Hospital Bag

[Mamtobe2024]

Hi,

I'm 27 weeks and have started to make a list of what I need for mine and babies hospital bag. But as a first time mam I don't have a clue, what did everyone else pack in their hospital bag? For me I think I pretty much know what I need but not so sure on what to pack for baby 😊

Hi
my baby is 5 months old and I defiantly did not pack well. I ended up staying for 3 nights (didn’t know this would be the case due to complicated birth) here is what I SHOULD have took and what I took and shouldn’t have. I also ordered some really handy bags from Etsy to organise my hospital bag. It also made it easy when my partner needed to get things for me as everything was labelled.

for baby:

1. couple of basic cotton newborn hats. They will put one on when baby is born
2. a cellular blanket
3. baby grows - take about 5 they are small so won’t take up much room, don’t bother taking any other clothes for baby
4. nappies
5. wipes
6. nappy cream
7. ready to drink formula - you buy them with the teets ready to attach so you don’t have to bother with sterilising. I knew I wanted to breastfeed but midwife advised these in case I couldn’t. I was able to but I was away from baby straight after birth so if it had been for longer than it was they would have been good for my partner to give him.

for you:

1. a towel to have a wash/shower
2. shower gel or soap
3. face wipes and face wash
4. BIG knickers - lots of pairs. You will need to wear maternity pads so make sure you don’t run out of pants like I did!
5. sliders - not slippers they were too hot
6. baggy comfortable t-shirts (probably 2)
7. baggy comfortable bottoms (again I’d take 2)
8. maternity pads
9. snacks and any drinks you want
10. phone charger
11. hair bobbles

things I took they were a waste:

1. slippees
2. warm dressing gown - even in winter the hospital was BOILING
3. a cute ‘going home outifit’ for me, felt like death and ended up wearing my partners baggy t shirt and pj bottoms
4. cuddly toy for baby - they’re not to have them in the tub with them so it’s pointless

One tip I was given , which worked really well for us, was that I got all the stuff together and into piles like "for me in labour" "for me after birth" "snacks" "baby clothes" "baby changing"
Then got hubby to pack it all so he knew where it was and could find it as needed.

FTMaz list looks great, two other things I had prepped were wet flannels in sandwich bags and then put in freezer, along with bottles of water in squirty sports caps, also in freezer.
Note on top of bag reminding us to grab them as we left, and then I had lovely cold water and a cold flannel in the baking birth room.

I packed a bag for baby, a bag for labour and a bag for after (barely used any of it because baby flew out but that's a different matter)

Baby's bag had nappies, wipes, baby grows, vests, a blanket, a going home outfit and little bottles of formula with sterile teats. They don't need a lot and you can always ask for more stuff to be brought to you if find yourself being kept in for a few days.

I was in and out within 6 hours for this bub (could have been less but it was the middle of the night and not a convenient time to leave) my first I was in for 3 days having been induced and had the epidural. Still didn't find bubs needed anything that wasn't easily accessible

Hello,

Congratulations on being a mum to be.

Somethings I took with me where, pjs (button up is easier if you're planning to breast feed), a comfortable outfit and going home outfit. Maternity pads, really thick ones or postpartum underwear. A peri bottle, lanolin nipple cream, I also bought silver nipple covers, they were brilliant. You can pop them in the freezer when you're home, they really did help whilst I was getting use to breastfeeding. Toiletries, a lot of hair ties. We also packed a blanket for my husband, and snacks.

As a backup in case our little one didn't latch we bought some Hipp formula with us and a bottle or two. They will have some at the hospital, but we brought Hipp as it's a very trusted brand.

I hope everything goes smoothly.

I pretty much packed the whole house lol
I think it varies hospital to hospital what they will supply.
My hospital supplies disposable knickers and pads and baby formula if you want that.
Also has a fridge stocked with water / juices and yogurts ect along with tea /toast biscuits bay.
So far all I've found I've needed is Change of clothes and I've brought baby bag with clothes , nappies and wipes.
Could you ask your midwife what your local hospital supplies . If I'd have known I wouldn't have packed so much pads and snacks ect and having my suitcase and bags take up so much space.

Iv got todo mine soon me 25 weeks gone now but said I probably do it at last minute knowing me 😂

Haha no I'm not far off 28 weeks I think my nesting may be starting to set in because I'm running around getting everything ready all of a sudden 😂 which is hard when I literally have zero energy at all, so knowing me I'll end up doing it when I'm in labour 😂

Thankyou for replying! I'm at my midwife tomorrow so will ask her then what they supply I didn't think of asking so I'll definitely do that

Hello,

Thankyou! And Thankyou for replying, I'll make a note on my list so I don't forget anything you've mentioned

Thankyou for replying! Well I know with it being my first baby I doubt he will fly out in a hurry haha. That's what I'm thinking like if I do need to end up staying in for longer than expected I know my family or partner won't have no trouble bringing stuff in for the baby or me. I just don't want to over pack although I suppose it's best to overpack than under pack

Thankyou for replying! That's actually a really good idea, I never thought about getting my boyfriend to pack the hospital bags! At the minute I don't think he's none the wiser whats supposed to go in a hospital bag 😂 as for the frozen flannels I'm definitely going to do that, I can imagine that's nice and refreshing when in labour and I can't stand being hot and bothered so will be a god send for me!

Hi Thankyou for replying! I've noted everything down you've mentioned, Thankyou for doing that 😊

Haha yep definitely like me 🤣 too busy watching call the midwife 🤣

I had a baby 9 weeks ago and I actually think I overpacked, saying that I gave birth at 18:30 and was home by 1pm the next day. The list of what I packed:

Baby
✓ Vest x4
✓ Baby grow x4
✓ Blanket x1
✓ Milk
✓ Baby wipes
✓ Nappy bags
✓ Dummies
✓ Hat
✓ Muslins
✓ Tiny baby grow

Me
✓ Pyjama x2
✓ Nightie
✓ Pads
✓ Pull ups
✓ Underwear
✓ Bra
✓ Hairbrush
✓ Make up
✓ Toothbrush
✓ Toothpaste
✓ Charger
◦ Tablet
◦ Inhaler
✓ Socks
◦ Slippers
✓ Robe
✓ Maternity notes
✓ Deodorant
✓ Wash cloth
✓ Towel
◦ Pepsi
◦ Snacks
✓ Lip balm

I had a baby 8 weeks ago, and the lists above are pretty much what I took.

One thing that I haven’t seen mentioned yet is a hand held rechargeable fan. Labour and post partum wards are like saunas, and that was probably the most used thing I packed!

Not much to add as everyone else above has already mentioned the absolute essentials, but I will say snacks!

If your hospital is anything like mine, the food isn't great and sometimes you're just not up to eating during their mealtimes anyway. My husband ended up bringing snacks in everytime he came back 😄

Yes! Dear god I was HOT and it was January!