Hospital Bag Essentials!

I spent hours poring over lists of what to pack and what not to pack in my hospital bag and eventually compiled my own list.  I had my bag packed from around 29 weeks (it can't hurt to be prepared, especially given that my sister-in-law had just given birth at 32 weeks and was completely unprepared) other than a few essentials such as phone chargers and my toothbrush that I would need in the interim.  I had a small suitcase for me and used the changing bag for OJ's stuff.

I won't post my entire list on here but I will give you a quick run down of what turned out to be absolutely essential and what ended up being completely unnecessary - obviously it depends on your experience of labour, how long you're in the hospital and various other things but this is what I found.

Absolute must-have items:

• Isotonic drinks (Lucozade/Powerade/Gatorade) - As you'll find out when I finally post my birth story, I spent a LOT of my time vomiting in labour.  Water was provided of course but I found that the isotonic drinks helped to give me something with a bit of flavour whilst hydrating me a little.  If nothing else it made a nice change throwing up something sweet rather than just bile.  Even if you're not sick they're great to give you a bit of a boost.
• Maternity pads (lots of them) - I put a whole pack of maternity pads in my bag and I STILL ran out.  I'd prepared to need them after birth for the bleeding but I hadn't taken into consideration that my waters had gone before I even left for the hospital and they continued to leak all day.  I soaked through the whole pack of maternity pads before I even made it to the delivery suite and had to send ALS to the shop to get some more.  After the birth I experienced pretty heavy bleeding and got through another half a pack in the 24 hours before we came home.  I was given a maternity pad when I came out of theatre but when we were on the ward we were informed that they would not be able to provide any and ALS would have to go and buy some for me - a lot of people I've spoken to said hospitals provided them so it's just something to be aware of.
• Slippers - I never wear slippers so I bought a pair specifically for the hospital and they came in so handy.  I didn't want to be walking around in my shoes but barefoot was definitely not an option.  A pair of comfy slippers was a godsend and I've been wearing them non-stop since I got home.  The first few days I was home I had so much swelling they were the only thing I could fit my feet in!
• Plenty of spare clothes/nightwear - Again this depends on your experience but I spent quite a bit of time on the ward before I was in "established labour" and taken to the delivery suite.  During those 10 hours or so I was fully clothed the whole time and soaked through pretty much all the clothes I'd taken with me thanks to my waters leaking (even with pads on).  Admittedly if I hadn't been vomiting I don't think my waters would have been leaking so forcefully through the pads but it can't hurt to be prepared.  I spent most of my time in hospital in a gown but I still got through a lot of clothes before we made it to that point.
• Shower gel - This was something that I didn't think to take for some reason! I'd just put "toiletries" on my list and never thought to pick it up when I packed my toiletries the morning I went into hospital.  I was so grateful to be able to have a shower a few hours after delivery and felt a lot better just for washing myself with water, but it would have been nice to feel properly clean!
• Snacks - Whilst I didn't eat any of the snacks we brought with us (in fact I didn't eat anything at all for the duration of the labour) and the hospital food turned out to be very nice, it was definitely useful for ALS having plenty of snacks to keep his energy up.  By the time OJ was born we'd been awake for well over 24 hours and the hospital do not provide food for partners.  Our midwife in the delivery suite was very nice and brought ALS a few cups of coffee but for the times we were on the antenatal/postnatal ward he wasn't offered so much as a glass of water, so it was really helpful that we had packed plenty of drinks and snacks for him and meant he didn't have to leave me to get himself food.
• Baby wipes - Surprisingly, these aren't for baby.  They like you to clean your baby with cotton wool and water as it is perfectly gentle on that fragile newborn skin and that's exactly what we did.  However, baby wipes are a useful tool in any bag for any trip anywhere.  Even before becoming a parent I always carried a pack of baby wipes and they were great for freshening up before I was allowed to get up and have a shower.

