In today's post, I'm gonna share what I packed into my hospital bag or rather luggage for my delivery on 1st Oct 19. My husband and I had decided to opt for Caesarean Section with General Anesthesia after a discussion with my gynaecologist Dr Michelle Lee from Mount Alvernia because Baby R is kinda big and due to my slip disc, I'm not able to take epidural. Hence Dr Michelle suggested csect with GA for me because she thought that even if I can endure the pain without epidural, the pushing part may be hard for me due to my back issue and it might also affect my future walking ability. Upon hearing these, we decided to give up on natural birth and heed the doctor's advice. And the date is set, and we'll be welcoming Baby R on 1st Oct (fingers crossed that she can bake till then). It's only been 1.5 weeks since we decided on the csect and everything was a rush for us, including packing of my hospital bag. Like every other kiasu mummy out there, I didn't want to be under prepared so I kinda packed quite a little too much after doing some research and listening to all the hearsays. So without further ado, let's get into the list of things I'm bringing to the hospital!
1) Hospital Documents
This is definitely the most important thing that you need to bring to the hospital and it is your admission letter from your doctor. In the letter, your gynae will include all the instructions required for the hospital to admit you in on your day of labour. Together with the letter, you can attach your prenatal check up receipts for the medisave claim which the hospital will assist you with. For me, I only attached the prenatal package that I signed up for with my gynae because all we can claim is $900 so usually the maternity check up package that you signed up for is more than enough for the claim. Ps do make sure you keep all your receipts for the claims. On top of that, I also bring my test reports to the hospital just in case there are any complications and the hospital needs them. And if you are gonna register for your child's birth certificate at the hospital, do bring along your marriage certificate too.
Next, let's see what I packed for myself.
2) Disposable Underwear
There are many brands out there like Tena and Kotex that are doing disposable underwear but the one that I will bringing is the Watsons house brand Extra Comfort disposable underwear for maternity. I like that it is made of cotton which is more comfortable and it is also high waisted which is perfect since I will need something to cover over my wound on the bikini line.
3) Sanitary/Maternity Pads
This Pureen Madame Maternity Pads should be something familiar to all mommies because they are specially designed for post natal use to abosrb the heavy flow. I recommend to bring your own and make sure you tell the nurses in the hospital that you've got your own because if you don't, the hospital will provide you with their own maternity pads and then charge then to your final bill. For me, since I already purchased it from the baby fair and I most likely will not be needing it once I am doing breast feeding (hopefully I can), I rather pack it into my hospital bag and save a little cost.
4) Nipple Cream
And mommies, if you are gonna try exclusive breast feeding, then make sure you bring a tube of nipple cream. The one I have is from the brand Pigeon which is safe for baby. In fact, I have already started applying it religiously to condition the nipples and to ease dryness.
5) Nipple Shield
Another Pigeon product, Nipple Shield is also very important to help relieve pain when baby latch. Again, this is for mommies who intend to do exclusive breastfeed and since I know I'm gonna try, I have to pack it into my bag.
6) Nursing Bra (non wired)
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| Photo from Shopee. |
I have read that wearing underwired bras can cause a decrease in your milk supply because milk ducts are not just in the visible breast tissue but they extend all the way back to your rib cage and up into your armpit. Our milk needs to move freely through these ducts so to avoid a decrease in supply, I think it's best to stick to non wired nursing bras first. I bought 2 from Shopee ($6.90 each) and they are surprisingly very comfortable and comparable to the ones I bought from Mothercare that cost me 5 times more.
8) Nursing Pad
For nursing pads, I'm bringing these Philips Avent disposable ones so that I can just throw them away when they are dirty.
9) breast pump (optional)
If you are gonna bring your breast pump, do make sure that you sterilise it first because if you don't, chances are the nurses will still get you to use the hospital pump but of course with a rental fee. I am bringing my Spectra S1+Pump mainly for the massage (let down) mode so as to stimulate milk production which I think is very important because I know it takes sometime for breast milk to kick in and I really wanna try to get it start as soon as possible.
10) Comfortable pyjamas (buttoned down)
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| Photo from Shopee |
11) skin care products / toiletries / cosmetics
For my skin care products, I packed all the travel size ones in which include facial mist, toner, serum, eye cream and moisturiser. Not forgetting lip balm and hand cream to moisturise my lips and skin because staying in aircon room 24/7 is gonna dehydrate our skin. I am also bringing a mini size deodarant, perfume and hair laundry tissue from Apieu, so that in the event that I couldn't shower or wash my hair, at least I won't stink. Oh and I'm also bringing feminine wipes, for hygiene purpose.
12) Socks
To keep my feet warm at night and to prevent me from getting rheumatism when I am older.
13) Phone Charger
So that I can Netflix whole day without worrying battery flat. 😂
14) Going home clothes
I'm bringing my nursing dress because I doubt I can miraculously lose all the weight I had gained during this pregnancy period in 4 days so my pre pregnancy clothes are definitely out. Furthermore, to be able to feed my baby while on the move, I think nursing dress is the best option.
That's all the stuff I packed for myself. Then for the baby, these are the things I packed.
15) Nice going home clothes
To be honest, I've no idea how big or small the baby will be so I ended up packing 3 rompers in 3 different sizes. Yupp kiasu mommy here. 🤷♀️
17) Mittens, booties and hat
Bringing these mainly because I've already purchased them and I really can't wait to see how Baby R looks like in them. Plus, I also need them when I am discharged from the hospital.
Lastly, for the daddy who seems to be packing for a staycay, just bring enough clothes and a sweater. And if you want, you can bring pillows, bolster and cup noodles (like what my husband is gonna do 🤦♀️) and you are ready to go.
So that's all I have for this post. I may not be able to post much during confinement but I'll definitely try to update as much as possible. To all the mummies who are giving birth soon, good luck and wishing you a smooth delivery. I hope this post helps (a little) because I am a kiasu mummy and I overpacked but it's better to be over prepared than under prepared. All right, till the next post, xoxo. 😘
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