Episode Transcript
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Natalie Portman (00:45):
Hey, beautiful
mama, and welcome back to the
podcast.
If you're in that stage whereyou're staring at your hospital
bag, wondering if you're doingthis whole thing right, you're
in exactly the right placebecause today we're going to
walk through everything youactually need.
Not too much, not too little,but just right for your comfort
in your baby's first few days inthe hospital.
(01:06):
I've created a companion handoutthat breaks down everything
we're going to talk about todayinto an easy checklist you can
actually use.
And here's the best part, it'scompletely free.
So when you sign up for theChristian Mama Birth Prep
library, either atfaithoverfearbirth.com, or you
can also check the link in theshow notes to sign up for that
free resource.
(01:27):
We're gonna cover the comfortitems that will actually make a
difference in your recovery, thepractical things that many moms
forget that they need.
And yes, we'll also go over whatto pack for your partner and for
your precious baby too.
So whether this is your firstbaby or your fourth baby, let's
get you feeling confident andprepared for this incredible
(01:48):
journey ahead.
So let's start with the itemsthat are truly going to make
your hospital stay morecomfortable as you recover.
Starting with clothing, you'llwant to pack some cozy pajamas.
These are things that are niceand stretchy, whether that be
some, comfy.
PJ pants and a shirt.
Preferably one that buttons downso you can easily nurse or even
(02:09):
a nursing dress.
Something that is comfortableand loose, but also easy access
to nursing if that's what youplan to do.
Another thing you can bring is acardigan or a robe, something
again, that has easy access tobreastfeeding, but is comforting
if you find yourself in a reallycold room.
(02:30):
And then also packing thingslike slippers fuzzy socks, and
even gripper socks mosthospitals will provide gripper
socks, but if you have your ownthat are more comfortable, by
all means, bring that yourself.
And now let's talk about somesleep and rest items.
So I love my pillow.
Like when we travel, I bring myown pillow with me so if you are
(02:52):
also that way and you justcannot really get a lot of
sleep, unless you're with yourpillow, bring your pillow to the
hospital.
That's totally fine.
You can even bring an extrapillowcase in case it gets dirty
or something like that,especially if you're.
Using it while you're laboring.
A lot of the times, fluids andblood and things can get on it,
so bring an extra pillowcase ifyou decide to bring your own.
(03:14):
And then you can also bring fromhome your own comfortable thick
blankets.
They will provide blankets inthe hospital, obviously, but
they're pretty thin.
A lot of the times moms willneed to layer up a lot of the
hospital blankets'cause it'sjust not that warming.
So bring your own comfortable,thick blankets, that is not a
problem.
And it also helps just bringyour own scent, which that
(03:38):
sounds kind of strange, but.
Really, really helpful whenyou're just trying to get into
just a comfy, cozy feeling.
And then I love suggestingbringing a sleep mask or an eye
mask.
It's great to have during thelabor, say that you're trying to
catch some sleep during thelabor itself, or if you're just
trying to block out all theother things that are happening
(03:58):
in the room.
Having an eye mask is great forthat.
But then when you're trying tosleep and the hospital is bright
or there's people coming in,it's nice to have an eye mask.
Okay.
And then when it comes torecovery, you'll want to have
with you adult diapers if youwould like to go that route.
They also provide pads andthings of that nature.
(04:19):
If you just wanna bring, youknow, your own, just regular
underwear and then you wear thepads.
But adult diapers are a greatoption as well, if you would
prefer that.
And then.
Just know that the first coupledays after you've delivered,
you're gonna be bleeding a goodamount, and it's gonna be like a
period, but maybe more intense.
(04:41):
And then as the days go on,it'll definitely start to
dwindle the amount of blood thatyou have.
But for those first few days,you're definitely gonna wanna be
wearing.
Adult diapers or pads 24 7.
And then if you're planning tobreastfeed, these are some items
that I think would be helpful tobring with you.
the first being nursing tanktops and nursing bras.
(05:04):
Those can be really comfortable,but it's also nice to have that
easy access to your breasts whenyou're breastfeeding because
that's, that will be your newfull-time job after you have a
baby.
