I gave birth in a crowded NYC hospital seven months into the global pandemic, so my postpartum stay was…lowercase-t traumatic at best. Those few days in the hospital after giving birth were some of the worst I can remember. (And that’s after interviewing multiple friends, reading every article, and creating multiple type-A documents to prep.) When my husband’s parents picked us up, they said we were white as ghosts, like we had just returned from war. So as a way of processing, I’ve texted every pregnant person I know (including people who didn’t ask), everything I could to make their stay better. Here’s everything I wish I had—and why.
Warning: there are multiple spoiler alerts about labor in here, so don’t read if you don't want to know the horrors that await you!
What is a padisickle, your sweet naive brain is asking? It is a frozen maxi pad with an adhesive, a godsend really, for tearing after you give birth. I definitely needed more padsickles than what the hospital gave us. I had no idea how to create the ice diaper witch hazel sandwich at first, and a bunch ended up falling out during every bathroom break. The mean nurse even gave me a hard time when I kept asking for more, so I was glad I stashed a few Frida Mom padsickles in my suitcase. Note that most moms do not have this experience (and in fact leave the hospital armed with a duffel-bag size of supplies to take home), but just in case you’re unlucky like me, it can't hurt to throw a few of those babies in. It also took forever to get restocked sometimes (see: busy city hospital above) so I was glad I brought a few extra...but again that could be a NYC thing or I just had bad luck that weekend.
This became a multi-purpose pillow to sit on (necessary if you tear!)/sleep on/use for breastfeeding, so I was happy I packed this even though it felt so bulky at the time.
Hospitals are loud and full of endless beeps from all directions at all times of night. This travel white-noise machine ensured we got what little sleep we could.
The awful new “Baby-Friendly” Hospital Initiative (B.F.H.I.) means nurses no longer give out pacifiers to “supposedly” help with early breastfeeding success (this is total BS, btw). Definitely bring your own as they are a lifesaver (in more ways than one) and do not let them guilt you into not using them.
Your own pillows
Almost everything about the hospital stay will be uncomfortable, so whatever you could do to add a sense of comfort is worth it—even if it means schlepping an extra suitcase for this stuff. You are likely at your worst so anything resembling home will mean a lot.
For your breasts in between feedings (it took like four nurses and 3 days for them to bring me something like that so I was glad I had my own, but one fell on the floor… that happened a lot to me lol).
I didn’t bring one and regretted it, because at one point I was literally holding her while trying to sleep since she would cry otherwise.
Your own meds!
You’re technically not allowed to do this since everything has to be recorded in your chart for safety reasons, but again, because there’s a lag time and multiple approvals for everything, I was so glad I brought my own over-the-counter Miralax and Colace for that first terrifying postpartum poop.
I didn’t end up pumping at the hospital, but my friend did, and that was her big regret, so I tell everyone to bring one! (Again, research was conducted! And yet…).
Unless you want to learn how to use a blanket since that’s all they provide (and no, you will not have the cognitive function or physical prowess to learn this completely new skill at this sleep-deprived time in your life).
Vaseline and Water Wipes
Meconium baby poop is really sticky those first few days, and we couldn’t find any wet wipes (again, they could have been there but no one showed us where or how to use them—lowercase-t trauma, ok?). We were terrified of hurting this tiny little fragile thing just a day old and no one warned us about how sticky those first baby poops are, so I’m warning you now. 1) Bring your own Water Wipes just in case - the skin is super sensitive, so nothing else will do. 2) Even better, prep the tiny little baby butt with vaseline at every diaper change so the poop won’t stick and wiping won’t feel like your baby’s first little lowercase-t trauma.
Lots of snacks!
We were up all night and the cafe was closed for normal human hours. You’re like a starving zombie animal postpartum, so nourishment is VERY important. It is the only thing that will keep you going.
Yelena Shuster
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