Must haves for baby and hospital bag!

[BessieBye]

Hello!

FTM here.. 21+2. So excited and the lists are starting 😁

So.. I want to know.. what were your baby must haves?

And what were your maternity bag must haves? Or what did you WISH you took with you and you didn’t?

Thanks!

Lansinoh (if you're intending to BF).
Ear plugs.
Humungous sanitary pads.
Chocolate, nuts, any snacks you think you'll fancy.
Many changes of knickers (you will leak).
Many changes of baby clothes (hopefully you won't be in long, but you'd be amazed at how rapidly a new-born can puke/produce a poonami on its freshly changed outfit).
Phone charger.

Not so much what to pack but a tip all the same - get your birth partner to pack the bag! He or she will be passing you stuff and will need to know where stuff is in the bag! I made my fiancé pack ours (although I bought / got the stuff together) and there was no rummaging through the bag frantically when I really needed him! I'm sure you'll get some good what to pack on this thread soon

Excellent tip @firstimemamma! Thank you!

Thank you @CrapDogOwner! Great ideas. Definitely be lots of snacks.. canteen at hospital has been closed since March cos of covid so I doubt it’s gonna be opening any time soon 🤪so snacks are a must! Especially since my OH can’t leave once he’s in

If I was going to do it again I'd take a pot noodle or some other sort of heatable snack,by the time I was up on the ward it was 9pm and when I asked for something to eat (hadnt been able to eat for 36 hours) I got given a stale cheese sandwich and a yogurt and I was STARVING.
Also a second vote for earplugs.

I don’t know if it’s still the same but you weren’t allowed to use baby wipes in hospital so take cotton wool balls.

@Esmeralda1988 we have plenty earplugs in this house as my OH takes them from work cos I snore... oops! Hahaha. So they’re on the list now!
I’m quite a picky eater as well so that’s a good about about heatable foods.

@Audreyseyebrows thank you! I think it’s advised to not use wipes for first few weeks so cotton balls and a top n tail bowl deffo getting purchased. I’m not sure but I have grown up around a lot of kids and always remember the cotton balls! Thank you x

Lansinoh, for nipples and your lips - better than any lip balm on the market

Easy drink bottle with straw - Camelbak maybe?

Multi-Mam compresses (if breastfeeding)
These are like gold dust so you need to get them as soon as available

Slippers

Gentle shower gel - L'occitane shower oil is my go to

Phone charger!

Power Bank for your phone, loads of giant knickers and a couple of pairs of comfy pjs for after the birth. A big, soft, comfy dressing gown and slippers. I brought a hair brush and concealer because I cant stand the state of my face on my first photos with DD1 and I wanted to like the first photos with DD2 - appreciate thats a bit vain though!

I used Tena Lady pants and they were great and very comfortable!!

Pack snacks you like, don't worry about being healthy I had to stay in the hospital a few days before baby was born and was craving chocolate...

Also coconut water was amazing for birth and after birth! After birth I get the shakes and was too uncomfortable for food so sipping the coconut water was better than water, refreshing even though it wasn't chilled, slightly sweet and has lots of minerals

Midwife also praised that I had a small plastic pouch ready for nappy changes (third baby...). It makes it very easy. 3 nappies inside, a small plastic bag for cotton circles, a small sanitizer, a little bottle with water and the lansinoh (also good for nappy rash). You can add rubbish bags for dirty nappies (doggy bags are good)

I had my first baby in October and these were my essentials!

Natracare or Lilets maternity pads, I loved both.
More snacks than you think you'll need.
Peri bottle - ESSENTIAL! I used mine until about 6 weeks PP.
Natural birthing company bottoms up spray - thought this was a gimmick at first but it really helped keep things clean and reduced pain down there. I healed really well and fast and I credit it to this spray and the peri bottle.
Lansinoh nipple balm
A book to record baby's feeds and nappies, I have a Sophie the giraffe one.
An extra long phone charger.
Black pants bigger than you think you might need. Many of them!
I liked the always pants, the discreet boutique ones for the first nights at home. I don't think I'd wear them all the time because it's good to let things breathe but for nighttime to stop leaks they were amazing.

Oh yes ear plugs and eye mask. You need to rest all you can if you do end up spending time in the hospital. It's a very bright and noisy place

Top and tail bowls are a waste of money.
Just wash from top to bottom and you don't need to worry.

And you won't really be washing baby in hospital anyway, you (hopefully) won't be there for long enough.
The midwives will wash the muck off l, and then they don't need a bath for a week or so. And you can just wipe their eyes etc with a flannel/muslin and warm water

I was absolutely starving afterwards and was kept in. With cafe / canteen shut. Take snacks but not just sugary or whatever. Stuff to fill you up if you need it.

Wireless headphones so I could listen to music while on ward during my long induction and drown out the background noise. Cheap flip flops for the shower and hobbling around, I chucked them in the bin on the way out. Lots of knickers incase you are in longer than expected.

Water wipes are your friend, easier than cotton wool and water. I just bought a big box from Amazon and they listed the first month or so.

