Opinions please!...trying to pack my hospital bag

[TeaBaggy]

I have been looking at loads of websites and have come to the conclusion that 2 bags are better than 1....but have found lots of conflicting advice.

So...
a bag for mum and a bag for baby, Or...
a bag for labour and a bag for after?

Thank you :)

[scarlettlips]

I took:

1 Bag for Mum
1 Bag for Baby

Much easier...DH could find everything I needed without me telling him which bag to look in.

[scarlettlips]

My DH also took a small backpack with things for him too. Towel, change of top, mags, Ipad etc etc

[TeaBaggy]

thanks scarlettlips, thats how i started out...with 1 for me and 1 for baby, but a lot of the websites suggest bags for labour and after, which makes me wonder if im doing it wrong...maybe im just over-thinking it.

i also like the idea of DP having his own bag...will stop him taking up space in my bag and if he packs it himself then he cant moan if he is hungry/bored

[nunnie]

I had one for labour and everything needed during and straight after plus extra nappies and maternity pads and breast pads, then one for me and baby. DH brought the 2nd bag in later and swapped with labour bag.

[LittleMissFlustered]

I'm going with small bag with labour stuff in and a wee wheely thing for after. the mum and baby one didn't work well for me last time. Felt like I was juggling too much!

[oranges123]

I think two might be a good idea - one for you and one for a baby. Whatever you decide though, make sure your DH/DP knows where everything is in the bag. I had an EMCS under GA and poor DH, who was in a total state anyway, really struggled to find the babygros, vests and nappies I had carefully packed for DD. Then for the rest of my hospital stay, I really struggled to find anything in the whirlwind DH had created.

[nunnie]

My last birth ended like oranges, so my one labour bag made it easier for DH less for him to have to hunt through. and I had far too much time on my hands prior to his birth obviously because I put two little cloth bags inside one labelled for baby and one for me so he just had to grab the one cloth bag to find babygro and vest and nappies.
Did forget to put hat in though which had made DH panic as he thought I MUST have put one in there somewhere.

[nannyl]

I have 3 bags
labour
baby
hospital

In my labour bag i have little bag with 2 nappies and a vest and sleep suit for baby too.
I have knickers / maternity pads in both labour and hospital bags, and another pack of nappies in my hospital bag, as well as a top / underwear . toothbrush for OH.

and (im planning a homebirth, lol, so fingers crossed i wont need to take it all anywhere)

[nannyl]

Also my 3 bags are clearly labeled, and on the back of each label i have printed the contents so its easy to see at a glance what is in there

[naturalbaby]

small bag of baby stuff in main bag, with a side pocket/zip section for labour stuff.

[nunnie]

My only confusion is what do I do if I make it to my ELCS date? Do I swap the bags over to one for me and one for baby the night before as I am not certain I will need a labour bag as such.

I couldn't possibly pack another just in case bag that would tip me over the edge I think.

[HerdOfTinyElephants]

Labour (and immediate aftermath -- i.e. enough to see you and baby through to the postnatal ward if you don't get discharged from delivery) and after (stuff for the next couple of days), IMO. Labour bag would have probably two sets of clothes for baby and 4-5 nappies.

So for example with ELCS you would probably (just based on my experience, admittedly) go onto a recovery ward immediately afterwards and then transfer to postnatal when you had been decatheterised and got use of your legs back. So I'd have a "labour"/"recovery" bag and an "afterwards"/"postnatal" bag.

[nunnie]

Ohh so the night before I could just transfer a couple of items out of my hospital bag into my labour bag then thank you.

[LittleMissFlustered]

Just checked my wee wheely thing (technical term) and it has a fair sized pocket on the front, so it's going to be a solo bag for me. I tend to trqvel light, and seeing as this is the third time around for me I can safely leave a lot of the recommended essentials in the shops

[TeaBaggy]

Thanks everyone,

I would love to be so organised as to have a list of what is in each bag...but im just not and DP probably wouldnt look at it anyway...

My main reason for thinking mummy bag and baby bag is that that will make it easier for him to find things...as hopefully he will at least be able to work out which bag to look in. I figure i will know what is in each bag anyway as im the one who has spent days hours packing them.

[SeniorWrangler]

I had a HB but I had prepared a bag for me and a bag for baby.

[Cyclebump]

I packed four bags

I had a labour bag with things like my TENS, the nightie I wore to give birth in, a few maternity pads, two babygros, a few nappies and toiletries for the post-baby shower.

A bag of food, for both me and DP (they forgot to feed me for 10 hours after birth so it came in handy!).

At home I had a bag of going home clothes for me and baby and an 'extended stay' bag of extra clothes for me and baby and extra pads and nappies in case I was kept more than one night. It meant DP could just grab a bag when i was ready to leave without worrying he'd forget an essential item.