Labour Bags

I am in the process of laying out and packing up my Labour bags.
Last time I packed SOOOOOOOO much stuff and I am trying to minimise what I take in twith me but there still seems to be so much stuff to pack. I am also going to put together an EXTRA bag of stuff just to have in the car JIC something happens on the way to hossy or if we are out (you know in case of roadside delivery :rofl: )

I will divide the one bag into 4 sections so we are not rumaging through stuff to find what we need and so far this is what it looks like:

Bag 1 - Babies bag. (clothing and wraps will be given to staff to put in warmer)
Bodysuit, Onesie, Beanie, cotton and flannel wraps, cotton blanket and woolen blanket (hossy rooms are freezing)

Bag 2 - Post birth stuff
Knickers, pads, shoes, socks, pants and top and Pj's, cardi, toothbrush kit, hair brush and fragrance free deodorant, toilet paper. Pressie bag (chockies for Middies and DD big sister present)

Bag 3 - Hubbies bag
Change of clothes, his phone (camera on phone)

Bag 4 - Labour stuff
Hydrolite, barley sugar, musli bars, small jar of coffee for hubby, harmony essential oil blend and burner (maybe)


Part of me feels like I am forgetting something but when I look at the stuff I see HEAPS of things.

For the car or my emergency pack -:
Blankets, towels, sterile scissors, bullnose clips, torch, bucket and water. These will be kept in the boot.

What else ??

I cannot help but feel like I don't have everything ready and that I am missing stuff. DH can bring in extra clothes for me and bub later on so I won't bother packing up that stuff.

Please help work out what else I need.

Nae x x

your list looks awesome, but can I just comment on the sterile scissors for the car? I appreciate you are concerned about an "on the road" birth, but if that happens you really don't have to worry about cutting the cord. Just leave the baby attached and wait for the ambos if that happens :) Fab idea having blankets, towels and a torch ready in the car though!

For your oil burner it will have to be an electric one, but many hospitals don't let you use untested electrical equipment so it could be worth checking if they have their own that you can use.

:rofl: We'll be waiting for the cord to stop pulsating anyway (regardless of where I birth) however as ambulances out here could take between 30-60 mins to get to us, depending on where the closes available is dispatched from, my Middie has said it would be best to have them on hand as once the cord stops pulsating it should be clamped and cut. It may not be necessary to have them at all but depending on what happens its better to have stuff on hand than to not :D Oil burner is electric and Middies have already said its ok to BYO but not sure if I will still take it .. it will only be having the smell of the oils and I can sniff from a bottle if need be, the rooms are huge and I could well and truely be on the maternity ward by the time my little burner heats up enough :rofl:

if you don't take the oil burner then you could try an old fashioned linen handkerchief and put the oils on that. Easier to get a waft of the oils without risking spilling them all over yourself that way.

Fantastic Idea Traveller :loveshower:

Only thing I would be adding is a pen and pad of paper, if you're a bit of a note taker like me :lol: Otherwise it looks like you've thought of everything. Not long now!

For the post birth bag, I took the moist toilet wipes, they were brilliant especially if you have stitches. Small amount of money for a good coffee from the cafe if the hospital have one :)
I got DH to go to Cotton on for me and get a couple of their singlets, they were great under tops (as you say, it is usually cold in the hospital) and really quite stretchy for day time BF.

Heather - I can't use the moist toilet wipes they feel yuk, I tried them last time and it was like fingernails down a chalk board for me :rofl:

CM - great idea for the pen and pad!!

Your list looks ace hun, I just wanted to add that both times I loved having a pashmina/scarf with me. I used it in labour with DD to cover up when I felt cool and was strutting my nudeness around and Drs and students came in for a geezer. I also used it to keep warm during the day and to cover while feeding sometimes depending who was visiting. I also used it as a sort of blanket and I also packed my own pillow!

This might sound odd, but my hospital suggested bringing a tennis ball, or rolling pin for back contractions. Feels great when something firm is rolled across your lower back. I also had gel-filled breast pads with me but they weren't needed till I was home anyway since it took 7 days for my milk to come in due to all the disruption to the bonding and BFing process.