Secondly food - I never took any to hospital with me, baby arrived early and I kept eating the snacks I'd bought and by the time I was ready to leave the house (in agony as I was trying my best to stay home as long as I could) DP was checking his "to do before we leave for hospital" list asked about drinks and snacks and I roared something along the lines of "I DONT FUCKING CARE ABOUT FOOD GET IN THE CAR" but I wish I had, I could have eaten a horse afterwards and all the biscuits and toast just weren't enough. He also asked about walking the dogs which I'd put on there which did make me smile/laugh (probably more of a grimace) but that never happened either.

But other than that I didn't use half the stuff I took to hospital but my baby arrived within 15 mins of me getting there so I didn't have much chance.

Phone charger, nice toiletries for a shower afterwards (take shampoo and conditioner, labour is a sweaty affair) one set of PJs (which I went home in) and that was it I think.

Lil-let's maternity pads were my favourite as they have wings (got mine from Amazon).

And agree with PP, get DP to pack your bag, mine and the midwife couldn't find my toiletries bag even with me saying 10 times "it's in the side pocket" so I panicked I'd forgot it...as soon as I clambered up and checked the side pocket it was there.

Oh and probably the best product I've been recommend is "Elbow Grease" spray for those poonami explosions. Just rinse the poo off under a tap, spray stains with elbow grease and leave for 5 mins then rinse again and stains gone.
Much cheaper than vanish and v effective 👍🏼👍🏼

The best thing I did was to pack everything into Ziploc sandwich bags and label them ie knickers, babygrows, vests etc and to make up a bag of nappy, hat, vest, babygrow for the first outfit and stick it in an easy grab pocket.

It made things so much easier and saved DH rooting around for me.

I had my baby recently too, I would second big black pants, lansinoh nipple cream your favourite snacks and a straw (this came in so handy for labour).

Controversial but I would look at wet wipes instead of cotton wool. I took some to hospital but didn't use any of it, I found it was such a faff trying to get water for the cotton wool balls or pads especially as you’re so tired/ not as mobile as after birth. I just got sensitive non-fragrant wipes and they were fine.

I would also add flipflops/ sliders, I didn’t like the idea or walking around bare foot to the bathroom or trying to get proper shoes to walk around.

I also brought a thin dressing gown felt abit more comfy and dignified walking around.

I also separated changes of clothes into different little resealable bags if you’re planning on taking different sizes. (I.e newborn, up to 1 month, 0-3) was much easier when I found out how big my baby was once born.

I got ‘wet bags’ to keep soiled clothes in until we went home. I still use them for soiled clothes when we’re out and about.

Whatever you think you need you probably need half that amount, same for baby stuff in general! If you can get hand me downs or second hand go for it, babies grow very fast. As for you, snacks, disposable underwear, maternity pads, clothes that fit you at approx 6 months pregnant, normal toiletries, dark/old towels, power pack in case there's not a suitable plug, headphones. My top tip is if possible to get discharged from the delivery suite, much better than the ward especially if hospitals are still clogged up with covid patients (let's hope not by then!)

I would also say pick the comfiest baggiest clothes for afterwards/going home- you won’t even care what you look like you will just want to be comfy!

@Jay1289

I would also say pick the comfiest baggiest clothes for afterwards/going home- you won’t even care what you look like you will just want to be comfy!

I wore pj bottoms (a white leopard print.... couldn't find much during lockdown) and a black pregnancy long sleeve top (so it doesn't look sooooo much like pjs). In warm weather a sun dress is great! But not for winter

YY take wipes. Water wipes if you're worried about it, finding the water for cotton wool is such a faff, none of my newborns have had any issue with ordinary baby wipes.

Hair ties for you if you have long hair. A mini roll on deodorant and hairbrush.

Bring 1-2 vests and sleepsuits in each size you have: Tiny baby/newbron/up to 1 month/0-3 - put the REST at home in LABELLED containers. If you end up staying in and need more clothing, it's much easier to tell your partner "bring me everything in the newborn box" than trying to explain or having them confused. You're most likely to need newborn or 0-1 month size.

Also prep some spare tops for you in case you need to stay in, which again are in a labelled box for partner. I asked DH to bring me some tops I could BF in and he brought me stuff with totally inflexible fronts I ended up having to ask a fellow mum friend and she brought me stuff from her own wardrobe!

Good snacks are things which don't melt and aren't crumby - dried fruit is brill for encouraging/softening that first PP poo as well! I enjoyed a mix of apricots/prunes/apples.

An extra long phone charger and/or a portable phone charger are invaluable.

I really liked having my own pillow. And if you have a special blanket for the baby it can be nice to have that with you as well.

Thanks everyone!!! I really appreciate all of these

It will be a May birth and baby so with our typical British weather I am trying to plan for both extremes of weather! For baby and for me.

I’m hoping covid restrictions change by May, otherwise I will have to over pack. Current rules are not allowed to drop things off, not allowed to re-enter once left and canteen closed :(. I still have 4 months but planning for worst case scenario!!

Thanks again ladies - they are fantastic ideas

Also, if you're getting a thank you gift for the midwives. They like black clicky (retractable) pens...!

My friend just gave them a box of 50 a year ago or so, they were over the moon!