Heart Warrior's Hospital Bags

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February was heart month and our Heart Warrior has a follow-up appointment with her cardiologist this week. It got me thinking about her surgery and that whole day and the days leading up to it. One thing that was helpful for me in preparing for her surgery day was knowing what I would need to take. Now that we are on the other side of her surgery I can tell others who are preparing for their child's heart surgery exactly what we used and needed and what we didn't. Here is my list of what we took and used for our daughter's heart surgery.

Heart Warrior's Bag

>>> Diapers (The hospital should provide diapers but if your child needs a specific brand you may want to call the hospital to see what brand they carry and then bring a package of diapers if you need to. I just brought 6-8 in our diaper bag but didn't use them.)

>>>Baby Wipes (Again, the hospital should provide wipes but if your child needs a specific brand or kind you should contact the hospital and then bring a couple of packages if you need to. I just put 1 package in our diaper bag like normal and I didn't need to use them.)

>>>Food (If you child is eating table food they should be able to order from the hospital room service. You will need to check with the hospital about what, if any, purees they have if your child is eating purees. If your child is eating table food or purees I would recommend bringing a couple days worth of their favorite snacks and foods just in case the hospital doesn't carry your child's favorites.)

>>>Formula (The hospital will have some formula but probably not every single brand and type that is available on shelves in the stores so be sure to ask them if they carry the brand and kind of formula that your child will need. I would also recommend bring 1 or 2 days worth of your own formula just in case there is a mix up or delay in getting your formula you will still able to feed your child until you can get more.)

>>>Breast Milk (I would recommend checking with the hospital about...

1. How many days after surgery it might be before you can nurse your child. This will help you know about how much breast milk you will need to have pumped and ready for bottle feeding.

2. How and when to bring the breast milk to the hospital so it can be stored appropriately. Some hospitals I think will store it for you but some may require you to store it and keep it for when you need it.

>>>Water (The formula that the hospital gave us was pre-mixed so we didn't need water. At home we don't use water from the faucet to mix our formula. We use filtered/spring/bottled water. I brought several bottles of water to mix with formula if we needed...but we didn't need it because our hospital provided the pre-mixed formula.)

>>>Bottles (These are the bottles that our daughter uses. The hospital should have a couple of different kinds of bottles, especially the more common kinds but please, like everything else, check with the hospital before the surgery day to see if they have the kind of bottles your child uses. Even if the hospital says they have your kind of bottles I would still recommend bringing 1 or 2 of your own "just in case". Our hospital told us at our pre-op that they carried our kind of bottle which was a very common kind of bottle but when it came time to feed her they didn't have any...or at least they never brought us one so thankfully I had packed one and we used it.)

>>>Bibs and Burp Cloths (Whatever you use during your child's feedings I would recommend bringing a few days worth.)

>>>Clothes (Some people never put clothes on their heart warrior until the day they leave the hospital which is absolutely just fine. But many feel putting their child in even just a little onesie or bow or leg warmers helps to make them feel a little more like normal. Since our daughter's surgery was in the middle of winter in the mid-west I didn't want her to be cold so we brought...

1. Button down onesies like these or these. We brought 3 onesies and used 2 of them during the hospital stay.

2. Button down sleepers like these or these. We brought 4 sleepers and used 3 of them during the hospital stay.

3. Leg warmers like any of these...fun patterns, solid colors, with matching bows, single.

4. Socks like these simple white pairs.

5. Bows like these. If you like to put bows on your daughter at home you may find that it helps feel a little more "normal" if you put a bow on her a few days after surgery.

6. Going Home Outfit. This is the bow and onesie our daughter wore home from surgery.

7. NOTE: Any onesie or sleeper you put on your child will need to be snap buttons. They will have all kinds of tubes and wires on them for several days after surgery and the buttons on the clothes allows for the tubes and wires to pass between them. We didn't put any clothes on our daughter until she was moved to the "step-down" room or the recovery room which was on the second day after surgery. We started off with just leg warmers and socks. Once her chest tube was removed we began putting the onesies and/or sleepers on her. You can put them in any type of clothing for going home. We got a cute heart warrior bow and heart warrior onesie to proudly take her home in.

>>>Blankets (The hospital will have receiving blankets to use but we brought our own special blankets from home. I believe that as many familiar items you can bring and use from home the better. If your child recognizes the look or smell or feel of a blanket or plushy the more comfortable they will be and possibly recover faster. We brought a baby quilt that our daughter always laid on at home to put down on her hospital bed under her, our own receiving blankets that were used to keep her covered before we did clothes and her very special GG blanket that is always with her in the car and crib at home.

