Most useful/useless things to take in hospital bag...

[YummyDollie]

I'm sick of looking at hospital bag packing lists! Do I really need to take everything except the kitchen sink to the labour ward with me?! I've bought 8 pairs of black cotton pants (asda 4 pairs for £4.00! Bargain!) so don't mind throwing them out afterwards is 8 pairs enough or nowhere near enough do i need more? I keep seeing other people's hospital bag ideas and feeling like an unprepared mummy! What was the most useless and most useful things you took/are taking in your hospital bag?

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Hello, this thread is a little old; for up-to-date recommendations, take a look at our hospital bag checklist.

Black out eye mask.

They NEVER turn the lights off.

I went in for a scan and ended up having an emergency section then and there. I had nothing with me.

Here's what I would have liked:

Change (for the pay TV on the ward and for biscuits and things from the hospital shop)
A charger for my mobile
Pajamas
Flip flops.
A book or some magazines

Later on, I found my baby got through more clothes than I would have expected. I'd say pack for three outfit changes for each day you expect to be there (so assuming a three day stay, pack 6 vests and 6 sleepsuits)

For knickers I like mens pants (very comfy)

Least useful was the baby book and teddy I had someone bring in. I was a first time mum with no clue about what newborns are actually like

Eye mask IMO was a necessity last time for me. I was induced and was in for a day and a half before I actually went into labour, would not have been able to sleep without one. I think the staff thought I was a bit of a diva but i was in a bed next to the window in summer and the curtains were as thick as tracing paper funnily enough the eye mask is the only thing that I can think of to pack this time hence me searching for lists on here....

WITCH HAZEL.

Seriously, that stuff on a pad is absolute bliss for your fanjo. I would never be without it after having a baby.

Pudgy2011 Did you get this one?

jam if you have a savers pharmacy near you it's £1.49 :)

Hi Jam - afraid not, I live overseas so just used a bottle from a pharmacy here. Stick it in the fridge if you can, it's wonderful.

I also recommend getting yourself a really lush bottle of smelly shower gel or similar that you like. I remember getting into that first shower after baby whilst the nurses were cleaning my room, and it was seriously the best shower in the world. Now, whenever I use the shower gel it reminds me of that day.

FOOD, for you and DH, the hospital vending machine is rubbish. This applies to accompanying DC to hospital, with broken arms in years to come too!

Comfy day clothes, you feel a right twit in a short night shirt a visiting time.

More maternity pads.

A light weight zip up.or button up cardi/fleece. Im a right prude so would throw it on during visiting times so as not to wave the boobs round to all and sundry.

Energy drinks, I got through litres of the stuff.

Water spray very useful, it was ridiculously hot.

Stress balls (as recommend by my birth skills book)

I'll be taking some sugar sachets when I go in to have this DC - was in for three days with DD trying to establish bf, they were lovely and brought me cup after cup of tea, but kept forgetting to put sugar in! I can force one cup down out of politeness but I need sugar in my tea!

In my bag I packed two changes of clothes and about 5 nappies for the baby. Then another 4 sets/20 in the changing bag in the boot. Then you can send DP to fetch them once you are settled on PN ward. Otherwise you will end up dragging several bags between rooms as you get examined, admitted, hours and hours days in delivery and postnatal when you won't need most of it until well after birth.

Plenty of "bottoms" for you, not just knickers pack a few pairs of cotton jersey leggings or pj bottoms (in dark colours). Again pick ones you're happy to throw away if wrecked by blood/lochia. I took the ones I'd gradually stretched through pregnancy which were nearly ready to bin.

Take nighties or summer dresses (again, ones you don't love) to wear post birth in case of catheter.

And yy to spare change. We had to pay £16 in pound coins for the parking (we bought a week and it saved us money by the time I'd finally given birth/been discharged and DH went back to register DS).

Things we could have done with: some socks, underwear and a toothbrush for DH. By the time DS arrived he'd been by my side in hospital for 48 hours and there was another 12 hours of visiting. He'd done that without the above and would have felt much better if he'd been able to take them to the visitors' toilet. And shampoo. I discovered I didn't have this just after giving birth and moisturising shower gel leaves your hair greasy.

