What should I pack in my hospital bag?

Getting your bag packed and ready for the birth of your baby is an exciting time.  I wanted to be organised and prepared as soon as possible, so my bag was packed by 32 weeks!

There are plenty of hospital checklists available to download but here’s my two pence worth on what to pack. 

I suggest packing as lightly as possible as you may be moved around a lot in hospital. Speaking from experience, this can become super stressful to get it all packed up in a hurry to change rooms or wards.  All that being said, I took a bag for me, one for baby, one for dad and a bag with our food and drinks.

What essentials should I pack in my hospital bag for myself?

• Birthing plan and notes.
• Comfortable shoes.
• Ear plugs/eye mask – being on a shared ward where people keep turning lights on or watching tv or talking late you need both.
• Toiletries – shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrush, body wash, hairbrush flannel.
• Hair ties.
• Lip balm or Vaseline.
• Socks.
• A phone charger with a long lead as sometimes the plug can be quite far from the bed.
• A hot water bottle.
• TENS machine - if you decide to use one.
• A pillow, I didn’t take one but wished that I had and if not for me then for my other half.
• A reusable water bottle, ideally with a straw or sports lid in case someone needs to feed water to you in labour.
• Optional – essential oils – I took lavender.
• Entertainment, iPad, books, magazines.
• FOOD – This is super important! I’ve never eaten so much cardboard white toast in my life than I did in hospital. We packed up Apples, bananas, grapes, oranges, nuts, crisps, chocolate, and cereal bars and then thankfully as there was an onsite Marks & Spencer’s where we got some salads, dips and drinks from the shop.

What essentials shall I pack in my hospital bag for after the birth?

Once your labour is done and dusted, you’ll be feeling more relieved than ever! Although the hard part is over, you’ll now need a whole bunch of other things.

• Large sanitary or maternity pads.
• Large comfy knickers or Maternity pants – the bigger the better, if you have a c-section you won’t want elastic knickers going anywhere near the incision. Bring around 6 pairs as you don’t know how long you will be in for.
• A towel.
• Dressing gown (optional) - I didn’t take one as I like to travel as light as possible
• Slippers or even flip-flops for use in the showers.
• Comfy, maternity-sized outfit to wear home. I opted for my maternity leggings, baggy t-shirt, and cardigan for leaving the hospital.
• Bag for dirty washing.

What do I need to bring to the hospital for breastfeeding my baby?

• Several loose-fitting nightdresses or maternity nightdresses.
• Nursing bras
• breast pads
• Front-opening pyjama tops.

Note: You may also want to write a list of people to contact once the baby is born. This will make it easy for your partner to inform all your loved ones.

What essentials should I pack in a bag for my new born baby?

• Nappy bag – with nappies, nappy bags, cotton wool, water wipes, travel changing mat.
• Six baby grows / sleep suits.
• Muslin Cloths.
• Knitted hat.
• Scratch mitts.
• A few bibs.
• Knitted Blanket or shaw.
• Swaddle Blanket.
• A beautiful outfit for going home in.

What should I pack for my partner when preparing for the birth of our baby?

There’s no denying that your partner can probably quickly do this before heading off to the hospital. However, for us personally, I wanted to be prepared as we lived an hour away from the hospital! This meant that my partner might have needed to stay at a nearby hotel, and he so did - for several days!

• Spare Clothes, T-shirts, Jeans, boxers, socks, and hoodie.
• Towel.
• Phone charger.
• Laptop – so he could watch movies.
• Man snacks (always essential).
• Water bottle – When our baby was born, he was taken away for several hours to have some tests done. My partner had to stay with the baby, who was now on a different floor to me and couldn’t leave. As he wasn’t actually a patient, the nurses said they couldn’t even offer him a cup of water. This meant that he was really dehydrated and hungry throughout his wait. If only he’d taken his packed bag with snacks and water!

Note: If partners are reading this, consider taking a little gift for mum to make her feel special once the baby arrives!

Prepping for the journey to and from hospital

• We always made sure that the car was topped up with petrol in the weeks leading up to the birth.
• We left spare change in the car as the parking app at the hospital didn’t always work.
• We installed the car seat but as first-time parents, we were quite worried that we may have done it wrong! Just to be safe, we got it all checked out at Mothercare.

What essentials did you bring? If there's anything else you believe should be on this list, please let me know and I’ll add it!