Ultimate Hospital bag checklist when having a baby

There are a plethora of hospital bag checklists out there. When it was time to pack my hospital bag I felt really overwhelmed. Every list had different suggestions. I was so worried about packing the wrong things that I kept putting off packing the bag altogether.

My sister in law gave me a list that she made. I used this as my starting point. Then I painstakingly read through every list I could lay my hands on and cross referenced all of the items on all of the lists to come up with my final packing list.

Even better than this, once I had my first baby I then edited the list a bit more to make the ultimate checklist. I used my ultimate checklist to pack my hospital bag when I had my second child. Thankfully this time around I felt confident and excited to pack my bag as I knew I had everything I needed.

I suggest you pack two bags to make life easier. I had a during labour bag and then an after baby is here bag. This made it easier for my husband to find everything I needed at the appropriate time.

Labour bag

Paper work:

• Maternity notes – pack last of all right on the top of the bag as this will be the first thing you need to hand over when you arrive at the hospital

• Birth plan x 5-I know 5 sounds excessive but as you go to different departments and as different midwives walk in and out of your room taking your notes with them and shift changes the last thing your birth partner wants to be doing is panicking about where the birth plan is/ trying to remember all of your wishes off the top of their head.

Relaxation:

• MP3’s, ipod, ipod charger, old mobile phone (solely to play music with no calls, notifications etc) and charher, CD, CD player and charger (old school, I know :) )- For me I needed my hypno tracks to stay relaxed and in control. Therefore I had them in two different formats and ensured I had chargers for all.

• Dream Genie pillow-This was my hero product especially with the second one when I had PGP. It greatly reduced the excruciating pain in my hip and leg and made it possible for me to get comfortable.

• Hairband and clips – Nothing more annoying than having hair flapping around in your face.

• Bin bags and sellotape – In case there are no blinds etc and lights cannot be dimmed.

Nutrition:

• Sports drinks for energy.

• Straws so your birth partner can help you to drink in any position that you find most comfortable.

• Fruit bars/dried fruit/energy bars

• Squeezable honey/jam – If your stomach has shut down and you don’t feel like eating but need some energy then this can be squirted into the mouth.

Clothes:

• Spare clothes/ clothes you feel comfortable giving birth in- My waters kept leaking onto my leggings but I didn’t feel ready to sit around naked at this point. Thankfully I had packed spare bottoms. If you are planning a water birth you may want to wear a bikini top at least in the beginning of labour. I also bought a cheap jumbo nightie from Primark, like my nan used to wear, which was nice and airy, gave me space to move and adopt any position without feeling restricted and I didn’t care if I got blood or amniotic fluid on it.

• Disposable knickers – Again if leaking fluid or blood just bin them and get a new pair. Life is too short to be trying to wash stained knickers especially once baby is here. Trust me you will have better things to do with your time.

• Plastic bag- to pack any dirty/wet clothes into.

• Slippers/flip flops – If you don’t want to be walking/ standing on the bare floor.

• Towel to receive baby- Your ‘germs’ will be on your towel which is best for baby to be exposed to. Also it’s much nicer once baby is on your chest to have your familiar washing power smell on your towel rather than a hospital one, wafting up your nose in those first wonderful moments.

Other

• Phone to take pictures/ Digital camera and batteries/chargers and fully charged – You will definitely want to capture those first precious moments.

• Money and card – Cab, coffee, vending machine, magazine/ you never know but better to be prepared.

• Birth partner snacks and drinks – Anything they want within reason especially if it is something that you have found unbearable all throughout your pregnancy!

• Phone charger – Whether you are using it to take photos or to text and call to announce baby’s arrival you will probably use up your phone battery pretty quickly.

Baby is here hooray bag

Clothes

Baby

• Vests x 4 – In case of leaky poo.

• Sleepsuits with built in scratch mitts x 4 – The suits appear to have an extra flap at the end of the sleeve. This is in fact an ingenious built in scratch mitt. Once flapped over baby is unable to scratch their face until it bleeds. Oh yes this is a thing as crazy as it sounds! Remember these pictures will be around forever and often bought out so make sure you really like the first suit you put them in as you are going to be seeing a lot of it in your lifetime.

• Scratch mitts x 4- If you were unable to find the suits with them built in.

• Hat – These are little cotton hats that will look ridiculously big on your new baby. Hospitals are really keen for babies to have one on as this is where all of the heat escapes from the baby as they regulate their temperature. Please note once home safe sleeping advice suggests that hats should not be worn to sleep in as the baby may overheat and overheating is linked to SIDS (Sudden Infant death syndrome).

