Hospital bag do's and don'ts

[LJFM2B]

So I am 24 weeks pregnant, stupidly organised and am planning to pack majority of my hospital bag by 30 weeks (i know enough people who have given birth early to scare me into being this eager)
Im a first time mummy so looking for you 'been there and done that' mummys for some tips on what you wished you had and what you wished youd never bothered taking!

Looking forward to getting ideas :)

GO GO GO

Lots of disposable pants and maternity pads. More than you think.

Agree with the flip flops.

Food and drinks. Especially hydrating snacks as it is nuclear hot in there.

Best wishes and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy.

I had an overnight/ essentials bag and another bag in the car with another 2-3 days' worth of stuff. Worked well in my case and meant I was not dragging huge amounts of stuff around.

Snacks, snacks, snacks and more snacks
Oh! And your own Pillows / Blanket x

Washlets - the flushable buttwipes. Two days of cheap hospital toilet roll did more damage to my undercarriage than pushing a person out did.

I used almost nothing that mumsnet told me to take.

The hospital provided towels, and using posh toiletries in a grim hospital shower would have been pointless. I preferred to take only my top off to breastfeed rather than unbutton my mumsnet-approved button-down nightie and end up totally naked. I was too busy staring at my baby to need to use my phone much, so never used the extra-long charger I bought.

And at 4weeks post-partum I have literally dozens of leftover maternity pads I was assured I needed that I'll never use! (And a brand new five-pack of Big Pants that I need to donate to charity.)

As long as you've got nappies and something for you and the baby to wear, you'll be fine. There's no perfect hospital bag list that suits everyone.

Ear plugs and snacks for definite!!

I put baby outfits (vest, socks, babygro, hat) into labelled ziploc bags, so easy to grab a whole outfit. And could put dirty clothes into the now empty bag!

Yes yes to nice shower gel and body lotion for afterwards. I was really into the smell of washing powder and things being "clean" smelling so it was really nice having a nice shower, body lotion and changing into a freshly washed comfy outfit afterwards (I could just be a bit odd though )
We stopped for extra snacks on the way to the hospital with my fourth dc I think I nearly gave the man who worked in the petrol station heart failure when a particularly painful contraction hit whilst I was browsing the crisp aisle.

Actually I'm going to go against the grain and say DON'T take your nice shower gel - I took my Jo Malone and now every time I smell it all I can think of is being in hospital!

A large plastic bag to put your dirty things in, and the baby's.

I did the ziploc bag outfits too and it worked a treat.

I packed a bag for me, one for the baby, and had the snacks in a separate bag within that so that DH didn't mess up all the clothes etc every time he wanted a packet of crisps.....

Also @littlepooch congratulations!!! hope all is well :)

Flip flops, lip balm, eye mask, ear plugs, bottled water and magazines/ something to read. The latter because there can be lots of waiting around, either just to be seen, or to be induced, or once induced while they wait and see what happens. I just remember lots of waiting with a couple of my births.

I also left a ‘just in case’ bag at home or in the car with extra bits should we have needed to stay in longer.

I gave birth 3 weeks ago and had such a quick labour that the bags I’d spent weeks packing were still in the boot of the car!

My only suggestions would be:

more snacks/food than you think you’ll need. I was given hot meals but DH had to fend for himself and cereal bars got old quickly. Also I went in at 5pm, delivered at 8pm so we missed dinner that night. DH and I shared my toast but something better than a cereal bar would have been great.

A good range of baby clothes sizes. I packed 2 tiny baby sleepsuits and 5 newborn size. Ended up having a 5lb baby and staying in for one day but he made a mess of both the tiny baby clothes in a few hours! Also the hat we bought in (one size fits all) was way too big so the hospital kindly gave us a knitted hat that had been donated.

I took maternity leggings and a big tshirt to wear home but my bump had gone down drastically so I spent the day in baggy leggings I was constantly pulling up! I wish I’d packed a normal pair too just in case.

