One of the things I did fairly early on in my second pregnancy was pack my hospital bag. My friends thought I was crazy when it was packed around 25 weeks but I ended up needing it when I was 34 weeks pregnant!
I have divided everything into 3 categories – mom, baby, and entertainment. This helped me figure out exactly what I needed to bring. Our hospital room was not that big (make sure you take a tour of the hospital and look at this and storage space) so I knew that I needed to keep what I brought down to a minimum.
Mom
1. Wallet
This might be self explanatory but I have had several friends get to the hospital and don’t have their insurance card or ID. YES – they will let you still give birth at the hospital, but it is just a pain because then your hubby has to go track it down! Also, if you preregister at the hospital, it is still good to have these things in your bag.
2. Underwear
Yes, they will give you these “fancy” mesh underwear after birth but you never know if you want to put on your own underwear. After my c-section, I wanted my own comfy pair.
3. Nursing tank
I did not like wearing regular clothes that much while I was in the hospital. I wore these great pjs which came with a nursing tank. Personally, I would not even worry about having a bra or anything as long as you have the tanks.
4. 2 pairs of pajama pants or sweats
I would pack 2 pairs of really comfy pants or pj pants. I stayed in the same outfit for 2 days but I had a back up in case I bled through 1 pair of pants.
5. Bathrobe
My body temperature was all over the place after having both of my children! It was so nice to have my lightweight bathrobe there for when I got too cold. It was also nice when we had visitors that I could just slide that on over my tank top!
6. Going home outfit
It is important to plan out what you want to come home in because you end up taking pictures when leaving the hospital! The easiest thing to do is to wear what you wore to the hospital (for c-section, this is obviously easier). Another option so that you can prepare ahead of time, is to go ahead and pack a cute outfit. Now remember, after you have this baby, you aren’t going to automatically go back to your super model figure. Still pack maternity clothing. I also found it easiest after I had my first child to wear a dress so that nothing was touching my incisions. But after I had my son, wearing maternity pants was great because it put just enough pressure on my incision site to actually provide a little relief.
7. Toiletry Kit
Yes – most hospitals do provide soap and shampoo but they smell like hospital issued stuff! Yuck! The last thing I wanted was to smell even more like the hospital! Also, one of the greatest presents I received when I was in the hospital was some good smelling lotion from my mother -in -law. It was just what I needed to make me feel extra fresh! Here is a list of what I included in my toiletry kit:
* Shampoo and Conditioner
* Soap
* Favorite Lotion
* Makeup
* Makeup Remover Wipes
Pads (yes, my own from home and not the diaper ones from the hospital)
8. Boppy
If you are planning on nursing or bottle feeding, I highly recommend the Boppy! It was so easy to use during the hospital and it was great so that I didn’t wear my arms out holding my baby! After my first c-section, it was not comfortable nursing with the Boppy but after the second one, it was easier and actually made the pain better. It is so strange how completely different your birthing experiences can be!
9. Lanolin
If you are planning on nursing, bring the Lanolin! You can read later about “How to Survive Breastfeeding” but I will tell you to start coating the Lanolin in as soon as you start nursing BEFORE you are dry and cracked! Your nipples will thank you later!
10.Breast Shells
Friends – these SAVED me with both of my kids. Towards the last day in the hospital, my nipples were just tender. I didn’t even want to hug anyone. But these made my whole life better!!
Baby
1. Going Home Outfit
For some people, this may not mean that much to you, but this was a BIG deal for us. I had to pick out the perfect outfit for each of my kids to come home in. The hard part was that Will was born so early that he didn’t fit into the outfit I packed. Luckily for me, my mother and mother-in-law went and bought everything preemie so I had plenty of things to choose from!
2. 3 outfits
Now, this one is optional. For a lot of my friends, they left their children in the white onesie the hospital provides which is a perfectly good idea! I was just so excited for my kids to wear some of the clothes I bought that I wanted to make sure they wore them ASAP! Now, I say 3 outfits because without fail, there will be a poop or pee incident and you will need that change of clothes!
3. Finger Nail Clippers
There are probably some L&D nurses that are out there screaming because I just put this down! When Lizzy was born, she had ridiculously long finger nails and she was scratching herself (and no, the mitten things did not work very well for us). I asked the nurse for finger nail clippers and they said that they weren’t allowed to give any to me. They told me to….wait for it…bite my child’s nails….ummmm NO! So
4. 2 Swaddle Pods
I found these with my son and they were a life saver! They were hands down the best thing for getting the hang of nursing. No one told me that I would have to try and hold my child’s hands down, hold my boob, and try and get it in their mouth, all at the same time. It was not easy! So…with these swaddle pods, their hands are contained and they are still comfy being swaddled. Another great thing, the zipper goes from the top and the bottom. We literally used these until we absolutely had to take them off of him because of safety things in the crib.
5. 2 Blankets
We had the cutest blanket with my first child. She was so cute in all of the pictures and I couldn’t wait for everyone to see her wrapped in it and then SHE PEED ALL OVER IT! I was so upset! So…lesson learned…bring 2 blankets and all is good 🙂 Also, the hospital does provide blankets too but you know, I wanted the cute ones!
Entertainment
This list should be self-explanatory! I say to bring a laptop so that you can go ahead and upload all of those pictures from your camera onto your computer! Do it while in the hospital! We had WAY more down time at the hospital than we ever did at home!!
Camera
Charger
Laptop
Laptop Charger
Phone Charger
What did you pack in your hospital bag that you couldn’t live without?? Leave a comment below!
