There are so many hospital bag checklists. Everyone is so passionate about what they deem ‘essential’ in those first few hours of becoming a Mum.
I have a few friends who are pregnant and have asked me what I would realistically pack if I were to do it again. Were there any essentials? I thought there was no better time to pop this post up! I wanted to share my realistic and essential hospital bag checklist and what I actually used as I see so many on the internet from people who are packing but haven’t actually given birth yet. So here it is. I’m sharing what I packed and more importantly, what I used.
I’ve made the list into a Pinterest pin too, so if you are expecting (huge congratulations!) make sure to ‘pin it’ to your boards so you can keep it for when you need it. I’ve also linked products as I go as I bought a lot of my supplies online (these are affiliate links so I do get a financial kickback if you purchase. However, I have linked them because of their quality and because these are the exact products I bought)
It’s worth also mentioning that I had a pretty straightforward birth. If you’ve read my blog post about my birth, you’ll see that I was really fortunate, but did have to stay for a week in the hospital. We live pretty close to our hospital so my husband drove home every day and swapped clothes and got more supplies. But for a regular 1-3 day stay, I think this list would work. I’ve tried to be as comprehensive as possible based on whatever birth you have but of course, everyone is different.
What Bags did I Use?
I got this tip from somewhere on YouTube when I was pregnant and I’m so glad I followed this.
When I went into labour, it was all very fast. I was really focussed on my breathing as I was using hypnobirthing, so telling my husband where things were just was not happening. So I made sure that when I packed the bag/bags, he was fully aware of what was where. I used a small wheely suitcase for a couple of reasons. It was easy to take around the hospital (think long corridors, baby, post-birth etc) and it packed everything really neatly. It also opened up so you could see all the contents clearly (think diving into a big holdall bag). So in total, I took two bags. The suitcase with my things and the baby things in the changing rucksack.
How did I pack?
I packed using packing cubes to separate out a few of the sections. So my husband’s change of clothes was in one, my ‘post birth bag’ (breast pads, maternity pads, tucs) were in another. You get the idea. So I’ve colour coded the sections in my list to show what went where. If you’re not too fussed about using them in the future, I actually wrote in a sharpie on the bags as to what was in them. That also helped my husband a lot to find what I needed. I’ve gone into these sections in a bit more detail below.
When did I pack?
If I remember rightly, I started very early packing around 30 weeks (although this might not be true). I remember packing Charlotte’s clothes and that crazy feeling of picking up nappies for the first time in the supermarket. Having never bought nappies before, it seemed really daunting! I remember packing after one of the later midwife check-ups as I thought I was a bit more aware of how big the baby was going to be. When you go baby shopping for the first time, it’s so confusing, as you don’t know if you need ‘up to 1 month’, ‘0-3 months’ or ‘tiny baby’. So I packed a few different sizes to be sure. But I would definitely ask your midwife for a bit of guidance on that one.
What did I pack?
How did I divide it up?
Cosmetic Bag
In this, I had all my cosmetics and things I wanted to hand. I know make-up might sound ridiculous. It’s not for everyone. But some people just like the bare essentials to feel like ‘them’. As everyone will tell you, the post-birth shower and hair wash is the best one you will ever have. Something I didn’t list here was a hairdryer, which I left in the car. I didn’t feel it was too necessary, but it might be something that is important to you.
Post Birth Bag
These were the items I wanted straight away after giving birth.
Partners Bag
It’s wise to pack a few changes for your birth partner. I know Covid has put a stop to overnight stays, but in case you’re in a while, they might want to freshen up
Mum Clothes Bag
This is pretty self-explanatory but I would say comfort and dark clothes were very high on the agenda. Massive pants too! I went two sizes bigger and bought a high waisted multi-pack from Tesco. You will need them. I also got a cheap pair of flip flops to wear in the hospital (usually they’re very warm places so I found them better than fluffy slippers. But my feet ballooned after giving birth. Not sure why. So make sure they’re a big size too)
Baby Clothes Bag
Lots of different sizes and lots of variety. Plus an outfit for coming home for the photo album.
A Carseat
Not strictly a bag, but I wrote it on my list so I didn’t forget. On a side note, we practised taking the car seat in and out of the base in the car beforehand a few times so it wasn’t as scary on the day.
The Essentials Bag
This was my go-to bag as soon as I got to the hospital as I was in established labour. One of my favourite friends has a great story about her husband practically throwing Lucozade Sport in her face when she asked for a sip of her drink during labour. You don’t want that. You want a nice sippy cup with a long straw to hold. I followed her advice and got one and it was great. Loose change was also a brilliant idea. We are lucky that we don’t have to pay for car parks here, but if you do, this is pretty important. Also good for any late-night vending machines if you run out of snacks.
What are my favourite purchases that I would recommend to a friend?
I really credit my post-birth recovery to 3 things: The Tucks Pads, the Sprtiz for Bits and the bidet/douche kit. Using the tucks pads on top of the maternity towels and they were oh so soothing! I had these straight after giving birth so was pleased they were in the bag. The USB fan was fantastic mid the pushing, along with a lovely cold flannel (you get very hot).
Was there anything I didn’t use or would do differently next time?
We didn’t use a lot of the things I bought with me for hypnobirthing, but that was simply because of my labour. I bought along some lavender oil, a back roller massager and some phrases, but as my midwife warned me, things often don’t go to plan and I hated being spoken to or touched, so they went out the window!
We also had a bag in the car with ‘extras’ so took the main bits in but had essentially an overflow bag. I think as you could be in the hospital a few hours or a few days, it’s nice to have extras if needed.
I hope this post has helped in some ways. It’s hard to write what you ‘should’ pack as everyone is so very different, but rather share what I did pack and what worked.
Let me know in the comments or on my Instagram if you had any essentials too xx
