C-Section: Hospital Bag for Mama & baby (Delivered in bg)

I am thankful I brought this. The hospitals in BG do not provide you with a bottle. Even though I was not sore from delivering vaginally, I was sore every time I had to move from my incision. The less bending at the waist or twisting, the better! I filled this with warm water before my potty breaks and it was my favorite item.

I just had a simple lightweight robe and some simple gray slippers (that I chucked in the wash when I got home and still were good). The robe helped me take my supplies to the bathroom. I shared a room with another girl and the two bathrooms were shared on the floor. I would slip my peri bottle and diaper into the pocket and was able to use one hand to press on my incision and the other to stabilize.

I ordered mine from Target and purchased two 16 count packages. These were great. I found that they helped cover my incision, which made me feel more secure after my bandage was removed. I also appreciated the ease of chucking them in the trashcan. I read about the bleeding and this was not something I would have thought necessary for a c-section, wrong. 100% necessary. My hospital did provide maxi pads and possibly diapers but I just brought my own. I continued to use these when I got home as well. I did have to rip the seams around the legs to give myself some more room. I probably could have sized up due to all the fluid I retained. It took a week or more for all of my extra fluid to flush out of my system! I was not prepared for that.

I did buy and bring these shorts. I did not prefer them . One thing to note is that these are only underwear, you still have to add a pad! I learned that the hard way…which I don’t know why I did not realize that when I put them on. There obviously isn’t any padding to catch anything. The mind is a crazy things after having a baby. These were flatter than the diapers but overall, I preferred wearing the diapers.

The recovery is different in BG than the USA. In the States, they tell you to drink plenty of fluids to help get rid of excess gas, flush out the medicine, etc. In BG, I was limited water. They told me I had to drink less because they associated my water intake to the lingering gas in my stomach. I was SO thirsty. My husband brought me drinks with electrolytes and I had a few packets from the States. I put them in my Stanley water bottle without them knowing. 🤫 I trusted the doctors but I also knew my own body. I needed hydration, especially since I wanted to breastfeed! I was thankful for the little drinks and packets I had. I wish I had more during that time and the weeks after. I did not know what to look for in BG or where, now I know they also have hydration packets at the pharmacies! I also found some online.

I think this goes with the one above-dryness & dehydrated. I was so dry! I originally brought vaseline because I read it was good for baby’s first thick tar-like poopies. I used it for myself more than baby girl. In the midst of sleep deprivation, healing, pain management, and everything else..dry lips did not need to be a concern or aggravation. I kept chapstick by my bedside table and reapplied often. I also used Burt’s Bees but then was nervous about the honey part around my baby..maybe that was a first time mom or postpartum worry. Anyone else?

My 3 night mandatory stay, ended up being 5 nights due to an infection my daughter had that started in utero. I graduated from my liquid diet 2 days after surgery and was hungry!! My body was producing milk, recovering, and doing the most. I was very grateful for my savory snacks and chocolate. The chocolate helped my mental stage as well! Some providers advise to not eat chocolate due to the possibility of caffeine being transferred via breast milk…but I threw caution to the wind and ate my celebratory chocolate. I just had major surgery, I deserved a treat! I also munched on my snacks before my c-section, I was admitted due to being overdue so I was just chillin’ in the hospital alone, of course I snacked! The ladies who helped move my bags definitely judged me for the food I brought, too!

I’m very thankful for the journaling I did before my surgery and the days after. Everything was sharper and many months later, the intensity of the moment has passed and I’ve already forgotten certain things. I was gifted the 5-year journal and was surprised how much I truly loved it. I started it on Jan 1st because the book starts on Jan 1st (you write in the years). It has been really sweet to go back and see what happened on each day and I’m excited to keep it up throughout the years.

The amount of baby memory books overwhelmed me. I went onto Amazon and found one that had prompts that I figured I could keep up with and picked this one The Story of You Baby book. It has been a good baby book. I did start a secondary scrapbook just for additional pictures, ultrasounds, heart tone tests, etc. This book will be great to pass down to my daughter when she is older for her to read and go through!

I’m not sure what the delivery ward of a USA hospital is like but I know what a normal room is like- busy and noisy! It makes sense, there is a lot going on! I was very surprised how quiet my stay in the BG hospital was during the night (other than the babies). I was in a private hospital, so there were a limited number of patients. After dinnertime and evening meds, the nurses go do whatever the nurses do and we were left alone. The nurses did not come in to check my temperature or blood pressure throughout the night and we were not given medicine throughout the night. I think the doctor would come in around 10pm and ask if we had any pain. Even though the interruptions were limited, babies were still crying and people were being helped when necessary, so a sound machine was nice to help drown out the noise. I also knew I was going to use one at home. This is the one! It worked great. I turned it down low and had it beside my head so I did not disturb my roommate. Worked great!