Hospital Bag Check List
My hospital bag exploded!! I had two baby bags and one for me only to arrive at the hospital and realise how unnecessary a lot of the items where and how many things I actually needed that I didn’t pack.
What the hospital (Life Hospital) said I needed to pack, but I didn’t need:
- Diapers for baby
- Bath products for baby
- Surgical Alcohol
- Maternity & Breast Pads
Why didn’t I need them? Because the hospital provides all of this for you in a nice complimentary gift bag.
Included in this bag was Maternity pads, breast pads, lotion/creme for the baby, baby shampoo/body wash, diapers, wipes, bum cream, surgical alcohol and cotton wool.
Baby items that you do need to take:
- Baby Clothes (you can work on two outfits a day, for a 3 night stay). Your baby might spit up a lot, so two outfits a day is a minimum requirement if you ask me.
- Two fluffy blankets and four receiving blankets (as they might also fall victim to some baby spit up)
- If you prefer your own brand of bum cream and wipes, you can use that if you want. I prefer Sudocrem and Cherubs Sensitive wipes, it is by far the best combo.
- Two different types of pacifiers, my baby only accepted one type as her favourite and would keep on spitting out the other one I actually wanted her to take. She was picky from day one.
- Nail Clipper, your baby might come out with long fingernails that needs just a bit of trimming, I don’t use a baby clipper or scissor, a normal adult clipper works best for me, I just use the small one.
- BURP CLOTHS!!! I cannot stress this enough, these are a must. You can also just use Bibs for extra precaution. Receiving blankets are great burp cloths, they are softer that normal burp cloths and they are more user friendly, plus they dry quicker. I find that normal towel like burp clothes are a bit harsh on that soft baby skin, where a receiving blanket is gentle.
- Earbuds, the umbilical cord cleans easier with an earbud for me, but it still needs to be dabbed clean with cotton wool.
- Pure Glycerine. This is a life saver! After feedings I give it to my baby, she loves the sweet taste, it soothes her and cleanses her mouth all in one.
Items needed for Mommy:
- ALOT of pants and panties…giving birth destroys your body for the first few days, you will not have much control of your bladder or your bum. You might have some bathroom accidents. That’s life & birth for you, but just laugh, clean yourself and get over it. I would say 3 pairs of pants & panties a day for a 3 day stay.
- Get yourself a good nursing bra. Most of the time I just wear tank tops with the built in bra crop tops and stick nursing pads into them, I just don’t have the patience for a bra when feeding every two hours and when your boobs are engorged, the last thing you want is something squishing your boobs, you can also get a clogged milk duct this way (but more on that later)
- Deodorant, fragrance free soap, facial wipes and then just your normal daily toiletries. Just remember to pack in some hair ties
- Small facial cloths, about four of them. After birth you do not want toilet paper against your private parts, a warm face cloth helps keep things clean and it also relieves some of the pain momentarily. It’s just the better option, especially if you have stitches.
- Energade or whatever electrolyte drink you prefer. I didn’t have an appetite while in labour, but I did need energy and I was thirsty so Energade did the trick for me, it really helped. After birth I Just needed energy, so I had a lot of coconut treats, fudge and water, hospital food will also taste great after giving birth.
- Portable charger (for obvious reasons).
I made padsicles (made with aloe vera & witch hazel) but I never ended up using them, the pain I had just didn’t feel curable with a padsicle.
The staff and service in a maternity ward is usually really great and everything you need will be there. Enjoy the help of the nurses while you are there because once you are home they aren’t there anymore so enjoy it while it lasts.