Hospital bag for Baby

[ClaireBear1986]

What clothes have people packed for the baby hospital bag please?

Im getting so many different responses from my friends and google, that Im now very confused.
Ranging from people saying 1 vest and sleepsuit up to 15 sleepsuits and vests.

Im also not sure about sizes to take either? I have outfits in Newborn, First Size and 0-3 Months.

I was thinking 1 newborn outfit (hat, mittens, socks, vests and sleepsuit) 3 First Size Outfits and 1 0-3 months outfit.
Was then going to leave 2 more outfits in each of these sizes in a spare bag in the car...in case of a longer stay?

Thanks for your help ladies. Xx

You definitely need more than 1 even for the shortest stay incase of spit up or leaking nappy. Then it would depend on how long you are in.
I wouldn't bother with the 0-3 months. I packed mostly up to one month sizes. My 2nd baby was just over 7lbs and the first size didn't fit because she was long.

I'd say three vests and sleepsuit in newborn size, plus one of each in 0-3. Two hats (mine were both hairy and sone gunk stayed in their hair). Make sure your partner knows where everything is at home in case you're in for a few days and he needs to bring more in.

I’ve got

3 First size and 3 up to 1 month sleepsuits
5 First size and 3 up to 1 month vests
1 going home sleepsuit in 2 sizes as above
2 hats
2 bibs
One large muslin for swaddling
One pack of muslin squares

Can always grab more, like you say

I had 2 tiny baby (up to 7.5lb) outfits (vest, babygrow, hat) and 3 newborn (up to 10lb). I was going to add some 0-3 months ones closer to my due date but had my baby 3 weeks early so didn’t get that far!

She was 6lb 7oz at birth so we just used the two tiny baby outfits. I’d used a mumsnet recommendation of packing each outfit in a ziplock freezer bag labelled with the size (and weight) and contents as it really helped DH find the clothes (he dressed dd whilst I had a post labour bath). The midwives stuck one of their hats on her immediately as she was born so I wouldn’t worry about too many hats!

Remember it won’t matter if the clothes you have are too big, but it will if they’re too small, so I wouldn’t bother buying the tiny clothes - we were given them from SIL so I packed them.

And maybe just pack some back up outfits in a bag at home which can be picked up by your partner/friend/parents if you end up having an extended stay - also recommended for extra clothes for you too - as it avoids others turning your house upside down to find what you need!

Oh and I recommend the outfits you pick have integrated scratch mits, feet on the babygrow and poppers up the front as you want them to be as easy as possible to put on and change, plus avoids the need for mittens & socks which are forever falling off!

I would actually pack 0-3 (especially if you go overdue) as I didn't first time and had a 9lb long baby and she skipped newborn size! DH had to do an emergency trip to Mothercare as none of the clothes fit. I will def pack a variety of sizes this time around!!

All 3 of my babies were too big for newborn clothes and straight into 0-3 from birth so I will be buying and packing that size again

I packed 24hrs worth of stuff for me and baby with several more '24hr' bags left at home for DH to bring in with him each day. Space is really limited so you don't want to lump any more in than you'll need immediately. I also then sent DH home each day with a bag of dirty clothes so I brought home pretty much the same volume as I went in with (less snacks ).
I had an ELCS the first time so knew I would be in for a few days and planned accordingly. DC2 was planned as a VBAC but ended as an EMCS, and the system worked nicely for her too.

I would plan on 12 nappies plus an extra few in the initial hospital bag, and 3 sleepsuits (in case you have a vomming baby) each day. I found the ward hotter than hell so no need for vests. If you want a special 'going home' outfit then obviously pack that in the first bag along with a cardi and hat.

Size-wise have you been given any indication of if your baby will be small/average/large? I agree with PPs that it's better to go bigger if unsure, but 0-3 months would have absolutely swamped my average-sized babies. Newborn and 'Up to 1m' was a tad roomy but fine.