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I did not buy depends and I did not have to throw away any of my underwear. I took all of the pads in my hospital room and wore those until I ran out. Then I switched to the Always Infinity Overnight pads. They are nice and thin but still catch everything. Stockpile toilet paper. I didn't do freezer meals and we got by just fine. Definitely buy Tuck's pads if you can.

I tell everyone to get a stepstool! It was horrible getting in and out of bed, and having that little step was a huge help. Also, spanx or a belly binder. Reduced pain considerably.

As for undies, no you don't need depends. Just buy some cheap granny panties like @grizz: said.

I did pretty much everything that @grizz: said! Cheap granny panties are the way to go. You don't want any underwear that may ride up your butt (to put it bluntly) because it's going to be sensitive down there! After awhile I got some cuter, full coverage ones from Victoria's Secret because I didn't want the big ones anymore, and wasn't worried about ruining them, but still had the sensitivity issue for awhile ;).

Everyone is different on how quickly their flow lightens up, so it's hard to say on pads. But I just got the Always Infinity ones too and changed them more frequently at first and then longer as I got further out. It took 3-4 weeks before I could change to panty liners.

Tucks pads for sure! Maybe some dermaplast as well (numbing spray) although I didn't use mine too long, so one bottle is good! And make sure you bring home your peri bottle from the hospital... Try to get 2 if you can (assuming you have a main bathroom downstairs and one upstairs in your room, if not, one is fine!). Oh, and ibuprofen!

It's up to you on freezer meals. I made some, but my parents were with us the first 2 weeks so they made food or went and picked up meals. Friends brought us meals too. So I actually didn't eat many of my own for awhile! But they are freezer meals, so they won't go bad, it just depends on your freezer space!

Oh, and yes, a good water bottle!! I love this one
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00A74ZUJ0/ref=mp_s_a_1_10?qid=1406576836&sr=8-10&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70
Because it's one handed to drink out of (no twisting off a lid or anything) and if you drop it, it's closed and doesn't spill (unlike the straw type ones). Target carries the 24oz size, but I got this 32 oz one so I didn't have to refill it as often!

A cheap pack of Hanes will get you far.

If you buy Always, make sure *not* to get the DryMax pads - they are way *too* dry and can cause some serious problems. I was much happier with Kotex. I would say buy one pack of pads and one pack of liners and see where that gets you. If you are bleeding a lot, take home some of those bed liner things - they were a godsend for me.

We also put a waterproof mattress cover on our bed because I was afraid my water would break in bed... it didn't, but I was sure glad we had it afterward. Saved my mattress from blood, leaking BM, spit up, exploding diapers... Just buy one.

You definitely want a lot of Tucks. Something for ice is also nice (hospitals usually have ice slings that I very useful, so see if you can take one home).

Nursing bras and shirts if you plan to BF. I wish I had bought those ahead of time. Pants or shorts with really stretchy/comfortable waistbands. Nice PJs.

We had some freezer meals, but I wouldn't stress about it. A few things that might be helpful:
* Collect take out menus from some of your favorite places and circle things you like to order. That way your husband or visitors can order out.
* Make a grocery list of your household staples (the kind of milk you like, eggs, bread, coffee, fruit... whatever you always keep on hand) and put it on your refrigerator. That way if someone else is shopping for you it will be easy to see what you need.

I would absolutely fill your Kindle and DVR.

Underwear- I brought all the mesh panties home from my hospital room, but I kind of hated them anyway and switched to the full coverage ones I was wearing at the end of my pregnancy-- regular, not granny but not skimpy, stretchy cotton. I wore the monster pads from the hospital for a few days or a week, then switched to the thin Always, extra long, I think. After a couple of weeks I switched to panty liners. Do NOT buy the generic, shell out the extra dollars for name brand pads and liners. You want the softest things you can get down there.

My mat leave started two weeks before C was born so I used that time to stock my freezer, but I also really like cooking so it was something I enjoyed. If you don't enjoy it or don't have time, you can get take out, frozen stuff, and people will bring you food. My favorite things that I froze were individual things I could make for myself after DH went back to work- I made oatmeal chocolate chip muffings (they're healthy, because oatmeal, right? ) and individual calzones. C was born during the height of the summer so we didn't really want the lasagnas and mac and cheese that I made until a little later when it got cooler, which was fine since it was frozen!

I agree that a great water bottle is of utmost importance. Non-breakable is a good idea- I have those plastic straw cups that people usually use for iced coffee, and I cracked two lids by dropping them. One handed usage is key and I prefer a straw type one, just make sure you have something.

I used the mesh panties from the hospital until the flow lightened, now in regular underwear plus always overnight or extra long pads. Any type would be fine!

Did not buy depends.

Stocked freezer around 36 weeks, but have yet to bust much out besides cookies (make and freeze lots of cookies!) because my mom has been helping feed us.

Stock up on the good nipple cream, Mother's Love.

I bought a bunch of flushable wipes at a friend's suggestion: Best. decision. EVER. I didn't want any rough toilet paper touching anything that was tender I put a pack on the counter of every bathroom in the house.

I also agree on the cheap Hanes underwear. I paid $7 for a 5 pack and they work great. I will say I only bought them because I don't usually wear anything other than thongs, so it was kind of a necessity to hold pads.

As for pads, I bought 2 packs of the overnight Always and 1 pack of regular and then bought for the day as we went along since I didn't know what to expect.