>>>Toys and Books (The hospital will most likely have bigger things like baby swings and crib toys but they might not have small toys and books. I would recommend checking with the hospital before surgery day to see what they have and what you can bring. By day 2 or 3 after surgery your child will be awake, alert and possibly wanting to interact a bit more so having toys and books available is great. Like I said above, the more familiar things you can bring from home the better, in my opinion. We brought our daughters play mat that she was able to use in her crib. The hospital brought a crib toy to hang on the side of our daughter's crib and they said it was the very last one available...all the other crib toys were being used. So if you have the capability to pack and bring a crib toy, I would recommend it. We were also given a portable swing to use the last day or 2 while at the hospital but, again, just in case your hospital doesn't have any and you are able to bring one from home, I would recommend it! Any of your child's favorite small toys and books would be great to bring also.)

Mom and Dad's Bag

>>>Something to do while waiting during the surgery. (You may be like me and not able to focus on much so just having your phone and staying busy updating family and friends might be all you need. I also brought my laptop and a book...but I don't think I used either of them.)

>>>Chargers (Don't forget your phone charger and if you bring a laptop, the laptop charger!)

>>>Extension chord (I highly recommend bringing an extension cord. You never know how many outlets a hospital room might have or where they might be in relation to where you will be sitting or sleeping so you may need an extension cord to reach you and your phone or laptop.

>>>Headset (I brought my headset to connect to either my phone or laptop so I could listen to music, an audio book or podcast and not disturb others around me.

>>>Notebook, Pen and Large Envelope (I recommend bringing a note book, like this one, and pen to jot down any bits of information you want to remember or questions you want to ask in between seeing nurses, cardiologists or other medical professionals. You will be getting so much information and possibly little sleep so having a designated brain dump place is very helpful. You will also be getting lots of papers with all kinds of information and having a large envelope available to put anything and everything the hospital gives you in is also super helpful.

>>>Snacks and Drinks (As for the day of surgery, you will want to plan for lunch. The hospital our daughter had her surgery at required at least one parent to stay in the waiting room at all times. They did have a couple of fast food options in the hospital so one of us got lunch and brought it back to the waiting room. You may not feel like eating much but I would at least recommend packing some snacks and water to keep your strength up. As for after surgery while in the hospital room...check with the hospital to see what the rooms have and what is allowed. Our daughter's recovery room had a mini-fridge for us to keep perishable food and drinks in which was so nice. We packed a small cooler of snacks for while we were in the CICU (cardiac intensive care unit) since we knew they did not have refrigerators.

>>>Clothes (We packed enough pajamas, shirts, pants, socks and underwear for my husband and I for a five day stay. We were told to plan for a 7-10 day recovery but we only live about 40 minutes from the hospital so we figured we could go home pretty easily and get more clothes or do laundry if we stayed more than 5 or 6 days.

>>>Personal Items (Any personal items or hygiene items such as deodorant, face wash, make up, hair care stuff, body wash, toothbrushes and toothpaste, etc. We were blessed to have a bathroom with a shower in our daughter's recovery room. The hospital provided towels which was very nice. Our daughter's room in the CICU only had a bathroom in it...no shower. She was only in the CICU 2 days before being moved to her recovery room. I would recommend asking the hospital about bathrooms, showers, towels and what other items they might provide before the surgery day.)

>>>Essential Oils and a Diffuser (I would recommend checking with the hospital before surgery day to see if they allow diffusers and essential oils in the rooms. Our hospital said we would not be able to use it in the CICU room but we could in the recovery room. Once we got to the recovery room I pulled it out and started diffusing oils. This diffuser is a good one...but this one is a little smaller and cheaper. Here is a great starter pack of essential oils that are good for diffusing in a hospital room. This brand is one that I use and they also have premade blends like this and this that would be great for diffusing in a hospital room.

My biggest suggestion is to think and write down what your child uses everyday. Then ask the hospital at your pre-op appointment what the hospital has for your child to use. If the hospital doesn't have something and you feel it is important for your child to have ask if you can bring it from home and bring it if it is allowed. If the hospital has things on your list, you don't live close to the hospital but are able to bring the item I would recommend bringing it in case you can't get it once your are at the hospital. I would also recommend packing their regular diaper bag like normal but maybe with a little extra supplies. Also, remember, you don't have to bring everything in at once. We only brought the diaper bag and what my husband and I needed while waiting during surgery in when we first got to the hospital. Once surgery was over and we got to see her for a bit in the CICU my husband went back to our vehicle and brought in our overnight stuff. When our daughter was moved to the recovery room he brought in her toys, blankets, clothes, etc.

I hope this post is helpful and it brings you some peace in knowing what to bring. Packing is one less thing you need to stress over when preparing for your child's heart surgery. I pray for peace for you and your family has you are taking this step. And please know that it is scary and hard but once you get to the other side it feels so good!