Hospital Bag

yes there are showers there.. and if u rip theres a bath thing they will want you to use... most people stay one night... i had to stay for 4 days because reese needed an ultrasound and it was a long weekend.... so prepare extra then a night just incase... so some clothes pjs... bring some pads just incase you dont like theirs..i didnt.. they were so big they went from my belly button to the end off my butt crack.. oh and they were so wide ihad to have my legs spread to walk lol.. just immagion that one lol

whoa matress pads! okay lol ill get my own for sure!

pack like you would for an overnight away.

i brought:

pajamas (which i didn't end up wearing, i just used their gowns)
comfy clothes to go home in
slipper socks x2
toiletries (they provided crappy hotel-like shampoo and shower gel, but i wanted my own)
makeup
toothbrush and toothpaste
hairbrush and elastics or whatever you want
chapstick

i think that was it...

oh, bring your own pillow! hospital pillows suck.

leave room in your bag to load up on the free stuff before you leave. most places will let you take diapers, formula, nursing pads, regular pads, etc.

i had a c-section and was there from friday to monday.

haha yeah.. it SUCKED... as for travis im not sure, shawn wasnt allowed to stay the night there other then the night i had reese

B pretty much had it covered. Oh and don;t forget shoes Lol. Neil somehow took mine how with him and when I went to get dressed to come home I had no shoes to wear

The only things I used out of my bag were:

my own pillow
camera
clothes to go home in
clothes for Alyvia to go home in
car seat (obviously)
toothbrush/paste
hairbrush
chapstick

Just about everything else I brought I didn't use. I brought comfy jammies to wear in bed after she was born, but I was bleeding so much that I didn't want to ruin them. Same with my underwear. I used those little net panty things they gave me. I didn't read the book I'd brought, didn't listen to my mp3 player at all, didn't dress Alyvia up in the clothes I'd brought for her (I was scared I'd break her if I tried to put them on her).

They provided all of the diapers, all of my pads (yes they were huge, but I was bleeding THAT MUCH, so I didn't mind it at all), a manual breast pump, nipple cream, two diaper bags, a crapload of baby shampoo...

Yes, they have showers. In fact, you'll probably have a nurse help you shower. You'll probably still have an IV in your arm (which means an IV stand just outside ths shower) and you'll be bleeding like you've been shot or something. And they'll probably have you pee in this plastic bucket thing that kind of sits inside the toilet to check for clots (I think that's what they do that for, anyway).

Dont forget camera!
Make-up?

Are you breast/bottle feeding?

I was way too exhausted for make-up. Chapstick was all I needed (keep those smackers nice and moist!).

oh, i forgot about peeing in the bucket! i was so grossed out by that and having to tell my nurse it was in there so she could check it.

i guess i've blocked out all the yucky stuff.

yup, it's all coming back to me now... having to stand there completely naked after my shower so the nurse could dry me off...

I remember 10 minutes after I had Logan the nurse rushed me up and made me walk to the shower (i'd had an epidural) I was well ticked off with that

Bridget: do you remember what they did that for? Was it to check for clots? Pieces of placenta? Something?

That first shower was the only time I've ever been stark naked in front of a strange woman.

She stayed the whole time too in case I fell I was thinking well just let me relax for a bit and i won't fall!!!

i think it's to check for clots?

i'd never been naked in front of a strange woman either (well, any woman for that matter) and at the time it didn't even phase me. you kind of lose all modesty while you're there. looking back on it i feel embarrassed but i'm sure she deals with it every day and i was just another patient.

Never heard of anyone having to pee in a bucket, makes sense though.

My mum helped me shower...that was bad, I wish I had let the nurse clean me up on the bed instead, I wasnt aware I had that option at the time.

Becks: I had the same thing happen every time I had to go tinkle. The nurses would try to hold my hands and half-carry me to the bathroom and I'm like "umm I can walk just fine". I think they were scared that my epidural had made me numb and that I'd fall down or something. The only thing I had trouble with was rolling my IV stand over that little hump in the doorway of the bathroom. I hated calling the nurses because I KNEW they would walk with me like I was helpless, but I needed them to unhook me from the blood pressure monitor.

eww, zanny, i wouldn't have wanted to sit in a bath either! yuck!

i didn't want to take a shower there but they practically made me. i had such limited mobility from my c-section that there were 3 nurses at first and they were all trying to help me undress and get situated in the shower. seriously, as if i wasn't uncomfortable enough, there were *3* of them.

I didnt take a shower..

Magazines for the labor process, pjs for the baby to come home in, makeup ( i had the energy haha I didnt want pictures my daughter would look at in the future for me to look awful.. call me vain but oh well)
I wore black pants (stretchy ones) and a tanktop to come home in.. Also hair ties.. pillow.. I brought brees boppy which helped out a bunch when I was trying to breastfeed and hold her.

Thats about all i used.. plus the obvious.. camera, carseat, blanket for bree..

as far as brian.. he brought his slippers, that was it.
We left 24 hours after but it was because I insisted. If she is born early suzy, it may suck but be prepared that you may be leaving the hospital without her due to complications with her lungs and eating.