Laptop and charger, fuzzy socks, chapstick. The rest is just gravy. Oh yeah and somebody to run through the drive-through for a double bacon cheese burger and a Dr.Pepper STAT after the delivery.

I'll just tell ya what NOT to bring....DON'T bring pre-pregnancy clothes, especially jeans. You don't want to throw yourself into a depression before you even leave the hospital! Perhaps a pair of elastic waisted yoga pants in their place? Something comfy for sure, but nothing that requires a zipper!

Hi, hon. Yes, gotta bring food in after the delivery. Get someone to fetch your fave fast food. You'll perish from malnutrition if you try to survive on hospital grub.

You can pack pretty light. The only clothes I brought were my going-home clothes -- all those ideas of me sitting in a cute outfit during my recovery really hit the wayside when I realized how...uh...messy things are after giving birth. Like, for days afterward. Wear the gowns and stretchy fishnet undies. Trust me. My apologies to any and all male readers of your blog, but it's reality.

Lets see, what else...if you anticipate any little ones visiting make sure they have something to do/toys to play with in your room, because they looks at the baby for 15 seconds and then proceed to try to climb into the bassinet, climb the curtains, play with sensitive and expensive medical equipment, yada yada. Gotta keep 'em entertained!

OH! Most important part: bring two extra blankies, roll them up and snug them up on either side of the baby when he is in the car seat, otherwise he'll flop over and turn into a sideways "c" shape, and his little neck will fold up like a taco and you will spend the whole car ride home propping up his head with your hand. Not that that would be a bad thing, but still. He'll look more comfortable.

Have I missed anything? lol

For me, warm socks was very important! I'm cold natured, so my feet are always cold . Books and/or magazines to pass the time. If you're going to breastfeed, one of those breastfeeding shirts might be nice. That way, you can look 'presentable' but still have easy access for feedings - beats the hospital gown any day! Don't forget the camera!!

head band. camera. and ditto on the food STAT after delivery. Hospital food really is bad. I even brought some bagels and peanut butter to eat right after delivery. Yum!

Breathmints! Oh my gosh, after a few hours of panting and breathing..your breath is kickin'. My poor husband was poppin them in my mouth every 10 minutes or so. A few massaging tools (a tennis ball works great) for back pain during labor. Your own panties and eh-hem...feminine products. The hospital stuff is awkward and yucky. A soft, comfy bathrobe and some slippers. Hospital floors are cold and when you get up to go potty...well, they first few times, you're there for a while so soft house shoes will keep your feet off the cold floors. A little bit of make-up for when people come visit. NO smelly good (perfume) though. You don't want to cause your new baby's sensitive nose to burn. Baby Sam's going home outfit as well as yours....just something comfy. Yoga pants are a great idea for you and some soft pjs would be good for him. Perhaps one of your own pillows. You won't get much sleep (especially if you're nursing) so you want the sleep you do get to be good.

I'm so excited for you! Having a baby is the absolute best experience a woman could have in life! It's the total fulfillment of femininity!

I probaly forgot things each time I went..but I never forgot that cute take home outfit for the baby!

sandy toe

A robe to wear over the gown, socks/slippers, going home outfit for you (sorry but they will still be maternity clothes), outfit for baby, your own pillow, granola bars. PS: If you can snag some of the hospital blankets they use to swaddle baby in, they are the best blankets to use.

I'm not sure what to pack because I've never gone through it, but I did want to say Good Luck! Can't wait to read all about the new baby!

I haven't done it either, but having someone to bring me food sounds delightful. Yeah. French fries sound good right now.

Yikes! I can't believe that baby Sam is almost here! It seems like just yesterday you were sharing the news. Time flies. Anyway, Iike the few ladies above me, I've never been through it, but I will be keeping y'all in my prayers as his arrival grows closer!

Fuzzy socks or slippers that you don't mind throwing away. I hate to be gross, but there's a lot of blood...and I threw away everything that touched the floor of my hospital room. Large lounge tops and bottoms that you can nurse through (if you're going to try) and a cd player with a few favorite quiet cds. We played them constantly and the nurses said it was so nice to come into peaceful music in our room. And snacks. The hospital food was crap so I had lots of home made snacks. Hmm that's about all I needed, besides my husband and our new baby! Oh, we brought her home in a warm blanket, and wearing comfy clothes - not the fancy outfit we'd bought for her!

miralax... they won't give you any there and it works better than the stool softner. we had to beg a friend to bring it to the hospital... oh and don't forget your video camera! :) Another thing that was a confort to me was the blanket from our bed. It smelled like home and was something snuggly to help dull the pain a bit. Hand sanitizer too, IPOD, and a fan or noise maker... those hospitals are NOISY!!! I can't wait to see this precious little one!

I have no idea what to add, just wanted to thank you for posting this..I'm due with my 1st in 5 weeks so these answers will come in handy for me too! : ) Good luck!

I took my own pillow from home... it was way better than those crunchy or too-flat hospital pillows. It just adds a little familiar comfort to your hospital room. Good luck!!

