Having a baby is exciting, it is memorable and it needs a ton of planning and a hospital bag is one of those essential things to do before baby arrives. There’s many lists available online, but they are not really personalized and clear. I find that many of them have a ton of unnecessary products that you will never end up using and there are essentials that aren’t even mentioned. You get so involved preparing for your baby, that some woman forget themselves.
When your baby arrives, you will soon realize that everything is happy and merry if both of you are taken care of. If you are doing it all by yourself with the support of your partner, this list is ideal for you. This subject is slightly offbeat from all the content I usually write about focused on fashion, beauty and travel. In a way, this is kind of a travel blog post, but traveling to the hospital, with a checklist that has it all. Also, I am going to add photos of my personal hospital bag so you can see exactly the way I did it.
Without any further adieu, here’s a crisp list of everything you should pack in your hospital bag.
I am going to share a few uncommon items on the list, and some that I believe were WONDERFUL investments. Take your time to make individual google searches for the items I do not cover on this list, and that you have questions about!
BIRTH PLAN: For those who are unaware, a birth plan is a plan that states down your preferences for birth. It covers all the details you want your care team to know at the hospital or birth center where you give birth to your baby. Examples are: you do not wish to have an episiotomy, or more such details. There are plenty of templates available online for you to choose from. Birth is a very unpredictable event, so birth plans are not a 100% certain plan, but a way for your care team to make it as close as possible to your expectations.
SHOES/ROBE/SLIPPERS/SWIMSUIT: At the hospital, the floors are nasty, so slippers come in handy when you have a long labor and want to walk around to speed your labor. Slip on shoes to go back home are the best, the reason being to avoid bending down to tie your sandals after a huge ordeal. A robe is super useful for when you want to breastfeed and also have your doctors check on you frequently. I mentioned a swimsuit on the list, for if you have a tub in the labor room and you feel water relaxes you.
POSTPARTUM PADS: Use specific postpartum maxi pads as the flow the first few days is a one you cannot anticipate from any past experience.
POSTPARTUM ICE PADS: A LIFESAVER, this one is a one you cannot and should not miss on your to-do buy items. FRIDA MOM, an amazing brand manufacturers ice pads, which are disposable sanitary napkins with the cooling effect in seconds. All you have to do is, pop the ice pad and it is ready to use. FRIDA MOM products, are the one’s I truly vouch for and they gave me a huge sense of relief postpartum through the crazy pain. I ended up buying 4 boxes of these, but it is going to be the best place you spend money on postpartum. This you NEED!
WITCH HAZEL FOAM: The three step routine with which you can take care of yourself postpartum, is by using the postpartum ice pad, lay a witch hazel wipe on it, and then put some witch hazel foam on top of the pad for complete relief.
WITCH HAZEL LINERS: I chose to use the FRIDA MOM witch hazel liners since they are all super compatible with each other. However, witch hazel liners are available with a number of brands.
PERI BOTTLE: Did not include this on my checklist, but it is A HUGE LIFE SAVER, this one is sometimes provided by the hospital. It keeps the genital area infection free by spraying some cold/warm water, whatever helps you feel better.
DISPOSABLE UNDERWEAR: You may think you can get away with regular underwear, but think twice. The first few days postpartum the amount of blood flow is large, making regular underwear sometimes soak. With disposable options you need not worry about any stains and also the underwear is not tight on your lower body. Whether or not you have a c-section, this is a must have.
NIPPLE PAD: To avoid any leaks or stains of breastmilk onto your clothes, I bought these washable pads that you can reuse plenty of times.
GIFTS FOR NURSES AND DOCTORS: It may or may not seem unnecessary to you, but it is something you won’t regret do for the nurses who spend hours looking after you when you feel the weakest. I prepared simple chocolate gift bags and you can do the same!
These were the few items I wanted to emphasize on, and now I want to share photos of the suitcase and how I packed it to the hospital.
One of the most helpful packing tips, is to label all your items. The reason being, it is very likely that the person accessing your bag at the hospital would be your chosen family member and you want them to easily locate your items. I think that made it really easy for my husband!
A few other items you can see are a camera, and some towels that I carried just incase I needed it to take professional photos. These days, phone cameras do a pretty good job with getting great photos.
The last item on my list is the going-home outfit for your baby. Keep it simple with a onesie that they can fit into and a one in which your baby can be seated securely on a car seat. Carry additional layers based on the weather in your city. Carry minimal but useful items for your baby.
Tell us if you loved the content on this blog post and would like an all items to buy for your baby checklist (without the excess).
Lots of Love,
Road Dress Travelled x