• Blanket x 2 – Once baby is lying in the hospital cot they will need to be kept warm by a small blanket, preferably a cellular one. Every fold of a blanket counts as an additional layer so if you folded the blanket in half this would count as two blankets. Hospitals and especially maternity wards are like furnaces so the last thing your baby will want is a big thick heavy fleecy blanket.

Mummy

• Clothes – Obviously once you have had your baby you will want to get out of the clothes you gave birth in. These clothes should be comfortable and gentle on the skin. Layers are best as mentioned above the hospital is very hot. I wore a vest top and leggings and was still too warm! Both of my babies were born in the autumn.

• Pyjamas- You may want to wear pyjamas after giving birth and may not want to put on clothes. Also if you need to stay in hospital then obviously you would need pyjamas.

• Dressing gown- Same as mentioned above. Especially useful if you are wondering about the hospital such as going to the toilet etc.

• Feeding bras- If you are planning on breast feeding then you will need a feeding bra with drop down cups. This means that baby is able to access your boobs quickly and easily without you having to get fully undressed.

Feeding

• Bibs – Try to find bibs that have the Velcro/popper on the side of the bib. When they are new it is quite tricky to try to lift up their head and fasten a bib up at the back of their neck. As a general rule you will need a new bib for each feed and they will feed every two hours.

• Muslins – I used to tuck one in my bra as then any sick or dribbled milk went onto the muslin and not onto me or the baby. Again it is nice to have a clean one for each feed, however they do dry very quickly so you could reuse it for more than one feed although the smell of dried milk will waft up at you during feeding.

• Breast pads- Your boobs will start to leak and unless you are wearing breast pads the milk will soak through your bra and top leaving you wet and uncomfortable. Personally I liked to use the Lansinoh ones as they are shaped and I found they stopped any leaks and were so much more comfortable.

Sadly, I found that the flat circle supermarket own brand ones didn’t catch the milk and I ended up with big circles on my top. Also they used to scratch and irritate my nipples – Not what you need when you have a child chewing on the end of them!

• Lansinoh nipple cream- I know it is £12 a tube but nothing I tried even came close to beating the performance of this cream. Especially in the early days of feeding. Apply it before a feed and after. It will stop your nipples from cracking and becoming sore.

Hygiene/grooming

Baby

• Nappies – newborn size. You may like to read how to change a new baby’s nappy in my post here. Remember the top of the nappy will need to be folded over so that it is clear of the umbilical cord. Even nappies that are made with a cut out/dipped part at the top for the umbilical cord need to be rolled over as they still come up too high on the baby’s tummy.

• Nappy sacs- This is to put the used nappy and cotton wool into. They are lightly scented. Save your money and buy a supermarket own brand basics pack. They work just as well as the more expensive bags.

• Nappy cream- Personally I love sudocrem but there are many different creams out there. The cream acts as a barrier to stop the baby’s poo irritating their delicate new skin.

• Cotton wool – Babies skin is very delicate and even though the sensitive wipes say they can be used from birth I personally liked to use cotton wool and water on my babies. My babies have very sensitive skin and both were prone to eczema.

• Small pot – To hold the water in to wash baby’s bum. The water should be warm but not hot. If cold water is used then it gives baby a start and makes them cry.

• Washing baby – If your baby is born with vernix on them (white, cheesy looking layer on their skin) don’t clean it off. This is a natural moisturiser and is good for the skin. Leave it alone and it will be absorbed by the skin. Babies do not need to be washed a lot in the early days and bathing them every day can cause skin problems.

Mummy

• Postnatal sanitary pads – Once baby is here you have a really long period this is called Lochia. This happens after the birth of every baby regardless of the delivery method. I found the supermarket own brand pads to be just as effective as the branded ones. These are super soft, big, fluffy, comfortable pads specially designed for use after having a baby. They are more comfortable than a regular sanitary pad.

Once the bleeding slows down/you are more active/back in your old clothes you may like to switch to the slim line ones. These more closely resemble a sanitary towel but are still gentler and softer on the skin.

• Disposable pants – As mentioned above you may prefer to have a few pairs of these to wear in the beginning to save on washing if you have any leaks. Personally after the baby was here I wore normal knickers again, as I didn’t find I leaked blood onto them as the towels were catching all of the blood. Also I didn’t find them particularly comfortable but this one is down to personal choice.

• Shower gel, face wash/wipes, flannel, shampoo, towel, tooth brush, tooth paste, deodorant, hair brush, hair bands – After having baby it is wonderful to have a shower. Please bear in mind if you are planning on Breast feeding that baby likes your natural smell and won’t like it if you use lots of heavily perfumed products. When you are buying your wash things try to find unperfumed products.

• Plastic bag- Again useful for the wet towel, dirty clothes etc.

Travel

• Car seat- You must have a car seat to transport the baby home in.

#packing #hospitalbag #babybag #bepreparedbag #maternitybag