One of the perks of having had so many children this time around was that I had perfected the art of packing for the hospital. For me it's almost a mini vacation away from the kids being pampered by family and nurses for a couple of days. I know exactly what I need to make my stay as comfortable as possible including take out menus from my favorite restaurants (no way I'm eating hospital food) and the most comfortable pair of flip flops I can find. Over the years I have tweeked and perfected what I consider to be the ultimate packing guide for delivery day must haves. When my long time friend having her first baby asked my advice about what she would need in the hospital I realized there are probably tons of first time Moms who would benefit from my list. Some of it may be considered over the top, but it works for me! For Mom: -Magazines are a great way to pass the time either before or after delivery. My last four children were induced early so I knew we would have some down time at the hospital. I love having my family come hang out with us while waiting for the baby to arrive. Babies are unpredictable even when induced so "People" and "US" gives us some fun, light- hearted topics to chat about. - Like most women I love bath gels, lotions, creams, etc. I could spend hours tooling around the department store counters checking out new scents! Find a new bath gel and lotion to pack in your bag and I guarantee it will help you feel great when you take your first bath or shower after the delivery. -Make sure you pack a couple of great pairs of pajamas. If your family and friends are like ours they'll be showing up in a steady stream to greet your new addition and you'll want to look and feel as good as you can. -Shoes are important! Who wants to walk around barefoot on the hospital floor?? I like to take flops or slippers that are easy to get on and off. -Favorite snacks and "to go" menus are a must have. I usually pick up a couple of lunch and dinner menus from my favorite restaurants and have the hubby pick up meals. After nine months of pregnancy and ultimately a delivery, You deserve it! - I always take a camera so I can get those first shots of our new baby. This time I was lucky enough to have my sister, a photographer, in the room so we ended up with a priceless set of pics! -Cell phone and cord so you can shoot out a text to friends and family and even post pics to Facebook these days! For Baby: -Make sure you take a baby book so the nurse can stamp his tiny footprints in it as soon as he arrives. -I always take a special set of clothes and a good swaddling blanket to change the baby into instead of the standard hospital outfit and blanket that have been washed and reused a hundred times over. (Just make sure you have a great stain remover at home in case some of the dye from the umbilical cord rubs on it) -I like to pack a couple of extra outfits in addition to their special take home outfit just in case they get soiled during our hospital stay.

For more great tips and tricks focused on helping you as a Mom check out my site at tosign up for my free 5 day series, "Happy Mom Equals Happy Kids". -If you're using pacifiers you may want to have some on hand. I love the new soothies the hospitals use. Our babysitter gave us one with a stuffed puppy attached that helps keep it in the baby's mouth and we love it! In any case this is a good start to a comfy delivery day and stay. For all you seasoned Moms, if you did it again what would you take the next time around?