Give me your tips for a hospital stay.

[cinderbella]

I will be staying with my 7 year old daughter after her surgery - preliminary time frame is surgery right away Tuesday morning and hopefully discharged on Saturday. I haven't stayed in the hospital except for giving birth so any tips you have for me (and Molly!) would be greatly appreciated.

[marissa]

I was just in with one kid from a Monday morning until,Wednesday night. The child life had Xboxes in the rooms and he played that most of the time. He also watched movies on watch 32.

[mich1]

Take a power strip with you.

I've spent a LOT of time in hospitals the last couple years and there were never enough outlets available to charge what I needed to charge, where I needed to charge them.

[hopecounts]

Talk to the pediatric department and see what they have available.
Bring a laptop/tablet/ipad with videos/dvds
a power strip is also a good idea.
if she is into books maybe see if the library has the audiobooks of one of her faves she can listen to or bring a few to read aloud to her.

[auntie]

Don't forget about you. Comfy clothes. Electronics and reading material for you.

In addition to your own shampoo, soap, toiletries and cosmetics, pack some comfy pants and tops- like yoga pants that you can nap in when you can but still run to the cafeteria for coffee. Maybe your pillow and a cozy throw.

[KB]

Check and see if there is a child life department. When DS was admitted post-tonsillectomy, they were excellent. There was an indoor and outdoor playground along with a movie library and tons of toys. If the child wasn't able to leave the room/bed, they would bring things to him/her.

I packed an overnight bag with a hoodie, yoga pants, tolietries, extra charger, my pillow, some magazines, and snacks like granola bars and fruit. Make sure you bring flip flops or warm socks for trips to the bathroom in the night.

[muppetinma]

PPs have some great ideas. I'd go heavy on the snacks and bring change for the vending machine. There's nothing worse than wanting a cold drink at night when the cafeteria and shops are closed. I'd also bring some heavy duty lotion for you. Hospitals tend to dry me out big time. That, added to all the extra hand washing you'll be doing, could lead to some cracked and painful hands.

[cinderbella]

This is great - a power strip is an awesome idea. The rooms all have an Xbox 360 so I think we will let her pick out a few used games to bring along. She will be in splints with an epidural/catheter for the first 3 days so I don't think there will be too much done outside of the room.

Thanks again for your ideas - they are all so helpful!

[imojoebunny]

Chapstick for you and your child. I don't know why, but the air is always super dry. This is especially good if your child won't be allowed to drink. iPad or computer for your child. A book to read to your child when they are too tired to play on the iPad. Audible.com also has books you can download that read allowed, as do many libraries. Many classics are inexpensive. My 7 year old is enjoying Wonder right now, which is kid and adult friendly. It was $7 on audible. Also, joke books, maze books, and dot to dot. Story cubes are fun. Melissa and Doug makes a flip board hangman game and matching game that is easy to use laying down. "Find it" is another fun game that can be played laying down and being still. Best wishes to you. My nephew is having his third open heart surgery in a couple of months when he turns 7, so I have been looking for things I thought he would be able to play, since he won't be running around for a while.

My DD (7) also likes to loom, like rainbow loom, that might work, depending on the surgery, and how much she can sit up/use her arms.