Items taking up space unnecessarily:

• Birthing ball - This is again a bit of an individual one but I was adamant I wanted to take my birthing ball with me.  Firstly, the hospital had plenty of birthing balls that I could have used so packing mine (along with the pump) really was a waste of space.  Secondly, I insisted ALS blew up my birthing ball when I was starting to have regular contractions and then used it for all of 5 seconds before declaring that there was no way of getting comfortable with it - that is entirely my personal experience and had I not been vomiting so hard it may have been different.
• Entertainment - I packed my iPod, a book and a puzzle book to keep me entertained in early labour or after the baby was born.  In my case, the contractions kicked in strongly very quickly and between them and the vomiting I didn't even have chance to think about needing entertainment.  Once I'd had the epidural I did actually get the puzzle book out but it was hard to get into a comfortable position to write in it and quite frankly I was too busy talking to the midwife, having observations done, talking to my birth partners and trying to catch up on a little sleep.  Once OJ was born I had no desire to do anything other than spend time with him and ALS and just enjoy every second of it.
• Swimwear - I didn't actually get to use the birthing pool but, even if I had, I can categorically confirm I would have just headed in there naked - the midwives need to be able to see what is going on and trying to change clothes between contractions is just hard work.  I know some women are easily embarrassed or feel uncomfortable but I was perfectly comfortable with everything on display most of the time. 
• Disposable maternity pants - I thought these would be really useful but the ones I bought, although they were size "small" were massive and wouldn't hold the maternity pads in place which ended up with a lot of blood going everywhere.  In hindsight someone did mention that it may have been worth putting them on and putting a normal pair of pants on top which might have been worth a try but honestly I was more comfortable just in dark pants with good solid maternity pads.
• Dummies - If you're breastfeeding they will advise that you don't give your baby a dummy for at least 4 weeks so as to get feeding established beforehand.  We hadn't actually planned on using a dummy as early as the hospital but it's worth noting that the recommendation was to avoid them so early on.

So there you have it, my essentials and the things that I wouldn't bother with next time.  It's all personal preference and entirely depends on the kind of experience you have - for example, if you were waiting for a planned Caesarean or being induced then entertainment could be far more necessary.

What did you pack in your hospital bag that turned out to be invaluable?  Did you find you had a lot of bits and bobs that you were wondering why you'd bothered packing them?

Antenatal Class & Growth Scan

Antenatal Class 1 - Labour/Delivery:

Our first antenatal class was last Wednesday and was all about labour and delivery.  My lovely mother-in-law accompanied to me as ALS wasn't able to make it due to a change in dates (see my 33 week update).  Quite honestly, I don't think I learned anything that I didn't already know.  However, I assume that was mostly because I've always had such an interest in pregnancy, I've read every book/website that I can lay my hands on and I work in a the Maternity/Gynae Department at my local hospital for a while.  These were the sort of topics that were covered:

- How to know when you're in labour and what to do during the early stages.
- How to time contractions.
- When to call the hospital.
- When to call an ambulance.  FYI the only time this is acceptable is if there's a head poking out!
- What types of pain relief are available.
- What happens after delivery (delivery of the placenta, baby checks, feeding, going home).
- When you'll be visited by the midwife once you're home.

It was a good opportunity to meet other couples, although we didn't really speak much and I think my wish to make mummy friends might be a bit of a long shot given that the most of the couples there were very different to ourselves and I didn't really "click" with anyone.

I think next week will be a bit more informative, especially for ALS, as it is all about newborn care and the first few weeks at home with baby.  Whilst I have experience with babies, ALS is very new to this and only held a baby for the first time a couple of months ago.  Even from my point of view, I'm hoping it will be useful for things that I've never experienced such as breastfeeding and bathing a baby - it'll be nice to get to go together as well.

34 Week Scan:

Today we had our 34 week scan (at 34+5 weeks) and things are all going pretty nicely.  Baby is head down with its bottom under my ribs on the left hand side and its feet pressing up into my ribs on the right (the source of much of my discomfort).  It was pointed out to us that baby is growing nicely and that its head is on the larger side and is on the 95th centile.  This was a source of much amusement to us, as ALS has a rather large head and as a family we like to remind him of this often.  It was also a source of some panic from me - nobody wants to hear that they got to push out a giant head! 

Baby's weight currently was estimated at 5 lb 13 oz - which is quite large in my opinion.  If it puts on the expected half a pound a week, then it'll be nearing 9 lb by due date and 10 lb if I end up going to 42 weeks!  However, everyone I've spoken to recently has found their estimated birth weight was quite a bit higher than baby ended up being and the sonographer did say that the head measurement may be skewing the calculations a little.  Considering I've gained less than 10 lb so far, I'd be surprised if a whole 6 lb of that was baby but we shall wait and see!

I'm absolutely thrilled that baby is the right way round and apparently it is at a 4/5 position in terms of engagement, so just dipping into my pelvis.  Time for lots of bouncing on my ball to get it lower down ready for the big day.  As there are no concerns with the growth, this will be our last scan and I won't see the Consultant again now until 6th November (40+5 weeks) for a sweep, if I've not had a baby by then!  It's all starting to feel very real.