Three weeks to go until our scheduled c-section. But of course baby is making a few waves and I know better (now) than to wait until the last minute to pack our bag. Brianna almost came 3 weeks early and we were nowhere near ready! (She was born 2 weeks early and in that time Mike painted her bedroom, assembled the bassinet, we bought her preemie clothes because we knew she'd be tiny at that point, and we wrote up our plans for Kristopher and rushed around like mad! :)
This time around is different from the first 2 births because we expected both of those to be vaginal deliveries. We packed for labor, birth, and a 2 day hospital stay. Brianna was going to be an induction but ended up being an emergency c-section instead. So I know what to expect with the c-section (mostly) but I've not packed for a c-section vs. a regular delivery. And surprisingly, there's not a lot of info out there!
I know the common-sense stuff, but for those of you that have had a c-section or work in that area of a hospital... what are some suggestions of what to pack for our planned c-section?
Since you will probably be in the hospital for longer, bring something to read, something to eat, and something to listen to. Then relax and enjoy a break from the fray.
ReplyDeleteYour favorite pillow to hold over your belly when you laugh, cough, sneeze or choke. I know from experience of all of them!
ReplyDeleteYou won't need the donut but loose pants so nothing touches your tummy. Elastic waist pants not zippered. I liked a steady firmness not something that rubbed. Love, Mom
ReplyDeleteYou're in longer, so more clothes. The incision didn't really bother me but I wore sweats. I was actually not bloated but they said that was unusual so the sweats work out for that situation also.
ReplyDeleteReading material or something to do while you sit around. Sawyer was in NICU so they let me stay the 4 days that my insurance would pay for. I would walk to the cafeteria (probably wasn't supposed to but since my baby was in NICU, no one was going to tell me otherwise). I also pumped (since Sawyer wasn't allowed to eat anything) and they froze it. So button up shirts worked well for that.
Wow...it's so close. Good luck. Hope it all goes smoothly!
Jan
My biggest thing was a pillow. It helped tremendously on the ride home as well as in the hosp. for coughs/sneezes/laughs....
ReplyDeleteI had a scheduled C-section...yoga pants, yoga pants, yoga pants. Oh, and yoga pants. Besides that, your breast pump if you're going to use it at all, and a neck pillow (mine is shaped like a bone), makes sleeping in the beds a lot better. Slip-on house shoes. Makeup, blowdryer, etc. Getting fully ready first thing in the morning makes you feel 100% better. Fingernail clippers (my baby was born with TALONS and the hospital didn't have them, neither did the gift shoppe and we were 40 mins from home). A boppy pillow is nice to hold the baby on so she doesn't get on your tummy, plus nice for nursing. I'll keep thinking.
ReplyDeleteAsk for extras of the mesh panties to take home (and they wash beautifully in the washer)...sure saves some of your good panties from being ruined. My nurse and I loved each other, so she hooked me up with extras. Also she sent me extras of those wipes you can warm up in the microwave, a spray bottle thingy, and lots of those diaper like pads that you use at first. It's one of the gory parts of delivery, but a lot of care is needed down south after a baby is born!
ReplyDeletesnacks! :)
ReplyDeleteEar Plugs and an eye mask. So you can sleep! Unless you have a private room? When I had a c-section with dd. I was put in a shared room and the lady next to me kept her light on all night and must have had the worst snoring.. I mean worse than a man!!! Other than that.. Pics of the kids. I missed my DS like mad and wished I had a pic.
ReplyDeletePamela
I must be the weirdo of the group. I didn't do anything different for my c-section than I did for my vaginal delivery. I just wore the hospital gowns as I didn't want to move around much. It was easy for them to get to the areas they needed to clean and check, etc. I had no problem with coughing, laughing, etc. Holding the baby wasn't a problem. I was kinda sad when they took the catheter out after 24 or so hours, because it was nice not to have to get up to go pee or to even have the sensation that I had to go. I could drink lots of water and never feel it!! So, that's my story!!
ReplyDeletevisiters ;)
ReplyDeleteWhen I had Leo, it was hard for Matt to stay very long at the hospital because of the other kids. I ended up going home a day early because I was SO BORED and was sick of being at the hospital. I had visitors, but they could only stay for so long plus so many friends/family were on spring break vacations....
I did have my laptop and that helped a ton! I wish I'd had snacks and better clothing. I hadn't packed yet (dumb me) so I didn't really think too much about comfy clothes and shoes after my water broke. Oh and my boppy pillow would have been nice instead of those icky hospital pillows trying to nurse.