Let's be honest, sleep is by far the most important thing we need in the hospital. Coffee can only get you so far. Having a good nights of rest can help assure you are all locked in, ready to assist doctors and nurses to help provide the care your kid needs. We recommend to find yourself a twin size air mattress with soft fabric sheets.  If you hospital has a couch, turn it around so that the back is now at the front. Once the air mattress is ready to go, place the air mattress on top of the couch. Here's ours!

We keep our air mattress, pump, and sheets in a go-bag in our linen closet and just grab it whenever we have a hospital stay!

2. Entertainment 

One of the hardest things about sitting in the Hospital is staring at monitors, and the hospital tvs don't always have your favorite shows. So, bring your favorite entertainment. Here's a couple of ideas on what kind of entertainment to bring: 

• Apple TV/Roku (most hospitals have TV's installed in each patient room. Bring your own HDMI cable and set up your Apple TV to watch some of your favorite shows or your kid shows.) If your room has a gaming system, you can use this to stream your favorite shows. 
• Sewing Machine (this may sound a little excessive, but having something to do with your hands such as making a quilt or blanket could help the time pass. My wife always joked about doing this and finally did it. She finished more quilt squares than she'd ever done at home and nurses and doctors would stop by each day to check on the progress. For legal reasons, it may be wise to get the okay to plug in any high-voltage machinery.) 
• Funny jokes or riddles (This can be fun for everyone. Ask your nurses and doctors funny riddles such as: "If a plane crashed between the boarders of United States and Mexico, where would you bury the survivors?" Answer: You don't bury survivors. Questions like these are designed to help you have fun while building a relationship with the team caring your kid.)

3. Groceries 

Don't we all love hospital food? Some are better than others! No matter how good your hospital food is, saving money is huge for the amount of times most families spend in the hospital. Why spend $3 on a water from the hospital cafeteria, when you can buy a case for the same price at the grocery store. We recommend having a small cooler that you can keep labeled in a community fridge so you don't have to label everything individually. It's also good to keep a digital file of your favorite snacks and items so when someone offers to bring you something, you have a list ready to go. 

4. Medical Binder 

This one requires a lot of planned thinking ahead of time. Having a medical binder is the best thing you can have when it comes to your kid with chronic needs. Remembering every medication, diagnoses, surgery, levels, etc is really hard and can cause stress on all trying to provide care including you as a parent. This medical binder can also be used for your kid teachers and school nurse. Download your medical binder here. 

5. Personal Comfort Items

One of our must-haves is slippers. We don't always want to take the time to put on my shoes just to walk into the bathroom or around the unit. Having your own personal comfort items can easily put your mind to rest. Here are a list of items to consider: 

• Pillow
• Blanket and sheets
• Weighted blanket 
• Flip flops 
• Pajamas 
• Long charging cords

One last tip:

When you finish a hospital stay, keep a list of things you wished you would have packed and put it either in your suitcase or as a note on your phone so you can remember for next time!