The Hospital Bag: Reality Check

Here's is a quick account of what was and was not needed during our hospital stay a couple of weeks ago.  It turns out I may have over packed a little...  It's worth noting that we pulled into the hospital at 8pm and Jackson was born at 12:38am (just 4 hours and 38 minutes later)!  I'll argue that I would have used more of the things I packed had my labor lasted longer (not that I would have wanted that, of course).  I highlighted the items that I found useful and crossed off the items that were not...

• copy of my birth plan (I think this was useful to think about ahead of time, but you really have no idea how things are going to go until you're in labor and it's best to just go with the flow.  I never took this out of the bag.)
• ipod & docking station (I listened to my labor playlist for the first couple of hours.  Once things started to get more "intense" I vaguely remember demanding that the music be turned off.) 
• camera & charger
• video camera (We forgot to pack this and ended up just using the video function on our camera.)
• Sex and the City DVDs (I decided not to pack these at the last minute, but I still got my SATC fix...  I caught an episode on E! while nursing.)
• nursing gown & robe
• slippers
• socks
• nursing camis  (I wanted out of my hospital gown immediately, so these were very useful.)
• breast pads 
• sweat pants
• toiletries (shampoo, body wash, deodorant, toothpaste, etc...)
• lotion (for massages during labor)
• tennis ball (for massage, not tennis)
• heating pad (I didn't use this in the hospital because things moved so quickly, but I used it all day at home to help me through early labor).
• snacks (power bars, hard candy, mints, crackers)
• baby book
• baby blanket
• going home outfit for Jackson (with hat, mittens)
• Bundle Me

Things to add at the last minute:

• pillows (We forgot to bring our pillows and boy did we regret it!  This is partially to blame for the fact that I hardly slept a wink during my hospital stay.)
• cell phones & charger
• lap top
• make-up, brush, hair dryer
• glasses
• contact lens case & solution
• "Water for Elephants" (No time for reading...)

Other items to bring:

• exercise ball
• car seat
• purse
• boppy
• diaper bag