Packing For My VBAC – Inside My Hospital Bag for Baby #4

I’ve went early with all of my babies, so I couldn’t put off packing any longer. I had been struggling with what to pack because I wasn’t sure I would get the VBAC I so desperately wanted. It was hard thinking of  buying and packing a bunch of stuff for the birth I wanted and never using it – again.

So I packed for both.

I know minimalism is in right now, but the anxiety I had surrounding my birth was driving me to pack for all scenarios.

You know the basics you don’t want to forget: toothbrush, hair ties, lip balm, camera… But a few extras made my list. Some I’d call my must-haves, some just make life easier, more comfortable, or just cuter. I knew this would be my last baby [officially!] so I treated myself a bit. Call it a reward for spending 3 years of my life growing four little humans.

*This post contains affiliate links. This means if you purchase through a direct link I share, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you, because you were referred by me*

Essential Oils

Yes, ALL THE OILS! Ok, I just like that meme. It wasn’t all the oils. In fact, the nice fella that came in to stab me in the arm and take my blood saw my travel case and made an attempt at a funny/sarcastic comment. He was quite surprised when I told him that the 30+ oils in my travel case were only a small percentage of my collection. I educated him mid-labor on how I even put oils on my husband, because oils are life. *Mic Drop*

Luckily, Our Doula Ginger was into oils too, because her quick thinking saved me from throwing up during transition! [peppermint oil, BTW – so thankful!]

I am not hardcore brand loyal like some oil lovers out there, but I really do like Jade Bloom. They are very reasonably priced, and you don’t have to sign up to sell them to get a better price. You can sign up to be an affiliate, I am. It’s basically like I’ve explained with being an Amazon Affiliate, if someone follows my link and makes a purchase I get a little commission for the referral. But the price remains the same. AND they have free shipping over $15 which is fantastic! Definitely check them out.

Red Raspberry Leaf Tea CHEWS!

At the end of my previous three pregnancies I was drinking red raspberry leaf tea all day long. I didn’t love the process of making it, and I had to doctor it up to enjoy drinking it. I’m just not super into tea. If you are though, Traditional Medicinals makes both a TEA and a new CHEW. It looks like a Starburst candy – but tea and raspberry flavored (and now they also have a lemon flavor!). They do contain added sugar (organic raw cane sugar). Since I was battling a candida overgrowth during my fourth pregnancy, I was trying to be sugar free, it was terrible. So these chews were a kind of a naughty “treat” in my situation. My one year old, Sunshine was a big fan of them too.

Snacks

Ok, I’m just gonna say it: keeping a Momma in labor from eating is cruel! We are doing hard work – feed us. I’ve eaten through all of my labors. (Yes, even the one that ended in c-section.) Thankfully, during my fourth labor, my birth team was amazing. I didn’t have to sneak a snack every time The Daddy and I were alone in the room. 

Laugh if you must, but here’s what I brought:

• Baby Food Pouches – I know, some people want to puke just thinking about it. I love them. I eat them with my kids.
• Grain Free Protein “Granola” Bars
• Larabar Bites – The first ingredient is DATES, which are said to help speed up labor. Plus, chocolate is my guilty pleasure.
• My Plexus “Pink Drink”
• Grass-Fed Beef Jerky – Protein and they’re sugar free

Stretchy SEAMLESS Black Pants

This one is for either vaginal or c-section delivery. But the seamless part is more about how terrible it felt to have any sort of seam rubbing near my incision from my cesarean with Sunshine (#3)

If this is your first birth – expect bleeding either way you go. You’ll want to be comfy, but also a bit supported. This is where yoga pants and leggings come in handy. I STOCKED UP at Goodwill for Baby #4. Just pay attention to where the seams are inside.

On that note, my other recommendation for pretty much the same reasons would be:

Dark High-waist/Shapewear Underwear

Another thing I wish I had after my c-section. I wore these over the glamorous hospital mesh panties. I found them very comfortable and they didn’t roll up or slide down all the time like the wraps I tried to wear after #3. It wasn’t about looking thin, it was about the support. And dark colors, because yeah, bleeding.

I also recommend looking into some of those period/leak-proof undies as well. You might not need them in your bag, but I really liked them while I was still bleeding and plan on using them whenever my period returns. [Oh, the perks of breastfeeding!]

Really Cute Hospital Gown[s]

I accidentally bought two, but I kept them, packed both and was glad I did.

Emotionally, this one was hard for me. Not knowing if I’d get to wear them during labor or if I’d end up having a repeat c-section almost kept me from buying them. I had them in the “save for later” section of my Amazon cart for months.

I knew I wanted a dark color – they have tons of choices, something stretchy in the neck for nursing, something that could easily come off if need be [there’s buttons up the back!] and something that wouldn’t come untied. I wore it a lot postpartum as well, it’s really comfy. They have a ton of designs and prints. Bonus: I really love seeing myself in a cute gown in all my pictures from Mars‘s birth.

My Birth Plan

Of Course, right? Well, this was another hard one for me. It took a lot just to write my VBAC birth plan, but I also had a back-up plan in case I ended up needing a repeat cesarean. It took a while to write that one, and I think the overall tone of it still felt controlling and crabby. But if we ended up having to use it, hopefully they would have understood.

[Luckily we didn’t, and The Daddy and I celebrated just before leaving the hospital by ripping that sucker into little pieces and throwing it away! That felt amazing!]

Being a graphic designer, I wanted a visual Birth Plan for my VBAC plan. I found the template that Mama Natural has posted on her site, and did my own spin on it from there.

Of course, I made mine teal 😉 But I also added just a small snippet about my previous birth trauma as well as my meds/supplements list so I didn’t have to go in and figure all that out later when filling out my paperwork. I included our names and our other kids names and ages, just to give them a little picture of who we were.

My Own Medicine and Supplements 

The hospital frowns on bringing your own meds, I don’t care. The versions the hospitals have almost always contain dyes or other unnecessary ingredients. So I bring a dye-free or cleaner version of all the possible needs:

• Dye-free (generic) Benadryl – I am allergic to a majority of antibiotics, I get pretty nervous that I’ll have a reaction and the pink stuff has red dye in it.
• Dye-free Colace – because, well, things can get backed up after giving birth [I actually never needed these because I was keeping up with my Plexus supplements]
• Activated Charcoal – in case of accidental exposure to gluten, it helps minimize my reaction
• Papaya Enzymes – digestion, heart burn, reflux
• My Plexus Supplements – Vital Biome, X-Factor, Bio-Cleanse, and Probio 5
• Coconut Oil – If you know me at all, you know I use it for everything
• A Few Homeopathic Remedies – Including but not limited to Arnica Montana for pain relief.

Earth Mama Spray

This stuff. It smells great, the ingredients rock, and you can keep it in the bathroom and use it as a cooling spray even after postpartum.

Your turn! Tell me, what was in your bag? Anything unusual?