I like the old fashioned handkerchief idea too. If I think of anything else I took which was weird and wonderful, I'll let you know,lol. Oh and Ican't reccomend having your own pillow enough. Hell, take 2! I was hiding pillows in my room because the MWs said I could only have 1, but I was in so much pain, I needed more to keep me comfortably propped up. In the end I had 4!

Great list Nae!

Few other things I found handy to have:
- lip balm
- camera
- chargers - camera, phone etc
- heat/cool pack (for engorgement, but I also found the heat pack great post birth as my uterus was shrinking back)

HTH

Hair bands to get your hair up if it is driving you mad and a water spray bottle for cooling face spritzes (sp?). Im another who took waaaaaay to much with me ;)

Nursing pads for when milk comes in.

I took in a book - I knew I'd most likely be exhausted and wanting to sleep whenever I could, but there were a few times in the middle of the night baby was sleeping but I was wide awake and trying to force myself to sleep just made it worse, so the distraction was great.

dont know if anyone else added...

but your phone charger and spare batteries for the camera (or camera charger how ever yours works)

book, journal, and music (Ipod or the like), maybe laptop or ipad too

working backwards coz its easier :)

Kimbles - nursing pads will definately becoming in with my "hospital stay" things, my milk never comes in until day 4 though and last time I ended up just shoving a flat nappy down my top :rofl: A book packed in with the hossy stay stuff is a good idea too!!

Lily - LOL my hair is a shocker its forever flopping in my face. I sleep with at least 2 around my wrist and often have one in and one on my wrist .... might pack one of those cloth headbands though if I decide to get under the shower again it might help control the frizz (you saw the piccie of me with DDtotal fuzzball head :rofl:)

Miss E - forgot about lipbalm - thanks I know I will definately need that post birth!! Dh will only bring his phone as the camera on that is better than our "take everywhere" camera, will have to remind him to bring a battery charger!

Forshelby - PILLOW omg I cannot live without mine. Had a giggle at your 4 and trying to imagine you hiding them all from the middies :rofl:

Tanstar - That reminds me - I have a breastfeeding cloak thing ... must find it and wash it to pack with my hossy bag stuff!!


:D

Thanks ladies x x x x

Snap Teirae and BeansBeans :D

Beans - all that stuff is on my hossy stay list, I won't need any of it for the labour (well hopefully we'll be fast again)

Tei - DH will be responsible for his phone charger ROFL - gotta give HIM some responsibilities too

:redface: I now realise the importance of adequate pillowage post-birth. Let this be a lesson to us all. :rofl:

Nae

What are bull nose clips for ?

This is a great thread - I can imagine looking for it in a few months time when I want to pack my bag!

The only other thing that I can think of is maybe a list of people for DH to call/msg with details of bubs - that way you don't have to remember (I never trust my brain) lol


**Sent from my phone using Tapatalk.

:lol:
I cant do without music when in labour, it calms me down, and if I turn it up loud enough I cant hear anything DH or the mws are saying to me (especially when I so dont want to hear what they are saying :P )

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Nae

What are bull nose clips for ?

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The bullnose clips are an "in case of emergency roadside delivery" addition :D It is expected that will have another very fast labour and we have been advised that if I feel the urge to push while we are travelling then hubby should pull over and help to catch the baby.

The cord does not have to be clamped or cut until it stops pulsating but IF we are still not at the hospital by then for whatever reason and the placenta has been born (into the bucket) then the cord should be clamped and cut. I will have the bullnose clip and some string (already in my car) to help with this.

:lol: Beans - only problem with music for me is I am one of those LOUD mothers ... not only would I drown out the music but also any conversation :rofl: if I have smelly stuff I am ok (hence the oils)

Do you have a copy of your birthing preferences? One for the midwives and another for your dh? I had so much stuff but I can't remember any of it lol I do remember the birth room had an oil burner though. I also had a blow up kick board to use in the bath. And yes we took our pillows and an egg shell overlay for the bed! We like our comfort :D

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Do you have a copy of your birthing preferences?. And yes we took our pillows and an egg shell overlay for the bed! We like our comfort :D

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My KYM middies and *cough* extremely well versed on my birth wishes and there is a copy of my plan in with my hossy card thingy which will have to come with me. Can I ask what an egg shell overlay is??