What to pack in your Birth Bag for Having a Baby at the Hospital!

Let me start this post on what to take to the hospital by saying that my little New Orleans newborn arrived at 35 weeks and 6 days, a major surprise – my water broke during the night and we were scrambling to get everything together given that it was my busy time of the year at work and I had NOTHING packed. I thought I had another month!!

So, here’s what we: 1) threw together, 2) had my mom bring from our house, and 3) wished we had!

1. Birth ball – Y’all, I wouldn’t have made it without this. I ordered it a mere 6 days before my baby decided to make her arrival. Chris had JUST blown it up the night before. It really helped me move her down, and my amazing doula Melanie did a LOT of lower back massage for me while I was sitting/bouncing on it. I had wanted a fully natural birth in a tub, no fluids, etc. Since my water broke so early, I couldn’t get in the tub, I had to have Pitocin, fluids and IV antibiotics since my strep test wasn’t back yet. I was still determined to progress as far as I could with no epidural, because I really didn’t want to have a needle/tube in my back. The ball really helped me make it all the way through to transition without pain intervention.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DVHNOWO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1&psc=1

2. Labor gown (and pjs that open in front for after): The best L&D gowns will have snaps up the back AND front (or open in front) and at the shoulders. I’m pretty sure I had this one in navy. I washed it in the middle of the night when I thought my water broke, shoved it in the dryer on our way out the door, and my mom stopped by the house and brought it to me once we were settled in our room on L&D. It worked really well to open in front for fetal monitoring, and then my doula opened the shoulder snaps and pulled it down for skin to skin. Basically, it needs to open every whichaway. You’d use the back snaps for an epidural.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YNXPPM1?tag=verywellfamily-onsite-prod-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1&ascsubtag=4158000%7Cn852cda5e0f794309aca27d93764f2b0f03%7CB07YNXPPM1

3. Chapstick: Your lips will likely feel dry from the breathing in and out. I don’t actually remember this being a huge issue for me, but I was doing long, slow breaths most of the time, and then while pushing I used nitrous gas for pain management, so I was holding that mask to my face during contractions. Plus I was in a whole other universe during pushing, it felt like, so I doubt I’d have noticed if my lips felt chapped.                                                                                                                              
4. Your Birth Plan: Another thing that I thought I’d have time to do. Luckily I had great advocates in my doula, my OB, my husband, and myself. Between the four of us, we got as close to my ideal experience as possible, given the circumstances.                                                                                                                                          
5. Bluetooth Speaker: I used my Bose Soundlink to play my birth music playlist (that I cobbled together on my phone while bouncing on my birth ball during labor, because again, it was another thing I was planning to have more time to do).

https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/speakers/portable_speakers/soundlink-micro.html?mc=25_PS_WS_PL_00_GO_&gclid=CjwKCAjwt7SWBhAnEiwAx8ZLallzI1dhQCgatozt2a8OkEIibjFJcOPQTrL7ygCyF0Idk7nZxWS2-RoCe6YQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds#v=soundlink_micro_stone_blue

6.  Your favorite pillow: I can’t be the only one who NEEDS my pillow to feel comfortable, right? Just put a colored pillowcase on it so it doesn’t get confused with the white  hospital pillows.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
7. An outfit for baby to wear home: I found a layette set that looked soooo much like the outfit I wore home from the hospital, so I brought that. Well, between the time Lulu was born and the time we took her home, my mom went to our house and got it, washed it, and brought it to us. (We would have been lost without my sweet mama!)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
8. Frida Mom Labor + Delivery and Post-Partum Recovery Kit: I don’t even need to elaborate here. Your body will thank you.

https://frida.com/products/hospital-bag-essentials-complete-kit

9. DermaPlast: For some reason they waited until I was in the Recovery Room to give me this. I REALLY could have used it before riding in the wheelchair from the Delivery room to Recovery. My doula asked for it for me (I had no idea what it was) after I was stitched up and they were bringing the wheelchair, and they told us it would be in the Recovery room. But I will say, that stuff SAVED me with my tear and stitches. Even if you don’t need to use what you brought at the hospital, you will want it at home!

https://www.cvs.com/shop/dermoplast-anesthetic-pain-relieving-spray-burn-and-itch-2-75-oz-prodid-1012298

       10. All the little, regular stuff: phone and chargers, hair bands, dry shampoo, whatever skincare and/or makeup makes you feel somewhat normal, socks/slippers, robe…

        11.  Breast Friend nursing pillow: This thing is amazing. We even have one in the studio for our nursing mamas. It really, REALLY helps when you’re trying to figure out                     the whole breastfeeding thing.

https://www.amazon.com/My-Brest-Friend-Original-Fireworks/dp/B0891ZVS5T?th=1

        12. Car Seat: Because you can’t take your baby home without one. We LOVED the Doona, and thankfully already had it. Otherwise that would have been a panicked                       overnight purchase.

https://www.doona.com/en-US/car-seat-stroller/collections/doona-grey-hound

        13.  Your favorite snacks and drinks: because hospital food is kinda gross here in the USA, and you want as many comforting, familiar things as possible! I’m pretty sure                  I also asked for a pizza when we got to the Recovery room, and then when my sister brought it to us I only ate half a slice. But it was really good and felt like a touch               of normalcy!

AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING:

         14. A DOULA. For real, I would have NEVER made it without an epidural without my doula’s support. I honestly think she was the difference between me having a                          traumatic birth experience and a good one – she was that important. She empowered me to ask the nurse to come back in 15 minutes every time the RN came in to                  turn up my Pitocin, she stood up for me when I said to the nurse “No way in hell are you doing a vaginal check” when I was 10 cm dilated and you could see the top                  of the baby’s head during a contraction, she had them hustle to bring in the nitrous gas I used during pushing, she did hours of massage during labor, she dug her                    hand into my hamstring with every pushing contraction for an hour because I got a Charley Horse in my left ham with each one, and that was the only thing that                      relieved it… She was amazing. My husband, who is EXTREMELY frugal, said afterwards that “whatever we paid her, we should double it”. She was the calming                            presence. in the room that made ME calm (well, as calm as I could be). If it’s at all possible for you, get a doula!

PRO TIP: Have your bag ready to go at 35 weeks! 

A quick word on newborn portraits – birth photography, Fresh 48 photography, newborn photography, and the hospital sending someone to your Recovery room for photos. I had a birth photographer, and I’m SO grateful I did. I know things are a little up and down in terms of how many support people you can have in the hospital at the moment with COVID protocols, but if you can have a birth photographer, I highly recommend it. I do shoot births occasionally for established clients, and if I’m not available, I can certainly recommend several very talented New Orleans birth photographers. I also do Fresh 48 Sessions, where I come to your hospital room before you’re discharged to take some beautiful images of your brand-new baby and family. I didn’t allow a stranger to take images of Lulu at the hospital. She narrowly avoided the NICU because she was so early, I was exhausted, and I certainly didn’t want someone I’d never met moving my baby around (I think they actually “pose” them nowadays, which I think is dangerous at 2 days old). When the hospital photographer came in, I just told her we wouldn’t be doing that, and she left. The best time for newborn photography is generally 7-14 days old, or whenever you’re comfortable doing it. At OGP we arrange for a little pampering for mom before the session, we can help with wardrobe, etc – all you need to do is bring baby.

Images below are of my birth experience, photographed by Cher Bébé Birth Photography.