Ok, I don´t know if any of this is relevent as I drove to the birthing center 4 hours each way in a mediteranian country! But he´s what I took

Squash (I don´t always like water and a bottle of quash makes it much better)
fruit juice the little boxes with straws
A small hand held fan
yoga pants wide leg, cotton (gents) dark blue 3 pairs.
Tena Pants (Great things)
Huge towels proper bath sheets dark colour took about 4 left 3 in the car! sa on them to come home - go - use after a shower.
Pinic blanket (the ones with the plastic on the back) did I mention I drove for 4 hours!
Cake I made several in advance, potioned them and froze them - bliss when I wanted a sweet fix.
breast pads
A list of phone numbers just in case the mobile dies etc.
Pad and PEN!
Button up cotton shirts (I felt much more human in a shirt during the day)
Food snaks anything I could think of including nuts, raisens etc.
Fruit (took loads I am a fruit bat)
Whitch Hazel
Light weight cotton dressing gown
Toiletries including Deodrent but NOT including make up!
Vasiline found about a billion uses for it
Kitchen bin bags
Several changes of clothes for DP
All the normal stuff for baby but I took 3 to 6 month as DD was going to be big
Change take loads of it!
I took wrap around baby vest which are great for new borns
Plant Spray Bottle (I was hot in labour and it was great to cool down with)
Sports bottle I used mine to direct on the area when peeing

Birth Pack

Now I was very poorly after giving birth (Sorry don´t mean to frighten you) and DP could have done with a few emergencies like the following (NB we had a room to our selves with a shower etc and two beds - private hospital) to be kept in the car

A book, anything to have kept him busy
Food anything to munch as he sat up all night.
a what to do with a new born book (I was out of it and he felt out of his depth)
A warmish jacket (spent a lot of his time pacing out side waiting for my parents outside my window)
extra money just in case
a small ipad / portable dvd player

Congratulations and good luck

Off to repack hospital bag for the 4th time......

And whilst we are on the subject my list says a 'top and tail bath' for baby - what is that? I have a baby bath but there's no way I'm bringing that in its too large and cumbersome!!

glossyflower its basically a plastic bowl you fill with water to dip cotton wool in to clean babys bum (as wipes arnt recommened on newborns but theres plenty of threads with differing opinions on the whole newborn skin wipes argument) and clean baby "top to toe"

Things that arent obvious:

Ear plugs! Because nothing is more annoying on the postnatal ward than everyone elses baby!

Bags of sweets, little bars of chocolate and snacky bits to keep you company when you're up all through in the middle of the night while you try to feed, change, feed, change, feed change and gaze at your new baby.

One of those mini battery powered fans. Do not underestimate how bloody boiling it can get on the ward.

This time round I was in for 4 nights after my c-section. It felt like 4 years

i gave birth 6 weeks ago. my advice is pack a couple of bags. and only take a small easily carried one for labour. my poor dh was lugging a rucksack,large yoga ball and suitcase also my thick winter coat around and i was moved as emergancy to about 5 different places. he had to carry the lot. id pack one for labour, another for ur stay and one with the coming home outfits (leave the last 2 in the car).
thinking back the nice items to have were 2 large mens shirts for bf baby. a flannel that dh wet and dabbed my brow, and nice smelling shampoo and soap to make you feel human after (mine was a emergancy csection) and this helped me feel like me again

I had my baby last week. Best things were eye mask and ear plugs, you underestimate how fecking noisy the shared wards are. I was given a private room the instant i begged for a sleeping tablet to drown out the noise of the selfish one opposite me who talked ALL night....had great sleep after that. You are lonelier in private room, but so much better rested.

Other thung, diluting juice. You get sobored with all that room temperature water.

the most useless things i brought were jumpers, the hospital is so hot. i also brought books and mags that i never read. i wish id have brought more food snackwise for dh he hardly ate for 3 days, and i wish id brought a few bits of makeup as i felt and looked like death.

Bin liner for taking home your soiled clothes in. Not to be argumentative but not everyone bleeds that badly, my pants were only manky cause I'd dropped them in the shower!

I packed several of DH's oldish tshirts, figuring that either one of us might potentially need something fresh but ruinable to wear. Saved packing for each of us separately.

Hat for baby for going home in.

Plenty of car park/vending machine money.

Least useful- face wash and moisturiser. Quick scrub with a flannel was all I wanted in the end, not faffing with my usual lotions and potions when I had a pfb to gaze at

I found a book and a diary that I could write my thoughts down in invaluable. But I only read the book whilst waiting for induction drugs to work (between walks around the hospital). The stuff I wrote whilst watching ds sleep in hospital is lovely though.