Wednesday, October 23, 2013

My Mommy Hospital Bag

Greetings, Blogosphere friends!

So I had my final doctor's appointment before D-Day (Delivery Day) arrives, and my super awesome amazing doctor says he thinks we will be all good to go for Baby Muller's arrival next week. We even passed our second A1C test with flying colors. I am so excited, and I cannot wait to meet the little miracle that has been woven and spun by the Creator of the universe in my belly these past 38 weeks! God has been so good to our growing family, and we continue to pray for his mercy and blessings on us and this little one as we prepare to become a family of three. We covet prayers of those who would ask the same on our behalf. :)

This post has been a fun one to plan. I have been working on packing my "mommy hospital bag" since I was at about 35 weeks, but I think I finally have everything I could want or need. I, of course, did a quick online search for "what to pack in a hospital bag" and perused Pinterest for suggestions, but I found that the best advice came from all of my recent mommy friends and co-workers. They had suggestions I would not have thought of on my own, and I am so excited to share this list with any other soon-to-be mommies out there who are wondering the same things I was about what would be necessary and what would be superfluous. Below are some pictures with descriptions of what I finally ended up with in my bag. I have also tried to include links for as many items as possible, and if requested, I can create a printable list to include with this post for your packing ease. Please feel free to leave comments, additional suggestions, or questions if you have any.

My hospital bag:


So here are the contents of my hospital bag in their entirety. I am packing my large Vera Bradley duffel bag that I have had for ages (love how much you can shove into those things) as my primary bag for our hospital visit and stay. I am also taking (not pictured) an empty Vera Bradley tote bag that many people said would come in handy for anything the hospital gives me to take home or gifts presented by visitors during our stay. I am also bringing along (not pictured) a small, recyclable shopping bag with my nurses' gifts (see pic later in post), the Medela pump to practice with my lactation consultant, and a personal throw blanket.
 





The first set of items I am bringing along are really creature comforts. I am bringing a bath towel from home as many of my friends have said the ones at the hospital are super thin and bare. I am bringing my own pillow in this peach pillow case. My personal home sheets are white, but I heard that a hospital may accidentally mistake your white sheets/pillows for their own, so I wanted to eliminate the possibility of any confusion. I am also bringing my Babies R Us Body Pillow and Wedge and some Lavendar and Chamomille scented linen spray from Bath and Body Works for relaxation. (As much as I can relax, anyway.)


These are a few potentially medically necessary items. The inflatable cushion is in case of any tearing, episiotomies, or soreness after delivery. I know the hospital will supply me with some of those canoes of pads and (hopefully) some of those disposable granny panties that my mommy-friends say are so great, but I wanted to bring a couple of big, incontinence pads just in case. I also grabbed a box of Tucks pads in case those aren't supplied to me either.

 
I also have my handy-dandy toiletry case. Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthwash, lotion, hairspray, loofah, Febreze, deoderant...all of the items that I am sure I will be dying to use after the hard work of labor and delivery is done.


I am also bringing three loose, comfy, nursing friendly dresses to wear while at the hospital from Milk and Baby. Because I cannot be 100% sure I won't have to have a C-section because of the gestational diabetes, I didn't want to pack pants. I got all of these items in dark colors in case of "leaks" post-delivery. The long black dress is my wear home gown, and I have packed flip flops to wear home, too. It seems the temperature may be dropping here soon (Yay, fall!), so I will probably be adding a sweater/cardigan to this setup. As one additional outfit, my in-laws bought me some custom made hospital gowns I can change into post delivery. One is blue and one is pink, so I will pick the one to wear after the baby appears on the scene. They are comfy and perfect for nursing, so they will be great to round out that first day of hospital dwelling. They also got me some comfy slippers to wear, too.


These items aren't actually packed in my Vera Bradley bag, but are instead in the small, recyclable grocery bag I am carrying the nurses' gifts in instead. I have a few packs of Thank You notes, a couple of take-out menus from some of our favorite local spots, and a folder that contains the important insurance forms we will have to fill out for Baby Muller once he or she arrives.
 

This is my set of nursing gear for the hospital. I bought two sleep bras from Motherhood Maternity to wear at the hospital. (I am going for convenience and comfort in this case, so I am leaving my "cute" nursing bras at home.) I packed several pairs of panties in dark colors to wear if they don't give me the disposable undies. I am bringing our travel Boppy pillow and one of the nursing covers I made (in case of visitors during feeding times.) I also have the Avent Breastfeeding Essentials pack that has leak pads, a cooling, heating pad, and a bra marker to remind you which side you nursed on last. As a final touch, I am bringing a fitted belly band as several of my friends have commented on how weird (and sometimes painful) it can be for your body to adjust to not having baby in your abdominal space anymore. I plan on wearing this around my middle most of the time after the baby comes.


The last thing in my mommy bag is this awesome, dark, hooded robe I picked up on clearance sale at Target. Everything I read or heard said to not bring your best to the hospital in case of "accidents" or "messes," so I got this one for around $15. It is very comfy, and the dark color will camouflage any leaks. Finally, I packed a few pairs of soft, warm, comfortable socks. I am super excited about my Boo socks since Baby Muller will be here terribly close to Halloween, and I wanted to make sure I acknowledged that somehow. It even has BOO written on the bottom of the socks in non-skid plastic, making these perfect for walking on cold, slippery tile floors.
 

Here is the main item in my recyclable grocery bag: my labor and delivery nurses' gifts. It is just a little happy to say thank you for everything you do during this special, overwhelming, and amazing time in our family's life!


Inside the cute little bucket is a note, a foldable brush/mirror compact, tissues, a click-pen (my NICU nurse sister swears these are a Godsend for a nurse), chapstick, mints, gum, lotion, hand sanitizer, and dark chocolate. All of these items came from Target. I hope they will feel appreciated receiving this small token of our gratitude.
 
I hope that this post proves helpful to any mommies out there getting ready to pack their hospital bag! I hope you have a great day, and I will be blogging with you again soon!
 
Be a Blessing,
Brittney
 
 


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