You can also bring a Haakaa,which is basically a silicone
single unit pump, and that canbe really great if you're trying
(05:26):
to get some extra breast milk orsay you're planning to
exclusively pump.
That can be great.
You can also bring your ownbreast pump if you plan to pump,
or if you want the lactationconsultant to show you how to
use your pump, but by and large.
If you're not planning toexclusively pump or want
(05:46):
somebody to show you how to useyour pump, I would leave this
one at home.
It's pretty bulky and a lot ofmoms end up not needing it.
They just end up nursing thewhole time they're there.
So totally up to you.
It's just up to how many thingsyou want to bring into the
hospital with you.
I also suggest bringing yournursing pillow like a Boppy and
(06:07):
a couple extra cases like pillowcases for that Boppy, because
again, birth is messy business,so you can get some, blood or
other things on it.
It's really great to help youfind a more comfortable position
as you're nursing the baby.
whether that be in the hospitalbed or, sitting on the chair,
next to the bed in your room.
(06:27):
If you forget to bring yourBoppy, that is totally fine.
You can just ask for a coupleextra pillows and put the
pillows underneath your arms.
But for some women it's morecomfortable just to have the
Boppy.
I'm definitely one of those momsthat it is very hard for me to
nurse without my Boppy becauseI'm tall and so my torso's
longer.
And so if my arms are notresting on something, oh my
goodness, my back hurts so bad.
(06:48):
So bring a nursing pillow ifthat is what you think would be
helpful to keep you morecomfortable while nursing,
because again, you will benursing full-time, it will be a
full-time job and the morecomfortable you are in the
positions that you're nursing,the longer you can nurse and it
just more enjoyable experienceoverall.
(07:08):
A really important element tothe labor and postpartum time is
making sure that you arehydrating and nourishing
yourself properly.
I highly recommend getting arefillable water bottle with a
straw.
That's the key.
Something that is easy to drink,hands free, and that someone
can.
(07:29):
Hand to you or put up to yourmouth like, a drink.
Just so one can put it up toyour mouth and you can take a
sip.
Very helpful for labor and veryhelpful whenever you're trying
to multitask and do a bunch ofother things after the baby's
there.
And then I even recommend havingtwo, so having one with just
water and then having anotherdrink with electrolytes like
(07:51):
LMNT, L-M-N-T, I'll put theirwebsite in the show notes, but
that's a great brand for cleanelectrolyte drink mix and having
healthy snacks that you enjoy.
I'm a huge fan of RX bars.
I'll put that link in the shownotes.
Fruits, nuts.
(08:13):
Dried fruits, anything that ishealthy and is pretty
non-perishable.
Those are great options to have.
You can even pack a coupleprotein drinks and whatever you
like to eat or drink.
And then some personal care andhygiene items.
Make sure to bring your personaltoiletries, your face wash,
(08:34):
deodorant, hairbrush, all thoseyou know, fun things and make
sure to have chapstick Isomething for your lips, because
as you're doing that, laborbreathing and hospitals tend to
be very dry.
You'll definitely want somechapstick for your lips and have
(08:54):
things like breath, mints, gum,or cough drops.
all that breathing, whetherthat's you breathing and you
wanna have a mint or somethingat some point.
You can also have that there foryour partner or your birth team
if their breath is starting tobe pretty stale.
You can have gum and mints andcough drops for stale breath
(09:15):
because that is not fun whensomeone's breathing in your face
and it's not the best.
And then having shower shoes,something that you can wear just
when you're in the shower.
You may not even take a showerwhen you're there, but it's nice
to have that because thosebathroom floors are shared.
And I have seen some things onthose floors.
So shower shoes for that.
(09:37):
You'll also wanna have with youhair ties, headbands, hair
clips, whatever you normallywould do to keep your hair out
of your face.
Labor is hard work, and you willinevitably look kind of
disheveled no matter what kindof birth you end up having.
And so make sure to just haveall of those things readily and
(09:58):
easily available so that you cankeep your hair out of your face
and just feel more comfortable.
