One of my friends is a couple months away from having her first, and was looking for suggestions for her hospital bag. I tried to pare down my packing list for the hospital before going, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to pack lighter this time. If you’re wondering what to take to the hospital, here’s my list, with “BTDT” comments (“been there, done that”) in square brackets.
For L&D
- Pillows [Meh; hospitals have pillows. Guess I’m not picky.]
- Tennis ball for back massage during labor [Uh, no. Didn’t take it; wouldn’t have used it.]
- Slippers, warm socks, robe [It was February; you might still want the robe and slippers in the summer though.]
- Gum, snacks and hard candy [Meh]
- Water bottle [The hospital provided one. Two, actually. And they wouldn’t let me drink during labor. Ice chips. Yum.]
- Change/singles for vending machines [Oh yeah.]
- Hair brush and hair ties [Definitely.]
- Makeup (for pictures!) [Didn’t take pictures in the delivery room, but we did later.]
- Camera [Ditto.]
- Cell phone/phone card [Of course.]
- Baby book to get baby feet stamped with ink! [The hospital gave me a sheet with footprints.]
- Baby name book [If you’re open to last-minute choices and changes.]
Add to the list: any birthing/coaching materials you need, insurance card (duh).
Toiletries
You know, the bathroom supplies you’d take anywhere else.
- Nail clippers [. . . for hangnails? What on earth?]
- Contact lens case, solution, glasses, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, deodorant
- Shampoo, conditioner, soap, dark colored towel [I couldn’t get out of bed long enough to shower due to complications, but I think that hospitals tend to have these things. The dark-colored towel was to make sure it didn’t get mixed up with the hospital’s.]
- Lotion, baby oil [I think I might have used them; it was winter.]
- Nice SOFT toilet paper [Hospitals have TP, but I’m not picky.]
- Hairdryer [Meh]
- Large pads [Keep these at home; the hospital provided plenty.]
- Nursing pads [Probably not necessary in the hospital, but nice to have just in case.]
- Pillow with pillowcase other than white [So you don’t get it mixed up with hospital pillows.]
- Burp cloths [Never used.]
- Baby wipes [The hospital provided wipes and diapers.]
- Card games and entertainment [We watched TV and looked at Hayden.]
Going home
- Outfit for me to wear home [Duh.]
- Nursing bra, underwear
- Dermaplast (skin numbing spray) and Tucks pads [I’d keep those at home.]
- Outfit for baby to wear home including hat, onesie, socks/booties, and blanket [Depends on the weather, of course. You don’t have to worry about any other clothes; the hospital provides onesies, hats and blankets while you’re in there. And they gave us the hat.]
- Car seat [Can’t leave the hospital without one!]
Now, for a lot of these things, the hospital provided (lots of) them. This will, of course, vary, and yes, I suppose I did eventually pay for most of them in one way or another. However, I did look at my hospital bills and they didn’t charge me per baby wipe and sanitary napkin—but some hospitals do nitpick like that.
So, what could you not live without in the hospital?
13 replies on “What should you take in a hospital bag?”
1.) the computer! our hospital has free wireless, at least in the maternity wing, so you can email pictures straight away. (remember the cord to plug your camera into the computer though. we forgot.)
2.) snacks for dad. especially if you labor slowly.
3.) cell phone CHARGER.
this isn’t really a list item, but a helpful hint – anything you don’t need for LABOR can stay in the car until after delivery, obviously, since at most hospitals you have to chage rooms anyway. no sense hauling overnight bags and computers and everything else all over creation when you want to just focus on baby. dad can go out to the car and get it later.
Usually the hospital provides this if you ask but I have actually used up their supply before. I ALWAYS have a craving for cranberry juice after I deliver. This lasts for weeks to months! It is about the only thing I drink after having a baby, maybe it is a cleansing thing, I dunno.
Thanks for the list.
My midwife said to pack my husband’s bathing suit. If you head for the shower in labour, no nurse wants to see a naked man while you’re in there! Ah ha……
I didn’t see chocolate on the list. That’s a must!!
I had a very detailed list of what to take. It was broken down by a bag for labor, me, husband and baby. A few other things would be cute and nursing friendly gown for when you have guests or are walking the halls. Who likes those hospital gowns. We also brought an ipod and speakers which was great in my room when there was nothing on TV or we were just relaxing. Next time I am bringng a chart for keeping track of all the questions they asked every time they came in my room about nursing and when I went to the bathroom. If they want the answers they need tomake it easy and they did not. Last, I did bring a few cute onesies for my dd just so it would be cuter for the pictures.
Mine came 2 weeks early so my bag wasn’t even packed! I threw some stuff together and ended up not using anything other than sample/travel sized soaps/shampoos. I suggest to any pregnant mom to have your bag packed a month before. And don’t let your husband who has no idea about what size you were wearing when pregnant buy you new pyjamas post partum (unless he’s willing to deal with a tired, sore and unhappy lady). Better yet-have one of your best friends (who is a midwife by profession) just fly down at a moments notice to be there to supply all the right stuff.
LOL. Hayden was only a few days early, but we didn’t have a car seat (we were going to get one that weekend; he came on a Friday), so Ryan spent like six hours driving from store to store to find one that he liked.
Late January/early February is a crappy time to buy strollers/car seats, apparently—part of the reason we hadn’t gotten one was because there was like NOTHING in stock. Change of the “model year.” (Are you KIDDING me?!) Luckily, Ryan did a good job.
I had an emergency C-section with my first child so I hadn’t packed anything to keep me occupied as I didn’t expect to be spending 5 days in the hospital. Now that I will be having a repeat C-section I will deffinitely bring along a couple of my favorite magazines for the time during the day when I can’t sleep but the baby is.
It’s also good to take a folder of some sort to put all of that lovely paperwork they give you.
Oh yeah. I left with so much more stuff than I came with. They gave me a folder for the paperwork, thankfully.
I am only 8 days away from my c section day and i can
tell you from my first unplanned c section that u
should most deff.. bring pj’s and socks.
I started packing 4 weeks early but idk where too leave the suitcase cause me and my boyfriend live in different houses
Maybe the car?