What to pack?!

I went into preterm labor at 32 weeks. Thankfully they were able to slow everything down, I got shots to help baby’s lungs, Which is effecting my gestational diabetes. Currently still having here & there contractions.
I am scrambling over here, I feel as though I have so much to get done.

Anyways, my youngest is 7 & I am totally blanking on what to pack, I don’t want to over or under pack for baby. What are some things you found helpful & necessary?

If anyone has or is going through the same thing, please reach out, support would be nice! 🫣

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Just the essentials. What do you pack when you travel. Toiletries like tooth brush tooth paste hair brush shampoo conditioner soap

Clothes like sweatpants and a big t shirt but also maybe a loose dress incase you’re so swollen for when you leave. A robe would be nice and nursing bras so you can wear that around the hospital since you won’t want to wear clothes. Slippers and shower shoes

For baby bring newborn and 0-3 month outfits. Announcement picture outfit and coming home. But in the hospital they will most likely be naked. Bring a blanket and or swaddle blanket. Pacifiers but that’s about it

I saw a night light as well that way when you are there overnight they don’t blast you when they’re doing check ins. I’m bringing a sound machine as well just so I can start sleep associations earlier on.

I feel you, my son is 6 so it's been a while since I've done all this. I feel like a whole new first time mom. I haven't packed my bag yet but will be soon. I plan on obviously the normal toiletries, my nursing night gown, a pair of pjs to wear home and a nursing sleep bra and a robe. For baby I'm taking 2 sleepers (one nb and one 0-3) to go home in and a swaddle and bow that match my robe for pictures. Hubby will have a pair of basketball shorts and t-shirt. Ill also have a stroller fan to help me through labor, and snacks. I'll most likely be wearing my slippers when I go in because that's all I live in now and my 40oz water cup never leaves my side so I'll have that too.

Hey how did you know it was preterm labor ? I’m currently 32 weeks with a 7 year old as well ☺️ my Braxton hicks are really strong and comes every 3 mins ! I’m so scared I’m also a bus driver what if I go into labor with my students lol they willl be traumatized

I was having a lot of pressure ( still am) felt like she was trying to fall out for a few weeks before & I was having contractions randomly, felt different from my usual Braxton hicks. Then they went from random to every 7-5 minutes then every 5 minutes. Once I got to the hospital they went from oh your having them every 5 minutes to 3 minutes to off the charts & I was shaking & crying. Thankfully they got them to stop. I am still having them randomly with zero dilation. Take it as easy as you can!

in our community

Anyone else up feeding their Bebe?

As above. Trying so hard to keep my eyes open

Oh my God, oh my God I hope this is not true!!!! I’m kind of scared

I’ve been throwing up and taking a shit all night!!! I just hope that it’s not what I think it is

Is this normal??

I’m 29 weeks pregnant and having really aching legs and they’re all lumpy and swollen. Above the knee and behind the knee . Should I be worried ? My legs have never looked like this up until a few days ago. ??

Anyone else experiencing this?

Gave birth (vagina) 5 days ago and yesterday morning and this morning getting lot of pain in my right bottom side and lower back

Exercise 6 weeks after c section

What movement did people start to introduce? I won’t do anything too vigorous until I’ve seen the pelvic physio as I don’t want to compromise anything that may have been extremely weakened through pregnancy! But just wondering what types of classes/movement people started off with?

Induction experience

I just wanted to share my experience with being induced as I wasn’t sure what to expect and thought it may help others.

I opted for the foley balloon which was inserted at 8am Saturday morning, I had to stay in hospital due to hypertension and protein urine however usually you can just go home once this has been done. The insertion of the balloon was not painful, was slightly uncomfortable as there was slight pressure. I actually found having the cervix checked prior to be worse (again not painful at this point just uncomfortable) The balloon had little effect and after having it removed I was still only 1cm. Removal also was pain free and hardly even noticeable.

I then had my first dose of the gel and definitely noticed a difference, I started experiencing period like cramps almost immediately however they were light and manageable. After 6 hours I had another cervix check and although my cervix was soft it was still only 1cm and was only open at the front. I had another dose of the gel and felt an increase in pressure and more intense cramping where I now required pain relief (codeine). After another 6 hours I had another cervix check and I had now dilated to 2-3cm however was still quite difficult to get all the way through so a third gel was recommended which I agreed to.

Almost immediately I noticed the difference and was in considerable pain, I had paracetamol and codeine however the contractions had now become intense and a lot closer together (around 3 minutes apart). After a couple of hours I had my last cervix check and was 4cm and taken down to the Labour ward to have my waters broken and an epidural.

I had been in my room for approx 20minutes when my waters broke by themselves and I was now 10cm and actively pushing…. There was no time for the epidural and my beautiful girl arrived into the world within 2 minutes of pushing.

All in all I would say the cramps/contractions were manageable up until the third gel where it became pretty unbearable however it was for a very short time a gas and air helped take the edge off. The worst part about any of it was actually the later cervix checks where after stimulating the cervix my contractions were at their most painful.

If I had to be induced again I would skip the balloon and opt for the gels immediately as thy had a quicker effect and I would have been out a lot sooner if I had done this to begin with.

One more thing, I’ve never believed when people say “you forget the pain once they’re here” but I can honestly say this is true. It’s been 4 days and I would do it all again in a heartbeat.