Okay.
Also, I recommend having nasalsaline spray.
the hospital air is very dry andthe number of times I have a mom
who is having a hard timebreathing through her nose
during labor.
And sometimes they do havesaline nasal spray available in
(10:21):
the hospital, but it takesforever to get that, like it has
to go through all these channelsto just give you some nasal
saline spray.
So bring that with you.
Very helpful and can just makethat labor breathing so much
easier when you can actuallybreathe.
And then some other things thatare more practical is bring any
of your medications and prenatalvitamins that you were already
(10:43):
regularly taking.
They may give you like certainprescription medications there
so you're not having to get intoyour own stash.
But either way, have all ofthose things readily available.
You don't know how long yourlabor and postpartum time will
be that you're at the hospital.
Plan, up to five to seven dayseven potentially, depending
(11:04):
again, how long you labor andhow long you're there.
if you wear glasses or contactsand contact solution, bring all
of those things really importantand can, just easily be missed
if you're, not thinking aboutthat as a need.
And then really important thatyou keep your insurance card and
ID card.
Readily and easily accessible.
(11:25):
They're going to ask for thosethings more than likely when
you're being admitted.
And so it's just nice to be ableto like, have that at the top of
your bag or like in your purse,like ready to go or just give
that to your husband to holdonto for when you get to the
hospital for the check-inprocess.
Also, carry with you, your birthpreferences checklist.
I have an entire episode aboutthe birth preferences checklist,
(11:49):
but bring a copy of that aswell.
That is such an incredible birthpreparation tool, and it gets
your birth team, the nurse, theOB that's on call, the midwife
that's on call, whoever.
On the same page as you to know,are you doing any of the newborn
procedures?
Which ones are you doing, whichones are you not doing?
It's very helpful to just haveall of that information readily
(12:11):
a available for your birth teamto just quickly get caught up to
speed on what your birthpreferences are.
And then now things you'll needduring labor.
So wear a comfortable outfit.
Many of the times I see momswearing just a nursing bra and
(12:31):
nothing at all, or they arewearing.
A labor dress or something theybought that's really comfortable
and has, easy access, likebuttons or different things you
can nurse.
But those are a great option ifyou choose not to wear the
hospital gown and really you canwear anything you want or
nothing at all.
(12:51):
I've even had moms labor andgive birth with like full-blown
sweaters on.
So it is just whatever you'recomfortable in, wear that and
just know that even though itseems strange to be laboring
with no bottoms on, when you arelaboring, you are so in the
zone.
You don't even think about howweird it is that you are only
wearing a bra.
So don't think that that'sweird.
(13:13):
It's totally necessary andneeded sometimes.
So just prepare just a couplethings that you might want to
wear for labor to becomfortable, to be able to move
into different positions quicklywithout, having things in your
way.
And just realize too thatanything you wear can get really
dirty, bloody, have meconium,have amniotic fluid, all of the
(13:37):
things.
So just whatever you're wearing,don't be married to it.
It's okay if it gets ruined,destroyed dirty, whatever.
I.
And then some other kind ofpractical things to think about
is having something like a soundmachine or even a speaker
sometimes like that can be oneand the same, where you can play
familiar.
(13:57):
Sounds like if you have a soundmachine that you go to sleep
with or.
Having your labor playlist,which inside the Christian mama
birth prep library, there's aworship labor playlist in there
if you're stumped on what songsto add.
But that's a great thing too, toinclude so that you can just
kind of get the environment setfor you.
(14:18):
Phone charger, having your phonechargers, having a computer or
an iPad if you want to have someentertainment.
Many of the times the hospitalswill have a tv, but you know, if
you want to have something inparticular you want to watch
that's totally fine.
But then also realize, eventhough you're going there for
several days, you will beshocked at how little quote
(14:39):
unquote downtime you have.
So just know that even if youbring your iPad or something
like that to watch something,there's a good chance that you
won't be watching a ton of TVwhile you're there.
And then for your husband'spacking list, make sure that he
is bringing comfortable outfits.
