Packing Your Hospital Bag

When it comes to packing my hospital bag, I am a minimalist. I don’t like having lots of extras that I need to lug around. A hospital bag is important though, because you don’t know how long you might be admitted for, if you’ll end up needed emergency surgery, or if your baby needs to stay for monitoring afterwards.

While you’ll likely know beforehand if there are any underlying concerns with your delivery, you do want to be prepared for the worst case, without overpacking.

Now that I have been through the birthing process 2 times, I have a ‘minimalist’ packing list full of items that make their way into my hospital bag. It is a smart idea to have your hospital bag packed around the 36-week mark of your pregnancy, that way you can avoid any last-minute scrambling if your baby decides to make an early entrance. Or, if your babies are anything like mine, they’ll bake for a few extra days (or even a week…).

Here are some of my hospital essentials:

• Phone Charger

• Laptop (for watching movies if you’re getting induced like me!)

• Pillow

• Sandals (that can be worn in the shower)

• Toothbrush & Toothpaste

• Travel Sized Face Wash (I left my shampoo and conditioner at home since I knew I would rather shower there instead)

• Dry Shampoo

• Hair Brush

• Face Lotion

• Lip Balm

• Change of clothes (socks, loose comfy pants, sweater, and shirt)

• PJ pants or comfy sweats for overnight

• Nursing Bra

• Hair Elastics (2)

• Frida Mom Ice Pads (2)

• Always Discreet Underwear (2)

• Lansinoh Nipple Cream

• Nursing Pads (3 pairs)

• Gatorade

• Water Bottle

• Snacks (I brought trail mix, granola bars, and some dried fruit)

I didn’t pack a whole lot for the baby because I knew (from having my first) that babies hardly need anything in the first days of their lives. So what I did was, I just packed up a diaper bag as I normally would, and I brought that along.

Here is what I pack in my diaper bag for baby:

• Change of clothes (socks, onesie, sleeper - I had 2 outfits)

• Diapers (I had about 10)

• Wipes (My favourite are Huggies Wipes)

• Diaper Cream

• Ready-to-feed formula (I did breastfeed, but I brought a small bit of formula as a backup option in case)

• Breastfeeding cover

• Muslin Swaddle Blanket

• Pacifiers - I brought 2 different types just to try. I was not concerned about nipple confusion at all.

Because I had everything packed beforehand, it actually all fit in my backpack-style diaper bag (which I HIGHLY recommend).

I ended up being in the hospital for a total of 18 hours. That included my induction and obviously the birth of my baby. I hardly ended up using my pillow, but I was happy to have it to use as a headrest while in child’s pose.

I would love to know what some of your hospital essentials were? Comment below!

Bailey

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