Hospital Prep 101
Planning for the birth of your child can be nerve-racking. You’ve spent the last nine (well, ten*) months researching various aspects of parenting and child-rearing, preparing the nursery, and stocking up on all baby supplies/gear under the sun. Your mind—and your house—is probably overflowing with all things baby. What’s left?
Selecting the actual place where you finally meet your little one and figuring out what to pack for the big event.
Hospital Research
Without going into all of the nitty, gritty details, we knew we wanted to go the hospital route as opposed to a home birth or other midwife scenario.
Our tips will focus on hospital births, but absolutely do whatever you feel is best for you and your family. First things first, know your insurance policy backward and forward.
You want to confirm which hospitals accept your health insurance plan and the hospitals in which your OBGYN practices, and then go from there.
Once you narrow down the options, schedule a hospital tour so that you can:
(1) see firsthand everything the hospital has to offer;
(2) determine the vibe of the hospital;
(3) experience the drive from home/office to the actual hospital site; and
(4) have more familiarity for the day-of.
Nothing could be worse than making the trek to an unseen hospital while in excruciating pain only to miss the exit, realize you don’t know where to park, or feel completely lost looking for the Labor and Delivery unit. Given that this place, and the people inside, are handling the most precious thing in your life, you never want to feel like a stranger.
Beyond the tour, most hospitals offer classes for various stages of the pregnancy. Our hospital offered classes for birthing, parenting, infant safety, and breastfeeding. While we did not participate in all of the classes offered, taking just one allowed some peace of mind as we neared our due date.
The day of, we knew exact where to park, enter, and navigate our course to the front desk to get the party started—one less thing to stress about made the world of difference, especially after we had passed our due date!
To sweeten the deal, the tour and classes also allow you to learn the ins and outs that can make the birthing process better, easier, whatever you are looking for.
These can be different alternatives for pain management, outlines for birth plans, lactation consultants, professional photographer services available, and much more. For us, the nicest perk was the suite option.
Most hospitals have suites available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The additional fees for the suites aren’t covered by insurance so if you are interested, you will definitely want to ask the cost per night to plan accordingly. The fee can be fairly steep, so knowing ahead of time leaves options for saving or even inserting the suite fees into your baby registry.
A select group of family/friends may want to help sponsor the suite OR you could have a general envelope basket at the baby shower, so anyone can contribute to your special day (think honeymoon fund at a wedding). Should the suites be taken on your day, then that’s extra cash to put toward diapers, anything you didn’t get at the shower, or even to start a college fund for babe (yay rationality!).
What to Pack
Like anything with an infant, it is far better to be over prepared. When packing, I tried to picture what our hospital stay would look like and anticipate those things we would need to feel comfortable away from home. We had individual bags for mom, dad, and baby as well as a handful of items we grabbed as we were leaving the day of.
General:
- ID: mom will need her driver’s license and health insurance card as soon as she walks in;
- Toiletry basics: shampoo; conditioner; face wash; tooth brush; tooth paste; deodorant; lotion; chapstick; brush; hair ties; medications; glasses/contact needs;
- Comfort and Entertainment: towels; blankets; pillows; chargers with corresponding electronics; books. Dad especially needs bedding options that can be grabbed on the go—poor guy doesn’t get a real bed or space like Mom.
- Food: snacks and bottles of water! The hospital will feed Mom but not Dad. I made sure to find travel sizes/individuals of Travis’s favorite snacks, so he could as many comforts as possible. Check on the cafeteria options at the hospital and/or delivery options as well because you may not have relatives available to bring Dad food. Consider cash for vending machines, too.
For Mom: Clothing: 2-3 pairs of loose pajamas with nursing options; going home outfit with larger underwear; nursing bras; non-slip socks; robe; comfy shoes for swollen feet;
For Dad: Comfy clothes for sleeping; outfits for lounging during the day; going home outfit; electronics;
For Baby: Diaper bag; 2-3 onesies and separate outfits (or more—keep in mind you’re learning to change diapers); sleeper/gown; going home outfit; scratch mittens; booties/socks; car seat; baby book;
What we received at the hospital:
- Mom–post-partum care products like Tucks, cleansing wipes, maternity pads, cold pads, cold spray, underwear, Lanolin, prenatals, sitz bath setup; general hygiene products; we also got a gift bag from the hospital with all these things that lasted 3-ish days, so you’ll want to be stocked up at home.
- Baby—swaddle blankets, shirts, hats, diapers, wipes, gauze/ointment (circumcision), bulb syringe, bath tub with all products; gift from the hospital was a crochet blanket and crochet hat; folder for all baby documents
Stay Rational
-B&T