Drfunke Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Hello all... So my good lady wife is due to give birth in just over 1 month. Pretty much all sorted for baby McG to arrive... Just wondered if there was anything you could recommend to take to the hospital in a bag for her. Heard water sprays, wet wipes, choclate etc. What kinda stuffhelped you out or you think wouldve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MungoChutney Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I packed a bag for my then missus and didn't even open it after we were in the labour suite. In all honesty mate the best advice I can give you is be calm, because she won't be. Focus on helping her and if you're worried at any point, don't let her see that you are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbacon85 Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Something to play music on or watch somethings on. All the wipes, oils etc are great, but it can be a long drawn out Iron Man match type affair and all they really want is to take their mind off it. We had quiz books for our first and whiled away a couple hours with that. Second was born at home so she had Harry Potter on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted February 21, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted February 21, 2016 In all honesty mate the best advice I can give you is be calm, because she won't be. Focus on helping her and if you're worried at any point, don't let her see that you are. This really. There's not a great deal you can do other than just be there. Pack a bag by all means but the main thing is just, as Mungo said, try to be a calming presence. I'm saying this like I can give advice but I was useless when my daughter was being born. Fucking woeful. Never felt so helpless and like a spare part in my life. The hospital staff and nurses were doing their thing obviously, my girlfriend was brilliant, her mum was there saying all the things I should've been saying...and then there was me. I was just shit. That was my input. I didn't know what to do. I was a panicky mess. And the worst thing is I was all cocky coming up to the due date thinking I was ready for it, until it was actually happening. All I could keep thinking about was that bit in Peep Show where Sophie's in labour and Mark's pissing about in the arcade and stuff. Not a good idea looking at Peep Show as a reference for a 'What should I do in this situation?' I didn't go to the arcade, at least.* When really, it didn't matter what I did anyway. The nurses were handling everything perfectly. It was all worth it in the end, of course. But I look back on that day and it's all a blur. You'll be fine mate. I'm pretty sure you can't be as shit as I was. So yeah, pack what you think you'll need, ask your missus if there's anything specific she'll really need you to have at the ready. But in general, just try to be calm and enjoy the madness of the moment. *There wasn't one near the hospital. Oh, and congratulations! All the best for the birth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Danger Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I nearly missed them taking my wife in to theatre because I was getting some corned beef pasties from Morrisons. So take some of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members waters44 Posted February 21, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted February 21, 2016 It sounds obvious but remember to pack a bag for the baby with clothes and nappies etc. Also take the car seat - we left hospital about 5 hours after my daughter was born, which is quite common believe it or not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallicks Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Toothbrush. That's about it. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.E Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Have you been to any of the classes? if not I recommend it, highly informative for everything to do with the birth/newborn stuff. For the bag, couple of like nighties, pack of wetwipes, pack of sanitary towels (is the the name), and then stuff like books/games/biscuits/snacks etc, for before and after the birth, depending on how long you're there. When Mr's E had out little one we were in/out fairly quickly, but its handy to have pretty much everything just in case. Barring that, best of luck to you my friend, its a stressfull time for all and a big learning curve, but well worth it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dopper Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Same as MungoChutney here. My wife laid flat out on the bed for 25 hours getting as much gas & air as she could, and her carefully pre-prepared bag was never opened. She said afterwards that me just being there was all she was bothered about, in case anything went wrong. So I just sat there and left her to it. Excellent suggestion from gbacon85 on the music. We didn't think of that in advance, but the hospital had a radio on in her room which I think helped. Good luck to you and your missus, hope it all goes well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Red Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 It's a hard thing to gauge really, pack plenty of food, wipes and yourself a couple of changes of clothes. Take stuff to keep you both occupied, books, music, if you have a tablet that too. With our first daughter my wife was in labour for 43 hours, and we were under prepared. 2nd time round we packed for war and didn't even make it to the hospital as baby couldn't wait and was delivered in our living room! I'll echo earlier sentiments as well and say be strong, be there for her and take it all on the chin. You can go have a cry in the toilet afterwards if you need to but be a rock for her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Coconut Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Candles and water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grecian Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Plan for the worst case scenario. My first daughter weighed less than 5lbs, so had to stay in hospital for 5 days to make sure she was okay. I ended up ferrying stuff back and forth to wash it, take in fresh clothes, books, etc. second one was home five hours after being born and the bag was never opened! As others have said - just be there, be strong. Don't beat yourself up if you do forget something, you can always get it afterwards and the hospital will have the essentials. Make sure you do have a camera / camera-phone, but don't shove it in your lady's face straight away. If she's drawn up a birth plan, make sure you know what it is. Other than that, you will be utterly useless during the birth, so encourage, mop sweat, and don't make jokes about how she's just shat herself whilst pushing. It won't go down well! Try and enjoy it, seeing your children being born is an utterly awesome, life-changing experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members tiger_rick Posted February 22, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted February 22, 2016 Don't over think it. Nightwear, clean clothes, plenty of underwear, panty liners and plenty to drink afterwards - probably not lager! Baby needs a few outfits, really warm stuff whatever the weather outside and layer up. Nappies, bottles if you're not breast feeding, wipes. Don't forget your camera and something to amust yourselves. It's fucking boring afterwards once the novelty of watching a baby sleep wears off. After that it's just stuff that makes you feel comfortable. I'd recommend calm music. When we had the first one, we just had the radio on, Magic FM or something. It was lovely for a while and then the Crazy Frog advert came on while she was having a contraction and she went fucking mental. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dopper Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 I got sent home for the night after my wife gave birth at 10:16pm and was only allowed back at 9:00am the following morning. Is that common at a lot of hospitals, or is it just our crappy small-time hospital that doesn't allow Fathers to stay overnight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boytoy Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 I got sent home for the night after my wife gave birth at 10:16pm and was only allowed back at 9:00am the following morning. Is that common at a lot of hospitals, or is it just our crappy small-time hospital that doesn't allow Fathers to stay overnight? If they took to a ward afterwards that's not uncommon. Both my two kids were complicated births. Best advice I can think of is to be supportive and remember that it is a million times worse for her. As others have said there is very little useful to do and the midwives all do a fantastic job and will take good care of her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.