I am a woman of my word, I’ll have you know. At 38 weeks pregnant, I kept the promise to my husband and we packed the hospital bag for labor and delivery. It wasn’t bad at all, but not that I thought it would be either. It’s just the final thing to check off of our “to do before baby comes” list.
Prior to packing the hospital bag we also installed the car seat this morning. Talk about weird.
Well, I should clarify…
It’s not actually weird that we installed the car seat, but rather driving around today with a car seat in the back of the car without a baby in it was weird.
It’s just getting so real now. So real. And I’m actually really okay and excited about that. I do find myself thinking in my head and out loud to Tarzan that “xyz” may just be the final time we do it while we are not parents. So strange.
The other night I thought “wow, this is the last fancy dinner and opera we will see all dressed up before we will have to worry about having a babysitter”. Today I told Tarzan (before we had sex), “this might be the final time we have sex without having a baby”. It’s just pretty crazy to think about since it’s been the two of us (well three if you count our dog).
I wasn’t trying to have resistance to packing the hospital bag, but it’s just the final thing to do before little baby T. arrives in the world. However, I put on my big girl panties today and gave into my husband and we completed the packing.
Yes, it’s true: We have our bags completely packed, sitting in our bedroom just waiting to be picked up and put into action at the hospital. Now it’s time to sit back and wait… and wait and wait and maybe even more waiting.
Since I am a lover of making lists, here’s the goods that I’m bringing to the hospital:
1. Panties
2. Pads
3. Make up
4. Lounge pants & tank
5. Blow dryer (Like the make up, it’s just in case. I don’t actually know that I’ll use it or even care about it.)
6. Toiletries
7. Two gowns
8. Cell phone
9. Cell phone charger
10. Hot Mama Gown for labor and delivery
11. Newborn outfit and 0-3 outfit
12. Car seat
13. Socks for baby
14. Video camera
15. Video camera charger
16. Camera
17. Camera charger
18. Baby Book
19. Socks for me
20. Flip flops for shower
21. Nursing bra
22. Slippers
23. Dress to wear home
24. Nursing pads
25. Change for vending machine for Tarzan
26. Gum & other snacks
27. Chapstick
28. Handheld massager
29. Receiving blanket
30. Boppy pillow for nursing
31. Book to read
32. Unopened bottle of Ibuprofen
33. Unopened bottle of stool softeners
34. Rubber bands for my hair
35. Hospital receipts we’ve already paid
36. Flip flops to wear with regular clothes
37. Laptop
38. Laptop charger
You might also want to read:
- 39 weeks pregnant: Aerosmith concert vs. labor and delivery
- 36 weeks pregnant: Checking things off of my “to get done before baby comes” list
- Pregnancy Labor and Delivery: Pictures, the hospital stories, the nurse, and everything you wanted to know!
- 38 weeks pregnant: OB pregnancy appointment, date night, & my labor dream
- No worries about additional baby costs during labor and delivery, pills are included!
= a post from Mommy Jane 
= a post from Daddy Tarzan
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Just a few suggestions… Hard Candy to suck on, Lanoilin/ Lanisoh
(spelling?, some hospitals will provide this to you but not all and trust me you will want it), A pillow for each Tarzan and Jane (make sure to not use a white pillow case so the hospital staff knows it is yours) and mabey a warmer blanket for your little man for just in case your room gets cold at night. Goodluck!!
another suggestion – take more than 1 pair of lounge pants..there is a lot of leakage in the first few days and you can’t always rely on the pads to catch it all. Its the worst feeling having a shower, putting on clean panties and pad then having to put on dirty pants cos you only bought one pair with you (speaking from experience)!
Babies are often born with long finger nails and sometimes scratch up their little faces. I brought baby nail clippers and trimmed them. You can also use a pair of baby nail scissors or a little file to trim them
I just printed out your list so I have something to start with! Thanks! And, I am glad that I am not the only “crazy person” to buy my own hopsital labor and delivery gown. ha! Don’t know why I needed it, but I did! Given that I am likely on my way to a scheduled C-section, not sure how handy it will be now, but oh well! Best of luck…your time is drawing near!
Tonya – Thanks! The hard candy & lanisohl (?) is already packed in my bag! We don’t have pillows yet – I want to go to Target and buy a few that we can throw away after we leave the hospital. Of course that will have to wait until tomorrow since I went to lunch and to a movie with one of my friends today instead. LOL.
Jenny – Great suggestion! I will put another pair in my bag for sure. I do have 2 gowns and 2 dresses in addition to the pants, but I’d rather have too much instead of too little and go through what you did. No fun at all!
Tracey – I have a little grooming bag but I wasn’t planning on bringing it to the hospital… guess I will rethink that and put it in my bag. Thanks!
Megan – Oh good, I hope my list helps you. You also might want to bring your iPod. I decided to leave mine at home only bc I don’t think that I’ll want it while in labor. Just my thoughts though. I love that you got another gown to wear too! Nothing wrong with trying to look cute in the hospital, is there?!
wow, my hospital bag list is way shorter then yours… i might need to rethink this! lol
I forgot my hospital bag- believe it or not, and it was such a pain! We went in to the hospital for a check up and never got to go home because I hadn’t realised I was in active labour. No clothes, no hair brush, it was awful! Good luck!
Ha ha, this time I’m having my dad bring my bags. We packed them, but I’m not thinking about the hospital bags and my hubby was a nervous wreck that the only thing he could think of is making sure I was okay and I wasn’t going to pop a baby out on the floor. So he forgot the bag and he had to go back and get both bags. So we have our bags packed and our dad is going to bring our bags. But they were packed and ready. This one he is just as nervous. Not long now though.
You also may need Tuck’s hemorrhoid pads. I hope you don’t, but I know I did after the first baby. They’re very soothing after a vaginal delivery. I don’t think I needed them after the second baby, but needed them for weeks after the first. No, didn’t put them on hemorrhoids, just tucked them in my underwear to soothe that sore baby exit area. I think they may have given me some in the hospital, but it’s always good to have plenty of extras!