Again, you might be there forseveral days, so make sure that
(15:00):
he's bringing things that arecomfortable, that are layered.
Same premise here.
Make sure he's bringing, asweater or a, some sort of
jacket or something to layersocks, all the things slippers
for him to be walking around onthe hospital floors medications
that he needs to bring, phonecharger, all of just those
(15:22):
essentials.
Make sure he's bringing that.
And then for baby, you'll wantto bring minimal things for baby
Swaddles are a huge one.
Of course, they will have thereceiving blankets and they can
show you how to swaddle yourbaby.
With that, I personally.
Could never get that down pat.
And so we always used like theVelcro kind.
(15:44):
I'll put a link in the shownotes to the kinds that we
liked, with our kids.
But that's really helpful forhelping the baby calm down and
reduce the chance that theirstartle reflex will keep them up
and awake when they can beresting.
And so bring swaddles if youknow ahead of time that you want
to use a different kind than thereceiving blanket swaddle that
(16:05):
they'll provide at the hospital.
I also suggest bringing somenewborn clothes all the way from
size preemie to three months.
Obviously, babies are born alldifferent sizes, and so if you
know you're gonna have a biggerbaby bring, newborn to three to
six month.
If you know you're having a bigbaby, if you know you're having
a small baby, bring some preemieoutfits.
(16:27):
The key here is having thingsthat will cover their feet and
hands.
So onesies are a great option,like little footy pajamas and
socks and mittens.
Those are things that are reallyimportant.
Babies also kind of tend toscratch their face on accident
so that's why mittens are reallygreat too.
It keeps them protected fromthemselves essentially.
(16:49):
And then you'll also want tobring diapers and wipes.
If you're not planning to usethe ones that are provided in
the hospital, they will havediapers and wipes for you.
So if you are totally fine withthat, they'll have that provided
for you.
Same thing with formula.
If you are planning to useFormula, you know that ahead of
time, or say you're wanting tobring it just in case formula is
(17:13):
needed and there's a particularbrand you want to use, feel free
to bring that.
You can even bring expressedcolostrum that early milk that
your body produces ahead ofgiving birth.
And so you can even startcollecting your colostrum ahead
of time and bring that with youto the hospital and they can
save that in the fridge orfreezer.
(17:35):
For you to give to baby if it'sneeded.
Most of the time, women are notneeding the colostrum they've
collected, they just tend tobreastfeed their baby, and
that's all they need.
But if you want to bring thecolostrum just as like a safety
precaution of, just in case it'sneeded, you have a complicated
labor or you're separated fromyour baby for a stretch of time,
(17:55):
something like that.
The colostrum can be saved inthe hospital.
As long as you give them a headsup and you'll want to give that
to them as quickly as possible,so as soon as you get to the
hospital, they are getting thatin the fridge or freezer for
you, and it can stay as fresh aspossible.
And then of course you'll want aspecial going home outfit.
So this can be like we did withEllie, a matching robe and
(18:19):
onesie, a swaddle hat and dadshirt for, you know, when we
were leaving the hospital withEllie.
So if you have something likethat, make sure to pack all
that.
And also having, hats, if that'ssomething that you definitely
have a preference for, they willhave hats for your baby.
But if you have a particular hatyou wanna bring, by all means
bring that as well.
(18:40):
Before we wrap up here, goingover these hospital bag
essentials, I wanna go over whento start packing this hospital
bag.
I would typically say between 34and 36 weeks.
This is just before you'reconsidered.
Full term is a great time tostart packing it.
If you're packing it way tooearly, there's.
Probably things in there thatyou'll really need in that time.
(19:02):
Maybe not, but you can startpacking it earlier, of course.
But I would say be by 34 to 36weeks, really start getting
these things together, makingsure you've washed the clothes
and all those things to put themin your bag.
And then if you forgetsomething, you can have somebody
go run to the store or run toyour home to grab essential
(19:23):
things that you've forgotten,but don't stress about it.
If you do forget something onthis list and just know the
hospital does provide many ofthe basics that you will
absolutely need.
