The Hospital Survival Kit for new mothers (with printables)

Major life events tend to come in waves sometimes. After graduating from college, it seemed like everyone was getting hitched. I spent that summer working to afford the wedding gifts I needed to buy for the 7 weddings I attended and the 2 bridesmaid dresses I needed to buy for the ones I was in. (I have to say though, all that wedding food was delish. I think the treadmill and I spent a good deal of time together that summer working off all the wedding cake). And yes, it was totally worth it.

After the weddings, a little time went by, I got married myself, then those friends whose weddings I went to started having babies And within a month of getting married, I was pregnant myself. When I packed my baby bag, I tried to be as prepared as I could be since I was new at this whole baby thing. I had that bag packed like I was going out of town for a month. But there were a few things I wish I had brought with me.

After having 2 children at different hospitals, and spending a month and a half on hospital bed rest with my last (you can read more about that lovely experience HERE and HERE), I know there are a few things that new mothers don't necessarily think about packing for their stay. Since a good friend of mine is due with her first any day, I decided to put together a bag of some of these things for her. This is more of a supplement to the actual hospital bag, since I assume most mothers-to-be know to pack the essentials like a toothbrush and toothpaste, clothes for the baby, etc.

The Hospital Survival Kit - a bag full of those extra things that help make a new mother's stay at the hospital a little more tolerable. And I'm sharing the printables with you so you can make one for a friend too!

Just print out the "Hospital Survival Kit" label provided below on card stock, cut out, and use craft glue to glue to attach it to the front of a paper gift bag (don't overdo it with the glue or your label will wrinkle).

For the circular tag, cut out the provided tag and use a hole punch to punch a hole in the top, then attach to one of the gift bag handles with coordinating ribbon.

Then fill 'er up!

Here are some ideas for things to include in the survival kit:

1. Headband and hair ties: When you're focusing on riding out those painful contractions everything gets on your nerves, including stray hair in your face. Plus after being in a hospital bed for 10 hours, your hair tends to look like a troll doll's. When a hoard of family and friends show up to visit you and your little bundle, you're gonna want to tie that mess up.

2. A healthy snack: Many times, babies don't plan their arrival at a convenient hour. My first was polite enough to be born in the evening right before American Idol began, so no problem there. My son, however, was born at 12:37am. By that time there was no available food service for this hungry mama, so I ended up eating a handful of graham crackers and a packet of peanut butter. Unless you prefer to eat like you're in daycare again, snacks are a must. They're also a nice substitute for the hospital food if it turns out to be nasty.

3. A not-so-healthy snack: Chocolate. Because you just gave birth to a person. I'd say you deserve some chocolate, wouldn't you?

4. Face cleansing wipes: Facial wipes to remove makeup and dirt are so helpful to a mother who just had a baby because most of the time you can't get out of bed. Plus, something as simple as washing your face or brushing your teeth make you feel human again after having a baby.

5. Chap stick and other personal care items: How torturous is it that you're not allowed to drink anything when you're in labor? Forget the stinkin' ice chips, somebody breathe on my ice chips and melt them into water!! So of course since you're denied water, your lips tend to become dry and chapped. Take it from me, chap stick is a life saver. And it's even better when it's Burt's Bees pomegranate chap stick, because it's the best chap stick. Ever.

6. Breath mints: After hours of labor and ice chips, it's so refreshing to have a breath mint to suck on. Also, Who wants to waste time brushing your teeth when you have an adorable little bundle to snugglet?

______________________________________________________________

Click HERE to download and print labels to make your own Hospital Survival Kit. I included labels in pink for a baby girl, blue for a baby boy, and a neutral green as well.

(The labels are approximately 7 1/2" x 3")

How fun would it be to do a separate kit with essentials for the father-to-be? I know my husband would have loved some gift cards to his favorite fast food restaurant so he wasn't forced to eat the hospital food.

What would you add to your Hospital Survival Kit if you made one?

Linking up!

Show and Tell Wednesday at Blue Cricket Design