socks are a very fun post-delivery item to look forward to.
• My Robe. I don’t ever wear my bathrobe at home, but it’s a necessity in the hospital.  It has pockets and is medium weight.  I’ve found that the room temperature varies, so it’s nice to have an extra layer.
• A Nursing Bra. I have yet to have any substantial milk come in while I am in the hospital, but I always do what I am told and wear my nursing bra.
• A handful of breast pads. Same as above.  I bring them, but leakage never starts until a day or 2 after I am home.
• Toiletries. I like to go through the sample section at Target and see what strikes my fancy for shampoo for shampoo and conditioner.  I also grab a new puffy sponge, deodorant, and tooth paste. Sometimes I find a nice body wash and lotion in the sample area as well, but other times I will pick up small sized ones from Bath and Body Works.
• A brush and hair ties. This is just common sense.  Anything else I would normally pack for a trip gets thrown in my toiletry bag.
• My own underwear. I know this is unpopular, but I hate those mesh underwear.  HATE THEM. I usually buy some comfy cotton underwear just for the hospital with full knowledge that they may get ruined.
• A Phone Charger. I can’t be without my Twitters.
• Snacks. I like to bring pop tarts, granola bars and cookies.  Any small snacks to nibble in the middle of the night, or in the morning when I’m waiting for my breakfast. It’s also nice to have a little snack for the kids when they come to visit.
• Camera. This is a given.
• Going home clothes for the babies. This includes a size appropriate jacket and hat.  I bought the JJ Cole carseat covers to keep them warm as well, since it will still be winter, but they will be on the carseats already. I don’t bring much else for them since the hospital has most of it.
• Clothes for me to wear home. This is actually only a maybe item, because if my birth is scheduled, I will wear home the same clean clothes I wore on the way in.
• Magazines. I am almost always too tired to concentrate on reading, but flipping through a magazine can be relaxing.
• Nursing Pillow. This won’t actually fit in the bag, but I will have Ed bring it in post delivery.

Now that I’ve typed it out, it seems like I’m forgetting something.  I have some time to think about it though.  Do you have any must haves to put in your hospital bag?