What do I Bring?
The following are suggestions as to what to bring when arriving to have your baby at Hunterdon Medical Center.
Labor bag
- Labor review sheets (from classes you may have taken)
- Watch with a secondhand
- For Hypnobirth® parents, your rainbow relaxation and birth affirmations tape, birth companion’s deepening script and birth guide/prompts
- Item(s) to provide a focal point, if desired
- For back pain relief: two tennis balls in a sock, a rolling pin, a can of soda
- Socks, slippers, bathrobe if desired
- Chapstick, mouthwash, toothbrush, and paste
- Lollipops
- Hairbrush, barrette, rubber bands for long hair
- Music: CD, iPod, etc.
- Hand fan
- Aromatherapy (potpourri or essential oils) if desired. (No lit candles, but battery tealights are welcomed.)
- Phone numbers of family and friends
- Your baby book for newborn footprints, if desired
- Camera
For Mom, after the baby is born
- Robe(s) and 3-4 nightgowns. If you plan to nurse, front opening and buttoning gowns are helpful. You can also bring sweats or similar loose-fitting clothing if desired. (We find that nursing nightgowns frequently don’t have openings large enough to be able to breastfeed easily, so please leave these at home.)
- Bras, two or more (if nursing, no elastic straps or underwires)
- If your partner is staying overnight, please remember to pack pajamas for him/her as well!
- 6-7 pairs of panties (we will provide you with disposable panties to wear initially. Most new mothers, however, find it more comfortable to switch to their own panties after the first day, although the disposable ones may be washed and re-worn.)
- Personal care items
- Clothes to wear home
For Baby
- You may bring clothing for the baby to wear while here; otherwise, your baby will be dressed in a diaper and long-sleeved undershirt and wrapped securely in a receiving blanket.
- Car seat
- Undershirt or onesie
- Dress or stretch suit
- Sweater and hat, if the weather is cool
- 4–6 receiving blankets
- Light fleece or Polartec snowsuit (no thick snowsuits should be placed under the car seat straps!) and heavy blanket (if it’s cold outside).