So that's also available to youFor the last minute items like
your toiletries, yourtoothbrush, things like that,
that you cannot pack ahead oftime.
Essentially, make a little listof those things and you can have
(19:47):
somebody help you with thosethings if needed.
If you've listened to my birthstory, I share about this in
episode one, where.
My labor started pretty quicklyand I didn't have a ton of time
to really think about all ofthose last minute things.
I needed to pack my toiletriesmainly.
And so in between contractions,I was having my sister Kellie
(20:09):
help me frantically pack things,and so it would've been so much
nicer if I had just left asticky note or a notepad,
something showing what were mylast minute things so that I
could with less stress.
Get those last minute items inmy hospital bag.
And I also wanted to let youknow if you decide to do virtual
(20:30):
doula support with me, I providemy clients with a Comfort
Measures Essentials handout, andthis gives hyperlinks to all of
my favorite things like theStarry Light Projector, labor
combs, having a portable fan,birth ball, all of those things
that I recommend.
Just to get the environmentright.
If you're a client of mine, youknow where to find all that.
(20:52):
But that's a really, reallygreat resource as well.
Just getting into more nittygritty of things to have in your
labor environment.
I.
And just remember, this is aboutpreparation, not perfection.
So trust your instincts whenyou're going through this
hospital packing list.
If something just doesn't seemlike that's something you would
need, listen to that.
And of course there will beother things on in your hospital
(21:14):
bag besides the things that Ilisted.
But these are just theessentials that come to mind
that can be easily forgotten orjust not thought about, not on
your radar.
I've even had families.
Bring personal items, like apicture of them or something
like that.
Birth affirmations that theirolder kids helped them make.
Things of that nature that justagain, facilitate a sense of
(21:37):
calm for their birthplace.
Before we close, I wanna justtake a moment to pray over you
as you're preparing for yourbaby's arrival.
So let's pray.
Lord Jesus, I lift up thisprecious mama as she's preparing
for the gift of bringing newlife into the world.
I pray that you would fill herheart with peace and excitement
(21:59):
rather than anxiety and fear.
Lord, give her confidence in thebeautiful way you've designed
her body to bring life into theworld, calm any worries about
the unknown, and replace themwith trust and your perfect plan
for her and her baby.
I hope that each thing she packsis a reminder of your
faithfulness and the miraclethat's about to unfold.
(22:22):
Lord, prepare her heart for thejourney ahead, for the strength
she'll need, the joy she'llexperience, and the overwhelming
love that's about to multiply inways she cannot even imagine
yet.
Watch over her, her baby, andher whole family during this
precious time.
It's in Jesus' name I pray.
Amen.
(22:42):
And there you have it, mama.
Your complete hospital bagpacking guide.
I hope walking through this listtogether has given you that
sense of preparedness and peacethat you were looking for.
And remember, this is not aboutperfection.
You don't need to have everysingle item on this list, and if
you do forget something, it willbe okay.
The most important thing you'rebringing to that hospital is
(23:05):
your strength, your love, yourincredible body that's about to
do something absolutely amazing,and most importantly, your faith
in the God who has beencarefully knitting your baby
together in your womb.
He's been preparing both of youfor this moment long before you
ever started packing that bag.
And again, don't forget to grabthe free hospital bag packing
(23:26):
list inside the Christian Mamabirth prep library at
faithoverfearbirth.com, or checkthe link in the show notes.
It will make packing so mucheasier, and then you can check
things off as you go.
There's something verysatisfying about checking things
off of a completed task list.
I am definitely one of thosepeople and it's really helpful
when you're nesting.
(23:47):
I am so excited for you in thisincredible journey you're about
to begin.
God chose you to be this baby'smama, and he's equipping you
with everything you need.
Your body knows what to dobecause he has created it to do
this beautiful work.
I.
If you found this episodehelpful and feel more prepared
and confident, please share thiswith another mom that you know
(24:09):
might need to hear this too.
And as always, I'm cheering youon every step of the way, but
more importantly, your heavenlyfather is holding you in his
hands.
Until next time, keep choosingfaith over fear.
You've got this because he's gotyou.