I thought I’d share this while my hospital stay is still fresh in my mind. Also, just to clarify before people lose their mind; you’re paying for all this stuff as part of your hospital stay so you aren’t technically stealing. Might as well reap the benefits yeah?
We waited until 37-38 weeks to pack our hospital bag because Maximus was taking his sweet time and not giving us any indication that he was coming. Obviously since I have been through this once I knew what we needed already so yes, I know I could have packed some of these things in my bag but I’d rather not use it up at the hospital when they will provide it as part of our stay.
Personal Care Items
If your ass doesn’t get too itchy from sitting on them then take the mesh underwear and elephant sized pads. Its like wearing an adult diaper once you put the pad in but believe me, its worth it. You don’t want to destroy your normal “good” underwear so use up those disposable ones.
Baby Items
There are tons of baby items at the hospital since they have to care for infants in NICU, etc. so almost anything you can think of they have. So add shampoo, diapers, wipes, pacifiers, formula samples, pump accessories, nipples, and lanolin. Even if you don’t plan to breastfeed lanolin is great to put on a newborn’s booty so those tar-like first poops wipe off their bottom easy. Also, if you decide to circumcise your little guy you want to ask for tons of petroleum jelly. The last thing you want is for his junk to stick to his diaper so protect him with like half a cup of this stuff every diaper change.
Misc Items
There are a few random other items that are really up to you if you want/need them. For starters the receiving blankets. For whatever reason I didn’t get any of these beforehand so I grab a couple to hold me of until we could get to the store to buy more. There is also the small pink tub with the sponge/brush thing for sponge bathing your little one until their umbilical cord falls off. We didn’t take the tub since we would rather just hold him and sponge bath him but the hospital sponge/brush is nice to have for their hair. Lastly you can swipe the syringe bulb if you think you’ll need it. I’ve never liked these things since I’ve seen a few horrific mold photos of the inside of these things but if you plan to clean it after each use I’m sure it will be fine. I’m just scarred, lol.
I’m sure there are other hospital specific items you could take as well but mine didn’t offer anything else since they don’t have a continuous staff and their spaces are “rented” so to speak. Also, don’t be greedy. Only take what you actually need or would use. There’s no point in ruining it for everyone and being wasteful on top of that.
Were there any items you took home from the hospital that were a god send?
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