What to bring for baby...

[Meems]

I have been over a few different birth center/ hosp packing lists and no one really says much about what to bring for baby...

Do we need to bring little gowns/ onesies/ socks/ hats, and what about blankets, will they try to wash my baby (it will be w/ us the whole time in the room) and if so, do I bring my own organic baby wash, my own diapers?

Also, we have a long drive home from the birth center (2.5+hrs) so should I just put everything in a diaper bag and plan to use it on the way home?

[ekblad9]

I would imagine they will have clothes and diapers for you while you are there. You will need an outfit to bring baby home in. You could probably bring your own cloth diapers if you plan to use those. If you don't want them using hospital baby wash I would (and have) bring my own. Other than that I would think you would be set unless you want something special.

HTH.

[p1gg1e]

I would just bring cloth diapers( if your wanting to do that) and going home outfit if needed..You don't have to have the baby bathed there also. DD was born in hosp. and didn't get a bath for like 5 days at least no one noticed and even talked about how good she smelled and how soft her skin was

other wise they most likely have the white shirts and unisex hats they put on them.

[preggymeaggy]

I just packed baby's stuff today.
I brought 1 pair socks, 1 sleeper to come home in, 1 hat, 1 Newborn Bunting with legs, and 1 blanket. We are doing cloth diapers too, but for the hospital I packed a thing of natural disposeables. The only reason being, I think it will be the easiest for us at the hospital. We won't worry about bringing dirties home, bringing covers, etc. Also, to be honest I don't know if the hospital staff would ablige....though she'll be with us anyway. Basically, this is our first time, we don't know what to expect, so we're trying to make it as easy as possible!
As far as the wash goes, I think it should be your decision to get your baby washed at the hospital or not. It might be helpful to watch them do it, but then again, you might just love that newborn smell. Bring your wash just in case. I packed my Weleda diaper rash cream, just in case she should need some diaper changing cream. I'm wacky!
If I had a long car trip home, I would bring an extra outfit, just in case. You could always just leave it in the car. But you guys will probably make it home without a stop. Good luck mama!

[LEAW]

The hospital will provide all mainstream baby products - Johnson&Johnson baby wash, lotion, wipes, Huggies, etc. so fi you are looking to avoid the chemicals in those, you might bring your own. J&J baby wash is pretty harsh imo.

They also have NB size dipes, dd was 9 lbs, so she didn't fit in NB size. We had to ask them to go find size 1 from pedes for us.

As for other baby stuff, they'll probably have white undershirts (our hosp. had side snapping ones, way better than pull over head ones), socks, and hats, and blankets for you to use.

I packed baby things IN the car seat and put one of those shower cap type covers over the top of it all... packed in the seat - 2 sleepers, a blanket, 2 hats, socks, and then we stuffed what wasn't used in my bag to go home, and used car seat for baby.

[teeny_bean]

The hospital where I'll be delivering provides diapers, blankets, clothes, stocking caps, and basically anything else you might need while there. (They also provide gowns and pads and that kind of stuff for the mother.) We can bring our own clothes, blankets, diapers, and toiletries to use on the baby, if we wish. I'm not bringing anything for the baby to wear, though, just for the sake of convenience. A few days in disposable diapers and hospital clothes isn't going to hurt anything, and I don't want to have to worry about keeping track of dirty laundry while in the hospital. I'll be tired! I might lose something really cute!

I've packed him a going home outfit (bodysuit and overalls), a little knitted outerwear set (cardigan, hat, booties), and a blanket for the car seat, and that's about it.

[raeinparis]

wow! we have to bring everything, including diapers and towels for both of us.

i second the side snapping onesies -- their wee heads will have been through enough trauma without having to deal with tshirts over the head.

ds calls...

[timneh_mom]

They provided everything we needed while there, I just brought an outfit for DS to wear home, and a couple of blankets (one of them was heavy) because he was born in November and here in Michigan, it's cold in November most of the time! They even gave us a little hat. They must have volunteers who knit hats for the babies born there because it is definitely hand knit! I still have it!

We also got to take everything home, except for t-shirts, blankets and linens. So we got to keep the dipes, wipes, etc. We already had tons of them at home but this way we got a few extra. (I wasn't CDing back then.)

[Meems]

Thanks you guys!

I will go w/ bringing what I feel comfortable bringing, and not worry about the rest. I have a side snap onesie I may bring, now that you mention it.

[LEAW]

Oh gosh, I meant our hospital provided the side snapping tshirts... they look like little kimonos w/snaps instead of a tie.

[artgoddess]

We brought a cute little outfit to bring my DS home in. So my poor little content baby boy had to go through being stripped down, that's when the screaming started, then changed, then put into the adorable, albeit not very easy to put on outfit, he continued to scream. Screamed all the way through check out, screamed as we tried to figure out how to get him the car seat. This great warm weather outfit I had picked out for him had one of those rip cord bottoms to keep him warm, not so great for putting a babe in a car seat where their legs have to be separated. He fell asleep on the way home, and he just looked so mad at us, even in his sleep.

Next time I bring nothing, s/he'll ride home in whatever he is wearing from the hospital. (well if we use a hospital, we may use a birthing center)

[Meems]

good point, keep 'em comfy!!

[jilly]

You might want to bring one extra sleeper incase you're in the hospital for a couple of days. Our hospital here just has sort of flannel mini-gowns for babies (like adult ones in that they have two ties at the back and never actually cover your whole back and fit properly) so I was glad to have an extra outfit to put him in on the second day. Other than that, yep, everything the pp said. Also, if you do bring an outfit instead of just stretchy pj's, don't forget socks. I didnt' bring any socks or shoes, so I couldn't put Aaron in the cute little outfit I brought for him because his feet would have been too cold, so he just stayed in his sleeper.

Also, the first hospital I gave birth in gave me about a zillion little knitted hats (they were hand knitted, too) which ds1 kept knocking off, but this hospital just gave us part of a knit tube with an elastic band on the top for if his head got cold, so you might want to bring a hat for going home in, just in case.

[lanielayne]

For my hospital birth I brought everything for baby. I didn't want to use their things. It just made me more comfortable. I wore my own gown and things as well (except for during the birth because they *insisted* it would get "ruined": ).