What you should pack for the birth

Everyone and every shop will tell you or give you a rough idea of what you need for your hospital bag. But here are some things that you should definitely pack as recommended by new mothers.
Jo says “Bring a bottle of Eau Thermale Avene spring water with you. A 150ml bottle is £7 at Boots, it’s expensive but worth it as you get very hot and bothered in the labour room and even if your partner has a cold compress handy it’s good to have a bottle of this to spray over your skin to help soothe your skin that gets really dry.”

Laura says “Take plenty of snacks. Anything from homemade sandwiches (or shop bought) and make sure you have plenty of liquids with you, especially those sport style drinks like Lucozade sport.You will get hungry and your mouth gets really dry especially if you’re on gas and air.”

Selena says “Bring an extra pair of socks with you as your feet will get cold. I bought a pack of thick woolly socks from Primark. They only cost £2 and they kept my feet nice and toasty whilst we waited through every contraction for my baby to arrive.”

Emily says “Don’t forget your lip balm, it’s a lifesaver, honestly. Your lips get really dry and you can drink as much water as you like but without the helpful hand of some Vaseline lip balm, it’s really quite pointless. Chapstick is just as good.”

Andrea says “Bring your own pillow. I’m not sure if you’ve stayed in a hospital before but their bedding is not the comfiest! Home comforts like your own pillow can make you feel a little more relaxed, especially in a tense situation.”

Lucy says “You are recommended to bring a toiletries bag and I definitely would recommend you bring it with you. The shower after birth is one of the best feelings in the world. Being able to wash your hair with your favourite shampoo and use your favourite shower gel, it’s just bliss.”

Tabitha says “Bring your toothbrush and toothpaste. It’s such a nice feeling to be able to brush your teeth after you’ve cleaned up. The mintier the better!”

Elizabeth says “If you think you have enough babygro’s, you don’t. Within moments of wrapping my firstborn up in his first babygro, his poo got all over his first nappy and babygro. We hadn’t thought about bringing anymore than two with us, but I know that with this pregnancy, we’ll have plenty ready, just in case.”

Maggie says “Make sure your going home outfit is loose and comfortable. You will still look a little pregnant when you come out and if you didn’t fit into leggings beforehand, don’t chance it when you come out, the chances are you won’t be able to fit into them straight after birth either.”

Sarah says “Bring with you a huge Galaxy chocolate bar or whatever is your favourite block of chocolate. Honestly after you’ve pushed out a watermelon through that tiny hole and she was asleep, I wanted nothing more than a mug of tea and a big bar of my favourite chocolate.”

Aashirya says “Bring extra spare clothes. My birth was quite complicated and they insisted that I stay in hospital a couple more days. A hospital bag doesn’t necessarily have to mean one!”

Amber says “Even if you’re having a home birth, pack a hospital bag just in case.”

And here’s what the dad’s said:

Lee says “Bring comfortable shoes. I got the call whilst at the office and only had my smart office shoes with me. We spent about 12 hours pacing the corridors whilst she went through hell with her contractions. I don’t think I climbed that many stairs in my life, but I wished I brought my trainers with me.”

Jon said “My wife may not agree but I brought my iPad so that I could watch Sky Sports on it. There was a lot of waiting around and most of the time my wife wanted peace and quiet during her contractions and me no where near so I brought my earphones and tuned into my sports.”

Lewis says “Whilst my girlfriend had a nap, I wanted to change my daughter’s nappy. Nothing can prepare you for the amount of poop that comes out of something so small. I wasted about 7 nappies until a nurse laughed and showed me properly the ropes. I was just so nervous as I didn’t want to put it on too tight. Thankfully I know for future if we have anymore children that we have enough nappies for about a week!”

Noah says “Bring an extra bag for yourself. You may already look like you’re going on holiday for a month with her hospital bag and baby’s hospital bag, but make sure to bring a backpack of your own with you too. You may want to bring some clothes with you if you stay the night and all those extra snacks are super useful not just for you but keeping her energy up in the hardest of moments.”

Edwards says “Bring loose change. You may be in there for hours on end and if your car is packed in the car park, nothing is worse than taking your newborn home with a hefty parking fine.”

Dylan says “Make sure your phone is fully charged. Once your baby arrives you’ll turn trigger happy taking pictures of their hands, feet, ears. I did it all. I was banned from taking pictures and video’s during birth but wanted to capture his every movement when he came into the world. Bring your charger with you just in case though so you can ready yourself for all the calls that are to come too. You won’t believe how many phone calls, texts and Facebook notifications come through once the world is alerted that your baby is here.”

Matthew says “Bring swimwear. I didn’t think to bring swimwear whilst rushing around packing my bag last minute. Which didn’t help when a birthing pool became free and I could only kneel outside the pool and not be in there with her. If my boxers weren’t white, I would have been right in there with her.”