Hospital bag packing

[JuliaJones7]

Hi everyone

I’m about to become a first time mum in May and I’m finding the hospital bag advice all a bit overwhelming. I’m incredibly organised so have been watching videos and doing research but I find a lot of it contradicting! I’d love to hear some advice on best things to pack, how much to pack, any absolute essentials etc

thank you!

Extra long charging cable
drinks and snacks
put the baby clothes in complete outfits (vest babygrow, hat) in zip lock bags with the size clearly marked as it won’t be you dressing the baby
if your partner isn’t great at organising clothes get your DM or MIL primed on what to send in with him if you’re in for longer than you’d hoped. I had a pukey baby and ran out of baby clothes!

Definitely an extra long charging cable.

Spare batteries if you want to use a TENS machine. I found myself getting nervous on the day about running out.

You don’t need to bring any clothes at all if you’re happy to wear a hospital gown. You can just go home in whatever you were wearing when you went in.

I had a hospital bag packed and then a longer stay one packed at home. So if we needed to stay in DH could just grab that one and I wouldn’t have to try and describe what I wanted.

In the hospital bag,
Whatever you want to give birth in- I had a big baggy T-shirt and bikini top for potential water birth
Snacks
Drinks- sports top like lucozade etc
Normal toiletries such as shampoo shower gel toothbrush etc
Chargers
Comfy pjs and/or lounge clothes with access for breastfeeding and skin to skin
Comfy going home clothes
Baby clothes in little plastic bags
Nappies
Hat for baby
Breast pads
Pads-you need the big ones specifically for this, your usual san pro won’t cut it
Knickers that wouldn’t chafe a scar in case of c section
TENS machine

Sliders instead of flip flops for walking around the ward / showers. If you have to wear compression stocking after the birth, the toe bit in flip flops will really annoy you (speaking from experience!)

Get your DH / DP / birthing partner to help you pack your bag so they know where everything is.

A handheld fan as most postnatal wards are as hot as hades in the summer.

I was given a lovely seraphine set that consisted of labour gown, breastfeeding pjs for after the birth and dressing gown. DD2 was born so fast that I still had the clothes on my top half that I'd worn to the hospital 🙈 But as big tshirt or something might be handy depending on the type of birth you have (i couldnt have a water birth as DD needed continuous monitoring).

Theres a good list if you Google NHS hospital bag. Just stick to that one.

Edit to add - hairbands if you have long hair!

This is so helpful- thank you, especially the sliders instead of flip flops!! I’ll check out the nhs list too 🤍

The two bag hack is genius! I was getting flustered with what to pack not knowing how long I would be there for so this is great for my over active brain 😂

I packed two bags - one for my stuff and the other for the baby’s. I’d recommend this as it made it easier to find things quickly.

One mistake I made was thinking that 0-3 months clothes would be fine for a newborn. They were too big for my 7lb baby.

Can't add anything to what's already been said but I also took 0-3 months and only needed newborn or first size for my long 7lb 11 baby
I also did take muslins but didn't need any as found they don't really spit up so early? My baby did have reflux/spit up a lot but not until my milk came in
I also had a bag for me, then change bag for the baby's things

Oh yes this is also a good shout. I had a scan at 37w which showed DD1 was going to be below 10th centile. When DD1 was born a couple of days later, even newborn was too big for us and DH had to rush out to buy tiny baby size / size 0 nappies. So if you have a fairly latish scan (and taking into consideration how inaccurate scans can be!), worth thinking about that as well.

I used a medium suitcase on wheels and had packing cubes to separate mine and baby’s things.
for me I packed:
multiple comfy pjs/ shorts and vests
socks
big comfy knickers
a good moisturiser
lip balm
phone charger
airpods
bobbles & hairbrush
toothbrush & toothpaste
deodorant
leggings and a loose shirt to come home in
snacks

for baby:
multiple sleepsuits
ready to drink formula
nappies
going home outfit (just a cute sleep suit, hat and cardigan)
water wipes
nappy bags

dh also took a backpack with:
change of clothes/spare underwear
toothbrush & toothpaste
phone charger
snacks and drinks

male Sure your DH takes his own snacks as a friend’s DH ate all of her snacks and then got to go home while she stayed in overnight and had no snacks left!

Thanks so much everyone!