Children in a hospital: preparing for your stay

Nobody likes the idea of ​​going to the hospital, let alone having to take a child there. Many times there is no warning, perhaps as a result of an accident or the sudden onset of symptoms. If you’re lucky enough to have even the slightest inkling that you may end up staying in the hospital, there are some things you’ll need to know and some questions you’ll need to ask.

First, things you’ll need to know before you go;

Who can stay with your child in the room?

Is a bed provided for the support person?

Are meals provided for you and your child?

What are the means of transportation and/or parking like, how much do they cost?

What are the opening hours and what are the visiting hours? Most hospitals will allow immediate family members to visit 24 hours a day, but are quite strict about other visitors.

What shower and toilet facilities are there? Most will have plenty of toilets and showers for children, but few for adults.

Things you will need to bring;

A favorite toy or blanket – if you can clean it up first, great, but if not, don’t stress, grab it anyway.

Another little toy that will fit in your pocket – these are big distractions when doing simple procedures like catheters, IV insertions, or blood tests.

Do not forget comfortable clothes for you, a good book, your favorite coffee or a bag of hot drink.

Bottles, feeding bottles, formula, diapers – find out if they are provided.

Any insurance, subsidy details or other paperwork that officials may need.

Any medications your child is taking.

Past medical records/history.

Don’t pack too many clothes for your child. They will most likely spend most of their time with a drip inserted and changing jerseys when they are on is a real pain. The hospital may have some gowns available for you to borrow that are specially designed for this.

Don’t take anything valuable that you would be devastated to lose. Bringing your laptop, iPod, and Kindle might sound like a good idea, but make sure you have a very secure place to store them when you’re not in the room!

The most important thing to take is a positive attitude. Your baby is in the best place and if she didn’t need to be there she wouldn’t be there, so relax and take what comes.