I have always been one to be over prepared in any life event and my hospital birth was no different. Even though this was my fourth rodeo of birth, I was not well versed in hospital births and what was to be expected. Packing a hospital bag was foreign to me and I thought I needed everything but the kitchen sink to make my birth experience an enjoyable one.
Looking back, I only needed half of the items I packed and even weeks after the birth there were still items unused left in the bag that I had yet to unpack.
Here were my MUST HAVES in a hospital bag:
- Comfy sports bra – most likely will have birth matter on it by the end.
- Cheap flip-flops *birth gets messy
- Loose fitting robe – feel like a goddess and comfortable post birth!
- Easy slip-on nightgown that you are not afraid to get mucky
- Water bottle
- iPad with downloaded Netflix shows (don’t forget proper fitting headphones + charger….damn you previous generation headphones)
- Snacks – hospital food is ok, but having your own goodies a huge plus!
- Depends – those hospital mesh undies just don’t cut it.
- Heavy duty pads – pair these with the depends and you are GOLD!
- Peri Bottle – that heavenly warm water washing your bits is AMAZING!
- Breast pump – I was pumping for the surro babe.
- Pillow – nothing like a taste of home in your hospital room
- Blanket – lovelier then what the hospitals have!
Arriving at the hospital with everything but the kitchen sink
Here is my original list for packing my hospital bag:
- Depends
- Pads
- Peri bottle
- Shower flip flops
- Chapstick – I thought I would have time to unchap my lips
- Belly band – because I thought I would hope right on board with healing my abdominals
- Ab tank
- Tooth brush -I was too busy trying to rest and get a handle of what just happened to worry about my teeth
- Toothpaste
- Pump
- Syringes
- Comfy pants – living in a robe beats having a tight band around your midsection
- Socks – ummmm maybe if it was not summer sure….
- Bra
- Comfy shirt
- Snacks
- Phone
- Phone charger
- iPad with downloaded shows
- Water bottle
- ID
- Pillow
- Lemon water – heck give me straight up H2O, no need for the fancy restaurant type drink
- Robe
- Deodorant
- Mascara – gotta look good for the camera – ya right, the runny mascara look isn’t catching on soon
- Hair shit – yup in the moment I did not care what my hair looked like!
- Roll of toilet paper – the peri bottle worked better and to be honest, I didn’t want no toilet paper around my bits
- Towel – fun fact – Post birth, I didn’t even have a shower until I got home 18+ hours later.
- Contraction timer – while at the hospital, there was no time to time contractions!
Whether you pack a hospital bag or not, your baby will be coming and it doesn’t care what you got inside and if its packed! What was in your bag that you didn’t use and what were your MUST HAVES?
