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I have to admit, I’m a bit of a planner. I wasn’t always that way, but life has taught me time and time again that things tend to run a bit more smoothly when I have some sort of plan in place.
When I got pregnant I read everything I could think of to make sure I had what I needed when our son arrived. When the time came, I had way too much of some things and not enough of others. We arrived at the hospital with a whole suitcase (that I had packed in accordance to the baby checklist I was given), and I ended up using maybe 3 or 4 items out of it. So instead of packing a huge bag like I did, here is a quick list of things that you will actually need:
1.Tolietries: My hospital room did not come with any shampoo or even soap for the shower and so I was very thankful that I had a brought a small case of travel size toiletries.
2.Comfy clothes: Both your pyjamas and the clothes you plan to return home in should be as comfortable and loose as possible. I was given a hospital gown for my stay and large, stretchy underwear to accommodate a frozen sanitary pad and a regular sanitary pad underneath for the swelling (if you have a natural birth). Going home after my 3 day stay, I was still sore and tired and was thankful to put on a pair of baggy sweatpants instead of trying to squeeze into jeans. I didn’t have a nursing bra with me at the time but I wish I had one, as well as nipple pads and a lot of Medela Tender Care Lanolin nipple cream (who knew that breast feeding would hurt so much at the start?).
3.Camera with extra batteries, or a fully-charged battery: Chances are you are going to want to take a lot of pictures of your brand new family member. I turned into a parent paparazzi when my little guy came.
4.Clothes for baby: Here is where I REALLY overpacked. The list that I got said that I would need 3 undershirts, 3 sleepers, 3 onesies, socks, a hat…the list went on and on. Well, I was in the hospital for 3 days, and for those 3 days my son hung out in a toque and a diaper because he was almost constantly swaddled in two blankets while we were there. It wasn’t until we took him home that we finally dressed him in actual baby clothes. When we did put clothes on him (since it was January), we put him in a sleeper and a toque. The toque was hugely important (as we were told by the nurse) because babies apparently lose 60% of their body heat through their heads. We also had a JJ Cole Bundleme in the car seat so we didn’t have to use blankets. That was it! I had brought all those outfits and we used one for the hour it took us to be discharged and drive home. Once we got home we stripped him back down to his diaper and swaddled him again.
5.Car seat: You have to have an appropriate car seat that is current. I had no idea that car seats expire, but they do. Most infant seats are only good for 6 years; after that, it is time to recycle them. Make sure when you are purchasing a car seat that you check both the bottom of the seat and its base to see what the manufacture date is. Most hospitals will not let you take the baby home unless you have a valid car seat.
6.Cell phone (and your charger) or change for the pay phones: I have to admit I was so thankful that I brought my iPhone, especially because I was in the hospital for 3 days. I definitely wasn’t chatting away 24/7 (in fact, I think I only made 3 calls the whole time I was there), but I did send a few e-mails out to all my friends and family who were waiting to hear the news about the baby. I was remember sending a few text messages each morning to my husband to let him know if I needed anything or not as he wasn’t allowed to stay overnight with me.
7.Your ID and health care card: You will need your health care card in order to be admitted into the hospital, and you will also need your driver’s licence for filling out paperwork and for proving your identity when it is time to take your little one home.
8.Cash for the cafeteria or vending machines: In the maternity wing of the hospital they had sandwiches, yoghurt, juice and water for all the moms. However, it was nice to have the option of eating something else if I opened my standard-issue hospital lunch tray and found something disgusting under it. For the most part I was too exhausted to care, but I do remember the times when my husband brought me a hot meal or a snack, thinking it was the best thing I had ever eaten.
9.Your own pillow: I find there is nothing more comfortable than my own bed and my own pillow, and since I couldn’t bring both I opted for the more travel friendly item. The hospital was able to supply me with several pillows, but when it came time to sleep I just couldn’t get comfy on any of them. When I did finally drift off I would wake up to a sore neck. It isn’t the end of the world if you don’t bring a pillow from home, but it was sure nice to have.
10.Slippers: If you do find yourself up and about (if you didn’t have a C-Section), then you will want something easy to slip on and off your feet. Chances are you are only going to be in there for a night or two but it is a lot nicer to trudge around in slippers than trying to put on your shoes every time you leave your bed.
One last thing, not to pack, but to do before you get to the hospital: check its rules on visitors. I was surprised to find out that my husband counted as a visitor but my own parents (or even my husband’s parents) didn’t. Since I was only allowed 2 visitors (my husband being one of them), when my brother and sister-in-law came to see me, I was only allowed to let one of them into my wing of the hospital. It was one of those things that I wish I had known beforehand so that it would have saved me the awkwardness of choosing.
