What was in my Hospital Bag

Hello! It's been a while since I posted because the holidays completely swallowed me whole. I'm sure you can all relate. There is more to do than any other time of the year, and yet it's the time when I feel the most pressure to cram in all the fun activities that I can into 4 short weeks. Anyway, I hope you and your family enjoyed the holiday season as much as mine did!

Now on to my hospital bag! I have seen many posts on what expectant moms should pack in their hospital bag. Lately it seems to have exploded on Pinterest and so here I am jumping on the bandwagon. But instead of just listing what was in my bag, I want to tell you what I brought because every "hospital bag post" told me to and I didn't end up needing. Here we go!

What I DID need:

1. Loofa and body wash
         Hospitals involve a lot of tubes and IV's that get taped on and when you are taking your first post baby shower you'll be glad to have a loofa to scrub the tape residue off.

2. Going home outfit
          I'm sure you've heard it 100 times but you will leave the hospital looking about 6 months pregnant. Bring comfortable clothes with you.

3. Toothbrush, toothpaste, hair brush, chap stick, hair ties, deodorant, razor and if you are feeling up to it maybe a little makeup. I wouldn't go crazy though. No need for a full face maybe some concealer for under your eyes and mascara. But honestly, if you have the energy to wash your face and hair, you'll feel perfectly happy with that.

4. Boppy
         If you're going to use a nursing pillow, and I would suggest you do, bring that with you. For some reason I didn't and I had my husband bring it the next day because I needed the help keeping her in a good position.

5. Nursing bras
        You're going to have company and those gowns don't do you any favors. They are thin, they are pretty transparent and besides giving you easy access to nurse, they are pretty worthless. That being said, I didn't get out of them until the day I left. I thought I would change into normal clothes after she was born, but I was so sore that even getting dressed seemed daunting. Besides, there are a lot of fluids happening those first few days. Baby looses her latch nursing and you get wet, she pees and poops all the time and it can leak, you are bleeding. It was just nice to have a rotation of gowns that I didn't have to wash and I didn't care about.

6. Bathrobe
        Again, you have company. This one is totally optional but if I were having a baby again tomorrow I would bring a big thick bathrobe, pants optional. :-)

7. Baby's going home outfit. Car seat (base should already be in the car), warm weather gear if it's cold.
        Here's a tip: The going home outfit my husband and I picked out for our daughter was adorable. I loved it. But I didn't realize what a pain it was to get on and off. Cute is important because this is an occasion that you will only have with this child once. It calls for cute. But don't pick something with a million snaps, buttons or zippers. Don't pick something that has no give. Basically think that when you are signing a bunch of forms for discharge and your husband is bringing the car around- leaving you with the baby who is crying and they are explaining your paperwork to you- the last thing you want is to have a beautiful outfit that looks great in the pictures on a baby that is screaming and a mommy who is now crying. We managed to calm her down, but newborn cries have a way of making everything tense and at that point if she wanted to wear a potato sack I wouldn't have given a crap what the pictures looked like. Find yourself some middle ground. Also keep in mind that newborns do NOT like the process of being dressed so the fewer the steps or items involved the better.

What I did NOT need:

1. Diapers

       It's probably a good idea to shove 1 or 2 in your bag just in case, but in reality most if not all hospitals will provide the diapers your little one needs during your stay and enough for the ride home. Save your arms and car space for the gifts you will likely get at the hospital.

2. Pillows

     Maybe it's because I'm not a pillow person. I use one and all but I'm not that into having a good pillow. But the birthing class that my husband and I took at the hospital where I gave birth suggested bringing one or two pillows with me. I didn't need it and in fact it took up a lot of room and was just one more thing my husband had to bring back down to the car the next day. 

3. Snacks

     I packed an entire second bag of snacks for both my husband and myself. I'm sure this will depend on your hospital, but a few granola bars and a water would have sufficed. Being a "what if" girl, I packed like I was stocking a bomb shelter, and again- it was just more crap to carry.

4.