Packing shave gear for a hospital stay

[Mr. O]

First it's nothing serious. My wife and I are expecting. She just turned 37 weeks a few days ago and the signs are showing (dilation, urge to "nest", other physical factors). We packed out bags tonight for the quick escape to the hospital when the baby comes. This is what I have packed:

Slim Adjustable
Feathers
Sharks
Super Iridiums
Arko Stick
C.O. Bigelow creme
Col. Conk badger brush
Nivea ASB
C.O. Bigelow ASB
thinking of either taking good ole Aqua Velva or tried and true Skin Bracer. SWMBO prefers AV
Travel container with Witch Hazel

The stay will hopefully last only a few days. I know it's a bit much to pack what I have. But looking at all my choices, I can't decide what I want because it's all good stuff! My line of thought is take the relatively cheap stuff in case of theft. I hope it doesn't but it happens everywhere. And my other thought is I might want to shave with "x" one day and with "y" the other day. What do you think?

 

[jackandcoke]

i'm thinking with all that will be going on, you're probably only going to shave once or twice, so i'd probably just keep it really simple. when my son was born last year, we were in the hospital for 6 days, and i think i only shaved twice.

 

[ChrisG]

Make it easy for yourself , can't you just sneak home to shower and shave for a bit? Or just left it all at home and scruff it out for a bit?

 

[Leche]

Unless something is wrong you should be out quickly. Both my kids were less than 30 hours. Any who score some points and do something for her instead.

 

[13ALPHA]

Good luck, I didn't shave once, slept in the chair with shoes on.

Know if it's a boy or girl? Surprise?

 

[Drubbing]

Your wife is the one having the bub. Aren't you going to pack her a bag first?

30 seconds after the birth, shaving will be the last thing on your mind.

Oh wait, sorry. Forgot where I was.

 

[Cookie_Junkie]

Hi,

Well I bet your stay wouldn't last much more than 3 days, so you're right: YOU'RE PACKING WAY TOO MUCH!!!

Honestly, things will move so fast you're almost not gonna notice the stubble; the only thing you'll want to care fore are your wife and, once born, the baby... Trust me on this one: you can go scruffy (as you WILL, eventually.)

Now, if you feel you need a shave kit "just in case" and are lucky enough to use it, bear in mind that you want something convenient and, sadly enough, not TOO valuable (yes, it DOES happen!) so what comes to mind are:

-a shaver grade razor (already loaded with your most forgiving blade: that won't be YOUR bathroom and watch for sleep deprivation!!)
-a nice, tried and true cheap shave stick or puck (Palmolive, ARKO) and a small boar/pure badger brush
-why not a hand slatherable cream instead? (I've had satisfactory results with the Palmolive Euro Classic and read good things on the Cremo Cream...)
-a moisturizing AS (balm? Yes, these hospitals are often overheated and you can wait a good while until you get a glass of water...)

Try and keep it scentless; beware of the AV, if it's a baby girl, you might turn her into a daddy's girl and ruin the hopes of hundreds of college wetshavers to come...

Last thing, keep this kit in your bag, that will make less mess in the bathroom for your wife, will avoid thievery attempts and you probably won't use it anyway. Most important, that will prevent you from forgetting/leaving it there when you leave (yes, it DOES happen!)

Now that you know you have it all and feel comforted, pack it tight in a small dopp kit at the bottom of your bag and leave untouched...

The icing on the cake is you'll be glad you did once you get back home and find these 40 minutes you've been longing for. Picture yourself coming out of this bathroom, clean, refreshed and pampered like it's judgement day and feeling the proud father of a child. Now run to her, give her that BBS hug/kiss asking "May I help you honey?"... Priceless!!

Good luck with the newborn!
C_J

 

[beginish]

I wouldn't count on much time for a shave. You're going to be so cross-eyed from lack of sleep, you may not want to put an exposed blade that close to your face anyway. I think I went about 4 days between shaves with my last one.

 

[Mr. O]

The icing on the cake is you'll be glad you did once you get back home and find these 40 minutes you've been longing for. Picture yourself coming out of this bathroom, clean, refreshed and pampered like it's judgement day and feeling the proud father of a child. Now run to her, give her that BBS hug/kiss asking "May I help you honey?"... Priceless!!
C_J

This right here is what I was pondering as well. With all the pictures that will inevitably be taken, I didn't want to appear scruffy. But you're right, after all of this, being able to pamper myself with a nice slow shave will rejuvenate me.

Know if it's a boy or girl?

It's a boy! No idea of a name yet.

Your wife is the one having the bub. Aren't you going to pack her a bag first?

Ohhhh no. We're two very independent people trying to learn to not be so independent. She wanted to pack her bag because she knew exactly what she wanted.

Ok. You all made up my mind. I'll leave the goods at home and go scruffy for a bit. Thanks all.

 

[PeachyKleen]

Congrats and best of luck...

 

[jasonboyd]

I was lucky to just find time to take a quick shower on ocassion! I think I shaved when I got a chance to go home for a quick nap while the grandparents were visiting. It was all a blur, shaving was the last thing on my mind, but this was also a time in my life where shaving wasn't as important to me as it is now.

 

[jsrdrnr]

Go with the AV since your wife likes it but honestly, dont know how much time you are gonna get to shave. Sorry.

 

[TX Shane]

Ditto to a lot of the comments here as you're not going to really have time for much gear. I did manage to get a super quick shave once when I was in the hospital with one of our kiddos and I was happy just to get the scruff off my face with whatever I had. Welcome to the Daddy club and best of luck!

 

[arghblech]

I just went through this in September so here are two possible things to consider.

1) The opportunity to leave the hospital for an hour or two will be very very welcome. If you live fairly close to it, I'd just go home to shower and shave. I did this during my wife's 3 night stay. Having a chance to leave was so valuable.

2) You likely won't care to shave at all. Too much going on around you. You'll fret and worry over your wife and baby and not care one whit about your own scruffy face.

Enjoy this. You get to meet a brand new human!

 

[DunEdinRanger]

First it's nothing serious. My wife and I are expecting. She just turned 37 weeks a few days ago and the signs are showing (dilation, urge to "nest", other physical factors). We packed out bags tonight for the quick escape to the hospital when the baby comes. This is what I have packed:

Slim Adjustable
Feathers
Sharks
Super Iridiums
Arko Stick
C.O. Bigelow creme
Col. Conk badger brush
Nivea ASB
C.O. Bigelow ASB
thinking of either taking good ole Aqua Velva or tried and true Skin Bracer. SWMBO prefers AV
Travel container with Witch Hazel

The stay will hopefully last only a few days. I know it's a bit much to pack what I have. But looking at all my choices, I can't decide what I want because it's all good stuff! My line of thought is take the relatively cheap stuff in case of theft. I hope it doesn't but it happens everywhere. And my other thought is I might want to shave with "x" one day and with "y" the other day. What do you think?

Isn't it a little early to get the kid shaving?

 

[instpasr]

Speaking as someone who works at a hospital and having gone through 2 births. I'd leave the kit at home. 1st your wife won't mind if you slip out for a shower and maybe sleep at home, she's going to be exhausted and the pesky grandparents, aunts & uncles, third cousins etc have a tendency of eating allot of time. 2nd we really do frown on family members showering and shaving at the hospital.