One quick search on Pinterest will reveal a thousand different posts telling you exactly what you need to pack in your hospital bag. The truth is, your needs are quite simple, given what the hospital provides. You really only need: your insurance stuff/ID card, clothes to wear home, clothes for baby to wear home, and a car seat. However, there are many things you will probably want.
Because I'm obsessed with researching things, I checked out about 50 of those lists, and compiled a giant list of basically everything they said to bring:
Don't think that's a massive list? That was just for me. I had another page for Dad and Baby.
After compiling this huge list, I crossed off things I thought were unnecessary (i.e. my own towel, PJ pants) or impractical (i.e. my own pillow) to bring.
Today, I'm going to share with you what I actually packed in my hospital bag, along with what I used, what I didn't need, what I didn't use but was glad I had anyway, and what I wished I had packed. That's a lot of things. Let's get started.
First of all, our hospital is quite new (built within the last 10 years), so I didn't feel like it was gross at all. This meant I could skip things like flip-flops for the shower. Secondly, I called ahead to find out what the hospital provided, so I could skip a lot of other things, too. I still brought extras of what I thought they'd provide, just in case, but I ended up not needing them.
So, first, what I packed for me:
Things I Actually Used:
- My license and insurance card
- Clothes to wear home (sweats, comfy shirt, sweater, socks)
- A plastic bag for laundry
- Toothbrush/toothpaste
- Shampoo/conditioner
- Body wash
- Lip balm
- Deodorant
- Microfiber cloth for my glasses
- Nursing sleep bra
Next, there were three things I didn't use, but am glad I had along just in case. I'd pack them again, too, in case of different circumstances. First was lanolin, but I didn't have any need of it this time. Second was disposable nursing pads. My milk didn't come in until a day or two after we left the hospital, but there was no way for me to know that in advance. Third was a book. I brought it thinking I'd read it while waiting, but at that time it was the middle of the night, and I just wanted to try to sleep. (Emphasis on 'try'.)
Now, things I had along, but didn't need included a lightweight cotton bathrobe and a nursing cover. I thought that if Josephine needed to eat while we had visitors, I could use the nursing cover, but she had such a hard time learning to nurse that it was easier to just kick the visitors out for a while. That's okay to do; baby's eating comes first. I brought the bathrobe to wear over the hospital gown, but never even wanted it.
I also packed comfy socks, but the hospital provided a pair of these, and I decided to wear theirs instead of getting mine dirty. Less laundry, you know. I also packed maxi pads and extra comfy undies, but again, the hospital provided plenty of these, and kept the refills coming when I ran out, so I didn't need to have these with me.
I knew I'd need lotion, but for some reason thought that a travel size body lotion (a scented kind from Bath and Body Works) would suffice for my needs for 2 days. False. I could have left this stuff at home. Finally, I also had Life Savers because everyone says to pack something to suck on during labor. Maybe it's because I was in labor during the middle of the night, but I didn't even want these.
Finally, there were a few things I didn't pack that I really wished I had. First was a good lotion. Caleb went home the first night (after she was born) and when he came back I had him bring my Cetaphil. I use that as a hand/body lotion, but also as a face lotion. Second was my face soap. For some reason, I thought I'd be fine for a few days just using regular soap, but I wasn't. I didn't want to bring mine from home because I keep it in a big soap dish, and I was trying to save space in the suitcase. Stupid. I felt so disgusting. The very first thing I did when we got home was wash my face. Twice.
Now, Caleb and Baby's lists are a little simpler, since they weren't actually in labor. :)
For Caleb, I packed:
- PJ pants
- Swim suit (in case I needed help in the shower)
- Toothbrush
- Deodorant
- Snacks (protein bars, beef jerky, graham crackers, club crackers - his favorites)
- A water bottle
- Chargers for his phone, iPad, etc.
- Camera and extra batteries
- His pillow
- A power strip
I think the only things Caleb used were the chargers and the camera. We got to the hospital Saturday night, I was in labor overnight, Josephine was born at 3:02 AM on Sunday morning, and then we were moved to a postpartum room where they had a pull out bed for Caleb. We got a little sleep then, but for Sunday and Monday night, Caleb just went home to sleep and then came back in the mornings.
He probably would have used his pillow, but we didn't even bring all our stuff from the car until late Sunday morning. (And by we, I mean he, because I had just given birth and wasn't up to fetching bags from the car.)
For Baby, I packed:
- Car seat
- Outfit for going home (I brought options in two sizes, since I didn't know how big she'd be)
- Blanket
- Burp rag
- Bottles
We didn't need the burp rag, but I'd probably pack it again, anyway. I packed bottles because the nurse at my doctor's office recommended it; in case we had a problem breastfeeding, then she could use the bottles we already had. We didn't need them, but I'm still glad we had them. Of course, we only needed one outfit for going home (and by outfit, I mean sleeper), but again, there was no way of knowing what we'd need.
And that's it.
The hospital provided a lot of things for us:
- Diapers/wipes for baby (and we got to take the leftovers home)
- Tube of diaper cream
- Comb for baby
- Nasal bulb aspirator
- A tiny travel size baby wash
- Hats for baby
- A little bowl (for sponge bath water)
- Mesh undies for mom
- Maxi pads
- Dermoplast for mom
- Peri bottles
If you want a concise checklist of what I'd pack if I did it again, keep reading. If not, that's all for today!
For Mom:
- License and insurance card
- Clothes to wear home
- A plastic bag for laundry
- Toothbrush/toothpaste
- Shampoo/conditioner
- Body wash
- Lip balm
- Deodorant
- A good lotion
- Face soap
- Microfiber cloth for cleaning glasses
- Nursing sleep bra
- Lanolin
- Disposable nursing pads
- Reading material
For Dad:
- PJ pants
- Toothbrush
- Deodorant
- Snacks
- A water bottle
- Chargers for his phone, iPad, etc.
- Camera and extra batteries
- A power strip
For Baby:
- Car seat
- Outfit for going home (two size options)
- Blanket
- Burp rag
- Bottles
Love and Lists,
Leah Joy
