In today's post, I'll be sharing an updated post on what's really useful in my hospital bag which I had previously shared. If you have been following me on my social media, then this should not be news to you that I am officially a mother as of 1st Oct 2019! So if you are a mother-to-be and wanna know what I think you really need to bring to the hospital, keep on reading.
If you have already read my previous post on what's in my hospital bag, you know that I've actually packed many extra things that I thought I may need, just in case. And honestly, I didn't use some of the items I brought to the hospital, so to save some hassle, I will list the items I think you really need to bring and you are good to go.
1) Breast Pump
Even though my Spectra S1+ breast pump is really heavy and bulky, I had absolutely no regret bringing it to the hospital. The hospital that you are going to will usually arrange a lactation consultant to visit you in your ward during your stay so that he/she can guide you while you breast feed. And I took the opportunity to learn how to latch my baby well as well as how to use the breast pump effectively. I feel that to be able to learn it hands on is much more useful than just reading the manual and trying to grasp whatever you can on your own. So I think it is necessary to bring your own breast pump to the hospital. In fact you should start using it to stimulate breast milk.
2) Disposable Underwear
This is definitely a must for convenience sake and hygiene purpose. Most mommies will experience vaginal postpartum bleeding which is the heavy flow of blood after delivery and it will usually last up to 10 days. Bringing disposal underwear will save you the hassle to wash more dirty laundry when you are discharged from the hospital.
3) Pureen Maternity Pads
The same reason why you should bring disposable underwear and if you have forgotten to bring it, the hospital will provide you with what they have and charge it to your bill accordingly. On the first day of my hospital stay, I had to use the one that the hospital provided as I was unable to move on my own, let alone changed my own pad.
The pad that the hospital provided was the loop kind so it was easier for the nurses to help change the pad. If you can, try to bring two different style of maternity pads and you are good to go.
4) Baby Wipes/Body Wipes
I was very glad I put in a packet of baby wipes in the last second as it turned out to be the best decision ever. During the hospital stay, I was not able to bathe at all so I had to turn to the baby wipes to keep myself clean and hygiene (sort of). I especially love to use the baby wipes on my face as I knew it's chemical free and definitely safe and harmless to the skin.
These in my opinion were the most important things in my bag and I believe all new mothers will need them for their hospital stay. When your newborn first try to feed on your breast milk, he or she does not know how to and before you know it, your nipples are all swollen and painful from all the sucking. What I did to reduce the pain was to first clean the breast with a baby wipe before spamming nipple cream. Lastly, to protect the nipples from friction against your clothes, put on the shield. By doing so, you can also ensure the nipple cream stay in place.
6) Going Home Clothes and just ONE maternity bra
If you have read my previous post, I actually packed in my own pyjamas and guess what, totally unnecessary. I was given new set of breast feeding gown on a daily basis and gown itself was so convenient, I didn't have to change to my own pyjamas at all. And there wasn't a need to put on your maternity bra since you will be feeding on a regular basis. So my suggestion is, just bring a set of going home clothes (preferably breast feeding friendly) and a maternity bra and you are all set and ready to go.
All in all, I am very thankful for a pleasant hospital stay and most importantly, a very supportive husband. While I was busy trying to recover from the surgery and breast feeding, the husband was the one who handled everything else. He was the one burping the baby for the first time, swaddling her up when I couldn't do it myself, helped me washed up and encouraged me when I didn't have any breast milk during the first two days. So husbands and fathers to be, don't be stingy in your encouraging words because they may make a whole lot of difference to the mommies and you are indeed the best support the mommies can ever have.
Yupps so that's all I have to update in this post. I hope it is kinda useful to mommies to be out there. Please follow me if you haven't already and I'll see you in my next post, xoxo.
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