Nearing your due date? Then it’s time to start thinking about packing that hospital bag.  There are lots of lists all over the internet with suggested things to bring, so I won’t go into the obvious toiletries, and clothes spiel.  Instead I’ll tell you a few things that I thought of after the fact, or that I simply just wish I knew. 

 

First of all, baby fingernail clippers or files.  My hospital wouldn’t trim my baby’s nails. They were so long that her face was completely scratched up!  Her hands were too small for those little gloves that you can buy.  I wish I had the nail files or clippers to take care of the problem.  I remembered to bring both with my son, and it was a life saver! 

 

Vaseline was another thing I wish I had.  My daughter’s skin was dry and flaky after birth.  The hospital wouldn’t let us put lotion on her, but said that Vaseline was fair game.  However, the amount they gave me didn’t go far.   

Everyone always knows to bring a “going home” outfit.  However, my daughter was a good 8 pounder and my son a 6.5 pounder.  They fit in completely different sizes.  I wish I had brought two different outfits.  One in a Newborn size, and another in a 0-3 month size.  

I suggest cheap flip-flops.  I did not enjoy getting into the showers without something over my feet.  I know it’s a hospital and there for clean, but I don’t know how well (or often) the shower floor got a good disinfecting!  Speaking of disinfectant, I wish I had brought my own sanitizer.  The hospital’s dried my hands out, and smelled awful.   

There you have it, a few odd things in my hospital bag for this time around.

 

-Stephanie Wright