What to pack for my labor bag?
Posted by laurenlovesgoodies on Apr 06, 2011 · Member since Nov 2007 · 2936 posts
Hi ladies!! Its about the time that I should pack my bag for when I go into labor. What did you find ESSENTIAL? What item(s) just took up space in your bag? I do not want to overpack, but I want to make sure that I don't have to send Evan back to the house for anything.
A little background:
- Birth center (attached to a hospital) that is very forward thinking and mother friendly.
- Only 10mins from home.
- They can accommodate vegetarian/vegan diets no problem!
- Evan will not be spending the night as we still have Bella to tend to and do not want to board her. *This might change depending on when/if my Mom can make it up (7 hour drive for her).
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!! :flower:
I'm hoping to avoid a c-section. Yeah.... I'm not a fan of the idea of pushing a child out of my vagina, but that is pretty much what it was built for. I really hope my recovery (regardless of the type of delivery) goes smoothly. Evan and I have both agreed that his penis isn't coming anywhere near me until I have an IUD!
So many naked ladies!! ;) I'm sure I'll come back to this thread and update how everything went. I don't know how down I am with the nakedness.... Like, I think it'll be weird not wearing a bra under the hospital gown for that whole immediate skin to skin contact.
I would think that the nurses would tell you why they were doing what they're doing. I've got it in my birth plan that no one is allowed to touch me until they tell me why (unless it is a life or death situation).
Also, I finished packing my hospital bag tonight. I'll come back soonish to list what I've got in there (I don't feel like doing it right now).
Are you not allowed to wear a bra during delivery? On some shows the woman is wearing a bra, and others they aren't - I guess I thought it was a personal choice....I don't want my boobs flopping to and fro the whole time....
Are you not allowed to wear a bra during delivery? On some shows the woman is wearing a bra, and others they aren't - I guess I thought it was a personal choice....I don't want my boobs flopping to and fro the whole time....
It is a personal choice. If you are going skin to skin right after delivery a bra could hinder that. You'd have to worry about taking it off... etc etc. That is why I plan on wearing a crap shelf sport's bra and I'll probably just have Evan cut the straps really quick and pull it down.
Ok... I was able to get everything I packed in one small carry-on sized roller suitcase (except for my pillow)!!
FOR ME:
2 nursing bras (nip pads)
2 crap shelf sport's bras
4pr undies (pads)
socks & slippers
2 sets pj's
yoga pants, top, sweater (to go home in)
pillow
hospital paperwork
$100 cash (for parking pass and cafeteria funds for Evan)
baby book (so they can foot & hand print it for me when they do the hospital's set)
a book
deck of cards
shower shoes
toiletries: shampoo/conditioner/soap/lotion/deodorant/toothbrush & paste/chapstick/hairbrush & ties/makeup (in case I look like ass afterwards and feel it is necessary)
camera/charger, ipod/player/charger, phone/charger
snacks: almond-cran-blueberry trail mix, clif bars, dried pineapple, jolly ranchers (for labor), refillable water bottle, I also have some handi-snacks and fruit roll-ups for Evan
EVAN:
If he wants; he is in charge of bringing the laptop (they have wifi) and a change of clothes.
BABY: This was the hardest because while I know the birthing center will provide everything I need I didn't know what I would want and I have no idea what the temperature is going to be when we take him home!
1 blanket
2 receiving blankets
2 burp cloths
2 sleep gowns
1 swaddle sleeper
2 kimono type shirts / 2pr pants
socks/hats/mittens
going home outfit
CAR:
car seat
towel for the ride there
i had a dream you had your baby!
i had a dream you had your baby!
When, when, WHEN?! Please tell me you have awesome physic dream powers and that this will happen, like, right NOW! :)
so far my dreams have never been psychic.. sorry :(
A lot of great practical advice here but one thing I was so glad for that no one mentioned was a large stuffed animal. I know you are trying to keep the bag small and mine was larger than your planned bag. My 3rd was an emergency c-sect. That bear was invaluable afterward for hugging when things hurt or I needed to cough, laugh, sneeze, etc. 17 yrs later, I developed a hernia where the scar tissue split and had to have it surgically repaired. I went to the hospital with a big stuffed dog and again, I don't know what I would have done without it.
The big thing with clothes is keep them comfy and things you do not care about. Stuff happens. With everything else, think "pamper time". This is the time you will have staff to take care of the necessities. Be good to you, rest and relax as much as you can. Things will go crazy when you are home and have to deal with everything yourself.
so far my dreams have never been psychic.. sorry :(
Drats! I hope it is soon. I have an appointment today.... maybe a miracle will happen?!
That bear was invaluable afterward for hugging when things hurt or I needed to cough, laugh, sneeze, etc.
The big thing with clothes is keep them comfy and things you do not care about. Stuff happens. With everything else, think "pamper time". This is the time you will have staff to take care of the necessities. Be good to you, rest and relax as much as you can. Things will go crazy when you are home and have to deal with everything yourself.
The pillow I am bringing is a big body pillow. Good advice on the hugging thing factor. And thanks for reminding me to let the staff help me. :)
^LUCKY!
I hear about quick recoveries all the time. I swear I think I'm the only woman who went through hell for as long as I did. I was still feeling it weeks after my son was born. It took so long for me to get back to normal. Many people don't listen to the "no sex for 6 weeks" recommendation. There was no way that would've been possible for me. My recovery with my 2nd one was quicker, but I was in more pain right after having him.