You’ll probably have way more stuff than you actually need but if you feel better having it there, just take it. Good luck OP.

What snacks did you all take?

One of those Evian cooling sprays saved me from melting as it was so hot! I had a section but have heard they’re good in labour too. I agree on packing non-maternity leggings to go home too, my bump had all but gone after a 3 night stay and anything maternity would have fallen down.

Snacks - various types of cereal bar. The Stoats porridge raspberry ones, remember eating them after dinner one night as I was still starving. Avoided chocolate as it was so hot on the ward it would probably have melted.

@CathyandHeathcliff good questions

Mini juice boxes with straws. Easy sipping while in labour. You won't be able to hold a glass but DH can hold a juice box while you sip!

Thanks ladies honestly really helpful, im excited to get packing ... now got to decide on a mini case or large holdal bag for main bag .. and will take my spare in a large longchamp bag i have to keep in boot.

Snacks im thinking along the lines of, flavoured rice cakes, crisps, cereal bars, treats, dried fruit in yogurt, and my mum said she will pick up some fresh sandwiches on her way up and pasta pots, olives etc so were not just eating complete crap.

I already have a list of "food to get for me once babies born" that consists of all i cant eat while pregnant and can not wait to get down me once baby is here :)

Ooooh great thread. I'd have never of thought about flip flops, own towel and lip balm!
As I get Hangry, I think my OH will prioritise getting all the snacks in first!

I would bring two big bottles of water and prunes. You will need to pass stool and urine before they let you go -- both will help. I was in for five days, so that was really helpful. Also bring a spare nighty. One of my babies pooed all over mine and I had nothing else to wear (not that I cared to be honest). Don't remember managing to shower but then I don't remember much about that horrendous time.

Also when you are there, ask to borrow the milk pump (they will have a couple on the ward), it will help with the milk. I had two to feed, so it was essential.

@mplINsTA Amazing experience -- yours sound so easy! I was needing maternity pads for four months after delivery. If you experience heavy blood loss, my advice would be to stock up on cheap ones and stick them together so you don't need to change every half an hour!

Not read all the replies, so apologies if I duplicate suggestions.

Put minimal stuff in your main bag, but pack another bag for longer term and leave it at home, in case you stay in for longer than planned. Means your OH can just grab it instead of relying on them to try and think of and pack stuff.

Also pack some carrier bags to put dirty clothing in, as you could end up with wet or bloody clothing.

A hairbrush and a hoody! Not nice walking out of hospital the next morning after a water birth with unbrushed hair and my husbands coat on!

The hospitals do provide towels but ime they are like sandpaper having been washed 5 times a day for umpteen years! I'd recommend definitely taking your own (dark coloured) towel 😊

I wrote a list of what I actually used to help me pack next time:

handbag-type stuff
/Purse
/Phone
/Charger & power pack
/Maternity notes

clothes
/Nighties (big)
/Socks
/Slippers
/Nursing bras
/Maternity leggings
/Coming home clothes

Toilet bag (packed separately in bag so easy to grab and shuffle to loo with)
/Lactulose
/Germoloids
/maternity Pads (2 packs)
/washlets
/big Knickers

other toiletries
/Nipple cream
/Wash bag
/Dark towel
/Eye mask
/Ear plugs

baby
/Baby bag (Nappies, cotton wool pads, wipes, muslins, clothes, blanket)

food
/sucky top water bottle
I also really needed my Lucozade sport (flat with sucky top) and found Soreens the best snack for me. I wouldn’t have wanted DH to be nipping off to get snacks.

Get your OH to unpack & repack everything so they know where everything is.

The one thing I would have added is a flannel. Wet paper towels to mop my brow during labour wasn’t quite the same...

The one thing I wouldn’t do without is the lactulose. Made my post-birth poo totally uneventful. Although I didn’t have to do this before I was allowed home, as someone else mentioned they had to upthread.