Y'all are so great!! Thanks for all the info! And props for all of the food suggestions. You guys know me way too well. :)

yummy shower stuff - you will feel like a new person after a shower. lots of socks - that you are willing to part with. I threw 2 pairs away as my water leaked everywhere - twice! A robe and slippers for sure! Somesort of very simple nursing gowns - that can get bloody - you will not magically quit bleeding once you reach recovery. If you arent feeling up to visitors, don't take them. Use your nurse as an excuse if you are nervous about making people upset. This is the most important bonding time you have with your baby - don't feel you have to share it with people just because they want to see this little bundle of joy - there are times for that, but your baby needs to be held by you, nursed by you, smell and see and hear you. Don't worry about entertaining other peoples kids - you just got to meet your own and you probably won't feel like taking on that responsibility, nor should you. If you like a certain kind of bottled water (or want mint or lemon or something) bring it - you will get ice chips and faucet water. I had a double bed in a room to share with my hubby in recovery so remind him of anything he might need to. The best best best thing was a noise machine - you will be tired and want to sleep at times other than night time, so you want to block out all those visitors...crying babies...etc. A pacifier - if you are doing them. Don't let the lactation consultant scare you out of them, your baby will do just fine and sometimes they just need a little suckle - we used it while trying to get our son in the carseat. You can also use your upside down pinky finger. The little gel nipple pads they have - don't remember what they are called, but get as many as you can from hospital, they will save you (you can get them from Target too) The most important thing to bring, and I'm sure you are covered, your humor. You will be humbled beyond humbled at times, and shockingly not care, but you must be able to laugh it off and move on or you will never face the nurses the again :) Have a blast - it truly is awesome. I LOVED my experience and would do it again in a heartbeat!

I know that you don't want to take everything you own to the hospital, but the thing that I wanted the most and didn't have was a "boppy" pillow. The hospital pillows were very slick and hard to position so it was rather frustrating trying to figure out HOW to nurse while also trying not to drop the baby! : ) I wish that I had had my husband bring the boppy to the hospital because it made it all so much easier once we got home. I also agree with the post above about the pacifier. I know that a lot of nurses (and others) are opposed to the idea, but my kiddo wanted to nurse constantly and after 24 hours without a full hour of sleep, I was ready to lose my mind. My experience was that the pacifier allowed me a little break while satisfying my little one and it didn't lead to any problems with nursing. I wish you the very best! Tricia

Just wanted to say not to stress too much about what to bring. If you forget anything, you will still survive it all! I went into labor 10 weeks early and I was not close enough to go to the hospital where I had planned to deliver. Sooo, that meant that not only did I have a doctor deliver our baby that I had never seen before but I had not even begun to think about what to pack, much less pack a bag! And, I still survived - ok, I'm not sure I would have survived if my husband had not run out to get me ice cream after our son was born! But yes, I either did fine with what was provided or I made a few phone calls to get anything I really felt I needed (none of which I can think of right now!). And, although he had a rough start, our baby boy did just fine too - he'll be 19 in a few weeks! Good luck with everything and I can't wait to hear of the little one's arrival!!!

A pillow or blanket from home would be nice. Chapstick is essential. Do not waste your money on cute pajamas that you think you'll wear to receive visitors in the hospital. They'll be ruined in minutes. Wear the gown they give you, and save the pajamas for when you go home!

Good luck!

pack gum. for your husband. my husbands subway sandwich breath while encouraging me three inches from my face to push was enough to send me over the edge.

I wore the hospital attire for 4 of the 5 days I was there after my c-section. There was no way I was wearing pants over that incision! I was really glad I had a zip up "mom" robe to slip on over my hospital gown, even if it was hideous. When I had to walk laps around the hospital halfway bent over to start to move my body, I was glad I looked somewhat respectable. I wouldn't have wanted a bulky tie-robe.

Make sure you bring one or two nursing bras... My favorites are the Bravado brand, which you can order from their website. Since you don't know what size "the girls" will be when your milk comes in, the Bravado style that looks sort of like a sports bra works perfect and gives you some wiggle room if you end up larger or smaller than you predict. And it's really comfortable.

The thing I didn't have that I wished I had had was my nursing pillow. The boppy was fine once my son was 5+ months, but before that, I couldn't have nursed without the pillow called "My Breast Friend" (terrible name, I know). It's like a hard shelf that straps around your body... trust me - it's awesome!!!

Good luck!! And whatever you don't have, your family and friends will be happy to go fetch for you. :)

sounds like these girls have it covered :) The only thing I can think of is if you have to be in the hospital for any extended period of time (longer than the typical 2 nights)...have someone bring a lamp. Like me. I'll bring a lamp. It's amazing the difference a little 75 watt soft light can make in a room full of florescent.

I'm obsessed with lamp light. I know. I'm a freak.

Lip stuff...like Carmex or something and a notebook and pen to write down those things that you want to keep track of but you just might forget by the next morning or when you get home. Your baby book with a post it note on the page for the baby foot prints. Our hospital stamped our little one's foot prints in our book when they did the birth certificate.

Hi Kendra!

I may have mentioned this before, but I always tell pregnant women to pack an extension cord with them for the hospital visit.

That post delivery shower is wonderful, but you may not feel like standing up in the bathroom to blow dry or flatiron your hair. The extension cord will let you do this sitting in bed instead.
As for the bathrobe, make sure it's a lightweight one. After delivery, your body will have a lot of extra fluid to get rid of, and you will be sweatiing and peeing A LOT in the first 24-48 hours after.

As for foodies, make (or have someone make for you) stuff with oatmeal in it. Especially if you're going to breastfeed, as oatmeal helps boost your milk production.