I usually reserve the horor stories for other moms. Kinda' the been there, done that thing. First time moms I usually don't go into those but admit to pain. I will admit to 2 natural births, not by choice, and they are survivable. I always give a big stuffed animal to the mom before birth and tell her it is for her, just in case of complications and a c-sect because that happened to be and the bear helped a lot (plus it's cute)
Oh, and the 'no sex' thing, totally didn't happen. I think we made it uh...10 days?
geez...10 days!!!! I think it was more like 6 months for me!
I recovered fairly quickly after my caesarean also...although not quite as fast as mdv. :o I did have trouble getting out of bed for maybe 2 weeks, but I stopped taking the prescription painkillers after a day or 2 and didn't have problems with showering, walking, going to the bathroom, etc. And I think we had sex after 2 weeks or so. ::)
I've always been a quick recover-er though...when I got my wisdom teeth out, I rested for about an hour and then went shopping.
I didn't have a c-section, but I did have 4th degree tearing (the worst kind). They told me to prepare for the possibility that I'd need to wear adult diapers for the rest of my life :o , certainly for the first three months, and probably more reparative surgery. Laxatives for the first three months too. They had me terrified of my first bowel movement, but it really wasn't hard/painful at all. I stopped the laxatives after about 4 days (I was hospitalized for 3 days and they walked in with the laxatives and pain killers and said "here, take these" and I just did), I walked with a bit of pain for about a week. No diapers ever, although I don't think my nerves down there are quite the same - I don't have quite as much warning as I used to. I know that if my brain receives the "have to poop" signal, I should hurry more quickly than before. I didn't feel like sex for a long time, though...like 6 or 7 months. Not because I was in physical pain, but I had quite a bit of emotional "damage" from the difficult delivery.
Anyway, the outcome was much better than what I was told to expect.
yikes, hopfrog!! how much did your baby weigh? or was there another reason for the severe tearing? now I'm a little afraid....
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. The fact is, severe tearing like that doesn't happen that much.
She was only 6 lb 12 oz. The whole day is a complete haze, and I'm still not exactly sure how I ended up where I ended up.
Warning - this is a bit harrowing, don't read if labor stories scare you...
I had a planned homebirth, with the most respected midwife in my area. Even the OB that did my ultrasound had really great things to say about her. I loved her, and still do....but in retrospect, I'm not sure that all the right choices were made - on our part or on hers. My baby was 3 weeks late to start with. My water broke 4.5 days before she was delivered. I was in labor for 3 days at home. Eventually, the midwife was using her fingers to push my cervix aside, which probably wasn't the right thing to do. Finally, I just gave up and we went to the hospital, I needed the pain relief.
My midwife advised us to basically lie to the hospital staff about when my water broke because they would schedule an immediate c-section and put my baby in the NICU....so we did. I was hysterical when I was admitted and they gave me a drug (I don't know what) to calm me down. It basically erased all my memories for several hours. Fortunately, the epidural was great and I didn't experience any more pain, even with all the tearing as she was crowning. The first drug wore off, and I can remember things after that.
My temperature was normal when I arrived at the hospital, but at some point it went to 104. At that point, they decided the baby needed to come out NOW, and used a vacuum. They tried four times and the fourth time worked at getting her out. Her position wasn't optimal- her head was turned to the side and she had a giant welt and bruising on the side of her head for the first week. She was placed in the NICU to monitor for infection because of my temperature and because my water broke a long time ago (even though they thought it had broken only 12 hours earlier). Fortunately, there was no infection and she was perfectly healthy.
The repair right after birth took 4 hours, but the doctor did a really, really great job. I have no complaints about the hospital delivery staff at all. They were great.
My whole reason for wanting a homebirth wasn't about having a "natural" unmedicated birth. For me, it was all about postpartum. Having the baby right there on my chest without quibbling for it...I know you could find an OB who was "friendly" to that sort of thing, but I didn't see myself as asserting or demanding enough to get it in a hospital. We don't have any birthing centers here. Well, she ended up in the NICU. I saw her briefly after my surgery and then not again until the next morning because I was so out of it (fortunately, my husband went and visited her alot). I felt guilty for a long time. But she is great now, so wishing for something different would be wishing for another kid.
For a long time, I said if I had another baby, I'd try again at home with the same midwife....I just had a love affair with the fantasy in my head about my baby's birth. Now I think I could get what I want with a friendly OB, with pain medication. But I'm not having another baby, so the point is moot (that decision has nothing to do with the birth...we knew it would only be one kid since the outset of our marriage).
Youch, and I thought a 2 hr induced labor that went too fast to get pain meds was bad or the 12 hrs of back labor with the anesthesiologist unavailable although my OB sent me to the hospital at 8 hrs for pain relief. Oh, it was 19 yrs ago and they were remodeling to have labor/delivery/recovery as one room. She flipped over and wanted out NOW! My Dr had gone to lunch saying I would be OK until her got back LOL. She crowned in the hall as they were wheeling me from labor to delivery. The Dr did the epesiotomy (sp?) without Novocain. I have no idea what the Dr's name was who delivered her was. #3 I finally got the epidural in time, at least in theory, but his heart rate dropped and it did not take effect right so it was an emergency c-sect, vertical incision for speed. Again, it happened so fast my Dr was on the way. The resident did the surgery, my OB closed. We called our youngest our smurf because he was blue at birth. It is cases like that which make me scared for anyone considering a home birth although I know they are rare.
Ok, new thread http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=39863.0
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