Nobody told me. From a recent graduate:

Sorry about the formatting. They DID tell me I would be sleep deprived for a bit afterwards (and they were right).

Edit: I cant figure out how to edit the post at the moment, but given what everyone says here sparkling grape juice is clearly a better call. By sneaking it in I meant hiding it from her, not from the hospital. Someone just suggested that she might like a moment of celebration when the baby is sleeping. We had an emergency c section after hours of pushing and she was really out of it for a bit. There really wasn’t a moment when it felt like she was “done” and could celebrate. I think the toast would’ve been a nice gesture.
 
@keoann Not just an eye mask but also earplugs. You're not trying to drown out the sound of a crying newborn with them (unless you're a special kind of deep sleeper and/or have the greatest ear plugs ever made, you're not drowning out the sound of a crying newborn--especially your own newborn). You're not trying to ignore your SO's needs. Instead you're trying to dull all the ambient noises you're going to be hearing in the hospital while you attempt to get even a few hours of sleep.

The button down shirt is a clutch idea. I didn't do that and having heard this suggestion I now wish I did.

Also: know what restaurants/take-out joints are near the hospital in advance, and be ready to hoof it to go fetch food for your recovering SO. I made both Panera and Subway runs in the few days we spent in the hospital, and it was tremendously helpful knowing exactly where they were located in advance.
 
@melvinmecham243 Great point. We were out of the hospital a few weeks before COVID-19 was being reported as being in the US, and a solid month and change before our state shut down, so we gratefully did not have to worry about that. So, yeah: what this guy said.
 
@chloejm Graduated 3 weeks ago. Our state isn't shut down anymore but the policies of the hospital were not very well published. They had us in and out asap, only spent 30hrs, they asked only 1 bag per person. No boppy, car seat, blankets, pillows be brought in. Couldn't leave room.

Hospital policy did allow 2 people other than my wife. We opted to just not share that part. Kept us more sane in the room
 
@keoann Definitely bring your own blankets and pillows!!! My zip out sleeping bag was the second single best thing I brought. I also brought a sleeping pad but didn’t use it. A dad friend recommended this.

Breast feeding is definitely something that you can help with, and not just physically. It’s a skill. I happened to remember a tip mentioned in one of our baby classes that my wife had completely forgotten about. It turned a disastrous feeding into an easy one almost instantly - across the lap (horizontal baby) is the easiest position but after baby got super gassy he wouldn’t feed. I remembered the football hold which puts their rear lower than their head. This caused the gas to clear out almost instantly. Your brains will be fried and it’s easy to forget the little things.
 
@keoann One of my favorite things that I brought when we had our child was a "skin to skin shirt". It's like a tshirt with a velcroed flap at the front, so you can instantly pop it open when kid is flipping out. I loved that stupid thing.
 
@keoann When we left the delivery room and were transferred as a family to our main room there was a bed an a chair. I turned to my wife and said “you can have the bed.” It was my first dad joke and welcome other dads to use it.
 
@keoann My wife is 38 weeks. I should really pack a bag for myself. I have some stuff prepared due to "traveling" for work. But I would have never thought about a button down shirt or a robe
 
@cleebrin You may be focused 110% on mommy and baby but don't forget yourself. Bring things you need. Can't help either of them if you can't function. The sleep deprivation is real. The emotional high and following low once you're settled in are also real.
 
@keoann I'd also suggest bringing a few days worth of clothes. We had an emergency C-section followed by a few days of low birth weight issues, so we were in the hospital for 4 days from check in to check out.
 
@keoann Good list, button down shirt is a really good idea. Will be using that!

Re: swaddle - bring your own swaddle blankets, the ones that they have at the hospital are often just small receiving blankets. Hard as hell to swaddle with vs the larger muslin swaddle blankets. Nurses have some next-level witchcraft skills to swaddle with this receiving blankets.

For snacks - my suggestion is a bigass bag of a really good granola trail mix. It keeps, and you can munch on it, and it is filling.
 
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