I froze basics that I could just add easy things to: spaghetti sauce; poppyseed chicken; chili - then I could just nuke some potatoes or boil pasta and have a nice meal.

If you plan to BF, stock up on high calorie protein bars and store right by your bed. I was starving all the time when I BF and would scarf down 2 a night! The bars worked best because you could tear open with your teeth and eat with one hand and not worry about adjusting the baby.

@Tanjowen: YES on the wet wipes. Life savers.

Total subscribing to this thread! This is awesome!

Subscribing! Great list ladies!

@Seattlemom: @Tanjowen: Ohh, yes, easy to eat snacks are very good for breast feeding but also in general. I know eating was the last thing I was thinking of, until I realized I was STARVING. Muffins were awesome for me!

I bought a pack of Hanes women's boy shorts because in all honesty, I wanted to wear something down there that wasn't too tight. The Dermaplast and Tuck's from the hospital didn't last very long for me so I bought more. I also didn't like the super thick pads that I got at the hospital so I used my own Kotex ones. I did however, love my peri bottle from the hospital! Since I was too scared to wash down there I used it to keep myself feeling clean.

We didn't freeze any food ahead of time since family would bring over food whenever they visited. One piece of advice I would give is to not be afraid to accept help when others offer it. Whether it be taking your dog for a walk or picking up some items at the store, these instances of help with give you more time to spend with your baby and less to worry about.

Lastly, if you plan on BFing one invaluable trick that I learned from a LC was to put BM on my nipples after BFing to prevent cracking and help with soreness. It worked better than Lansinoh for me!

So I'll be the oddball, I rocked the Depends. My friend recommended them to me so I bought some pre-delivery. I bought them for blood but I ended up having less than ideal bladder control post partum. I think I was just too busy/tired to remember to pee without a baby sitting on my bladder. Maybe that's just me.

Overall my strategy was to stock up on everything and return what I didn't use a few weeks after delivery. One thing I would really stock up on is snacks. I ate through all my snacks in labor but there is no hunger like new nursing mama hunger. Freezer meals are nice but even getting those out of the freezer and heated took me a few weeks. Again that might just be me

hmm...i bought several things that I never needed. So, I would probably wait until after and see what you might need and send a mom, friend, or hubby to the store to get anything you feel you really want.

I thought the "granny panties" were a waste--I'm not used to high waist underwear so I found the type I bought very uncomfortable and switched to the stretchy hipster underwear I was wearing towards the end of my pregnancy.

My hospital has terrible pads with no adhesives, so they would slide all around and cause leaks---so I will definitely bring pads from home next time.

I used all the hospital Dermaplast spray and bought some more and used that after the peri bottle every time I peed. So NICE! I also bought the the Earth Mama Angel Baby spray and thought it smelled awful and didn't use it. I bought pad-shaped ice packs and never used them. Never used the sitz bath thingie.

Really, all I needed were pads with adhesives, good lowrider underwear, the Dermaplast spray and the peri bottle.

I didn't buy Depends, just pads, and I never threw out any underwear. Get varying thickness, though- I hate pads, and as soon as I could transition to thinner ones, I did.

We had no freezer meals, but we had enough people coming by bringing us food that we didn't really need anything.

Colace stool softener, since the first couple bowel movements can be scary. My hospital made the padcicles from newborn diapers and they worked well too, but are very bulky. Ibprofen is good to have on hand if you have cramps after.

Take everything you can from the hospital!! The mesh underwear are amazeballs. Ask your nurse for double of everything. I didn't buy any underwear.

@Cole:

I bought comfy boy short undies but they didn't get ruined at all and I still wear them! They were just easier to contain a giant pad. The mesh undies were way too big for me and no one could find me a ped pair to wear so I hated them.

Always infinity pads were great (the overnight ones)

I stocked up on tucks pads but just ended up using the ones te hospital gave me. Also take the dermaplast and peri bottle home with you! You can buy dermaplast in the drugstore as well. Tylenol is a must have!

I wore pads for probably two weeks then was able to just use a long panty liner. That really varies person to person though. The bleeding can ebb and flow.

Instead of padsicles, my nurse taught me a trick! You open up the lining of a diaper (near the waist band) and stick crushed ice inside! It stays on better than the ice packs they give you and is absorbent.

Don't forget lanolin and breast pads of you're going to breastfeed!

I bought cheap Hanes underwear. I like the boy short ones. I needed a bigger size tho at the end of pregnancy. They didn't get ruined or stained at all and I saved them for this pregnancy! ha!

I like the Always Infinity pads. They are nice and thin. I went through the tub of Tucks they sent home with me and had a to buy a couple more. I also liked using the Earth Mama Angel Baby Bottom Spray. Not sure that it really did anything but it smelled nice/felt good to spray down there. I actually saw them selling it at Target last time I was there. I also recommend sitz baths if you have stitches. I would just fill the bathtub up with some warm water and sit in it for 10-15 minutes.

With #1, I didn't do any freezer meals and we got by ok. We wish we had though because only one person brought us food. I'm 37 weeks and have started really freezing stuff this past week. Something easy to do is cook up a bunch of ground turkey or beef and freeze it. Makes for making tacos or spaghetti really easily. I also cooked up some ground turkey with onions and bell peppers to freeze and use later for chili.

@Seattlemom: Freezer breakfasts is a great idea! Thanks for posting that.