What to take into hospital/birth centre

[BloomingR0sey]

I'm 39 weeks and just waiting for the little one to make an appearance now. I haven't had any information from anyone about what I need to take into hospital/birthing centre. I have the obvious and basics such as clothes,pj's,toiletries etc for me and blankets and a couple of different sets of clothes for the baby. Do I need to bring milk, nappies, wipes, bathing stuff for the baby and do I need maternity pads etc for myself or will that be provided? I've heard mixed things and haven't actually been told straight... a bit frustrating!
I would love to hear what you lovely ladies needed and found useful to have!

I would bring nappies, wipes and maternity towels. The hospital I had DC in expected mums to provide those (although they did have some in stock).

They also had a policy of not providing formula milk, unless baby needed it for medical reasons or baby was a patient in neonatal.

My hospital notes suggest the following.

Good luck and I hope all goes well.

I'd recommend having one bag for you, one for the baby and a third at home or in the car in case you run out of anything and need more.

You won't need bathing stuff for the baby. With newborns, it's best to use plain water. In fact, some midwives will encourage you to wait until the umbilical cord has fallen off before giving them a proper bath. Until then, you can top and tail.

My maternity bag included night wear for my self, a change of clothes, a couple of bodysuits for DS, nappies, wipes, muslin cloths, hat and gloves for when we were leaving, maternity pads, breast pads. Just in case, you could take some pre-made formula and a couple of bottles. My hospital would only provide formula as a top up for emergencies as well.

Every hospital is different, so it's better to over-prepare than under-prepare :)

Food. You WILL be hungry.

Thank you so much ladies! I really appreciate it!

Food. Stuff that you can eat one-handed without much mess. I had lots of those little bottles of Yazoo milkshake, bananas, fruit, flapjacks.

Many hospitals don't give you toast after and if you've missed dinner you're SOL until morning, which is shit.

A water bottle with sports cap, and a towel you can soak and tie to your bed - postnatal wards are hot as hell.

Charger for your mobile.

If you might stay on the ward I'd also say flip flops for the shower, anti bac wipes for the toilet seat as some people don't clean up after themselves and after finding maternity pads useless for the first couple of days after DS I found the tena incontinence pants fab after having DD

The only thing I would add is, at the hospital I was at, they told me not to bring ready made formula as when opened it's to be kept in the fridge and they didn't have the storage for it. I took a tub of formula (powder) instead.

Change for vending machines or the café, if it's late and everything is closed. The only thing I was given were giant pads and holey pants straight after the birth, had my own though. Nothing much else to add to the above, oh phone charger.

Nappies - lots!. I ran out in the morning and had to wait for husband to come in as they didnt have any apparently!! Must have looked clueless new mum when called to have doctor check her ( i put a maternity pad in her sleepsuit till he arrived )