I brought (now missing) plastic birks. Was washing blood off when I showered a few days later
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We were told partners/ birth supporters needed to bring flipflops and bathers/ boardshorts if assisting us in the shower etc. Because only birthing person was allowed to be naked.
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I just wore the hospital socks everywhere - they give you endless pairs! But I also just wore the hospital gown for birth, and I know some people like to be in their own stuff so ymmv. I liked having the ability to just grab a new gown when the one I had on got sweaty and we didn’t allow any visitors to the hospital so I didn’t care who saw me. I finally got dressed in real clothes after showering post labor.
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That is also when I like to change into my own nightgown or something, is after I’m allowed to shower. But my births were both c sections so I would have been gowned regardless.
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Some people like to bring their own (cuter?) hospital gowns, but aside from not wanting to purchase one, I didn’t want to be in the same gown for all of labor. For a planned c-section it would probably be ok, but not worth it IMO. I did pick one up on buy nothing for my glam sister though. She has her babies quick and always wants to look good.
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Maybe my niece would like one if she goes ahead with her home birth idea… that could be an auntie present for her. She also is pretty glam and there won’t be a hospital gown to wear!
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Are they nonslip? We don’t get socks here! Just one gown during labour and one after- the after gown is usually pretty gross and I switch to pyjamas or something after a bunch of hours (maybe my second or third bathroom trip?)
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Everything gets billed to insurance so I had a drawer full of gowns to change as often as I wanted. And yes the socks are non-slip! When we left they told us to take anything/everything that wasn’t a linen (gowns, swaddles, towels, etc.) Because it was all.billed to insurance and some was going be tossed. So we brought home a thermometer, comb, two bags of diapers, etc.
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Yep, anything open and disposable taken into the room gets tossed for infection control most places. The nurse I shadowed on mother and baby in nursing school would always “accidentally” open multiple packs of diapers in the rooms where it was pretty clear it was a lower income family. Formula samples too if they weren’t BFing.
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I only got a gown for my second labour, first i did in my own clothes (i had my tank top still on when he came out and had to strip to bf). And for second labour, it was just one gown, then change into my own clothes.
Moral of story: check these details with your specific hospital/ birth area because they vary a LOT.
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I’m not actually sure if I got a second gown the first labour, but I remember them peeling and dressing me this time - but also both times were a blood bath, so it could be situation dependent for if they change you after delivery here? I almost didn’t get one to deliver in this time, and when I delivered i had mostly stripped it off.
From birth forums it seems like American hospitals have WAY more stuff! Here you bring your own diapers etc. and they only give you the first pad free
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Yep, that’s heavily influenced by the fact that hospital reimbursement by the federal government is dictated by patient satisfaction scores as a very heavily weighted factor.
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Oh wow, yes we got non slip socks, and the nurses were careful to tell us to take everything we wanted. The room had a stack of gowns and all the recovery paraphernalia (pads/ice packs/peri bottle) ready to go too.
At my last one, the nurse told us that she had had a patient strip the bed and take the sheets and the clock on the wall. That is definitely not how it is supposed to go, but she said the patient had been very difficult and basically challenged her to say anything. She said, “I don’t get paid enough to start a brawl with a patient. I told her to enjoy her new clock.” I guess it’s a good thing they bolt the tv to the wall.
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Ha ha, it’s interesting because in the peds department they do supply diapers - they weigh dirty diapers so they supply them to be consistent. And they were giving me milk bottles and nipples. For each they would give me a 4-12 h supply at once and then I’d have to ask for more. So at checkout I did take most of what they’d left because they definitely would have been throwing out anything they couldn’t wash. And I’m sure the department does get in trouble if too much is being used up. I hope they do give more supplies to struggling families
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Having one of those days where I’m like…really? “They” are gonna just let me be a parent??? Just like that!??
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I don’t know if this is a helpful reframe or not, but I was talking to a coworker last week who had been fixated on one of the safe sleep rules and if she was doing it right and then she reframed it for herself by saying “you know what, teenagers and drug addicts raise healthy babies. Nothing I do is going to hurt my baby.” I thought that was a valid point and something to think about when I feel like I’m not qualified or don’t know enough to be a good parent.
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Yeah IDK. I don’t love the idea of comparing myself to children or people struggling with addiction. But I suppose it does remind me to be grateful that I don’t have those additional hurdles
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That’s fair!
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Everything is itching today. I need some kind of pregnancy oil lotion stuff, I guess? Regular body lotion not cutting it. Have to be careful because I do have eczema. Maybe a gentler body soap is the first step? The bar I have right now has poppy seeds in it, which is fine for healthy skin but not angry skin
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