My awesome hospital bag

What to pack for your hospital bag

When I was pregnant I binged Youtube. I had never been such a fan before but, now youtube has learned that the only thing im interested in is pregnancy, labour and babies it opened the door to a whole new world for me. I studied and I mean studied the art of packing an awesome hospital bag and I  can honestly say I dont regret a single part of it… ok maybe one part but I will explain. Other than that I pretty much used everything. So here you go….

bag 1 – toiletries

I think this one is straight forward but I won’t leave anything out.

• Mini Shampoo and conditioner
• Toothbrush and paste
• shower cap
• flannel
• moisturiser (I used a Simple light one that can be used for face and body)
• natural deodorant – for me this is very important. I know we have glands right up to our armpits and I hated the idea of those powerful chemicals getting into my breast milk, plus when breastfeeding its important for baby to learn your scent.
• cooling face wipes which can double up as body cleansers or to aid cooling – my god its hot in hospitals!
• mini scissors its amazing what you find these useful for
• nail file – sounds silly but I had long nails from all of those pregnancy hormones but as soon as he arrived I chipped one and it became super sharp which is the last thing you want holding your new baby.
• femefresh do mini travel wipes these were super useful
• femefresh travel body wash – a must! Even the thought of soap sends shivers down my spine without going into too much detail!
• Speaking of details Always discreet boutique pants – no brainer, I even doubled these up with maternity pads inside. The more padding the better. disposable knickers were rubbish.
• Tucks pads. AMAZING. Get on amazon and go buy now go go go go!
• Spritz for Bits also very good and I hear can be used for the scar or a c section too so won’t be waisted
• breast pads
• massage oil or cream

Bag 2 – The clear bag

The purpose of this was my go-to bag in which Matthew could grab things at a glance for me quickly. In this was…

• Lip balm – DO NOT GO WITHOUT! Especially if you plan on having gas and air
• Energy tablets
• mini wipes
• fan
• Mobile phone
• earphones
• a bit of cash
• lots of hair bobbles
• Nipple cream – be warned these stain you clothes the second they come into contact
• Breast pads

Bag 3 – Main bag.

Bearing in mind everyone tells you not to over do it. I am glad I did, I was in hospital for 4 nights.

• flipflops or slippers – I took slippers wish I had taken flipflops
• 2x nursing nighties Black
• 1x pjs button down black from primark 3 sizes bigger than I was previously
• Asda grey tracksuit thing for going home in
• black leggings – I wish I had taken 2 pair
• a pretty blouse incase I actually have the effort to look nice (I didn’t wear it)
• Hair brush
• Very thin long dressing gown that you don’t mind getting spoiled
• Tens Machine
• kindle
• magazines
• Neck rest travel pillow thing for Matthew
• We took a pillow each and made sure they had jazzy pillow cases so we knew they were ours
• water bottle with a straw attached – this is important!
• a bag for dirty clothes
• 3 maternity sleep bras – these need to be crazy big especially back size, your boobs swell up huge and can be painful. Oddly my back went up 2 sizes and it has never gone back. I guess being pregnant expands your ribcage.
• a crazy amount of knickers you know the Bridget jones style and 3 times bigger than you normally are.
• I wish I had known about H&M’s nursing vests. I live i’m them now and no longer wear bras. I will definitely pack these next time
• Hospital notes – put these on top
• Camera – of course!

Bag 4 – Make up

This was the only bag that waisted space for me, I did go with the intention of looking decent for when the family arrived. However, as I was pretty poorly with an infection after labour I was simply too poorly to bother.

Matthew took a foldable camp bed and a change of clothes too!

Bag 6 – Snacks

We simply took a carrier bag with energy drinks, graze snack bars and lots of jelly babies which were recommended to bring by the midwife.

 

Maybe I was a bit obsessed with this bag but I think it was down to being the only thing I could control out of the whole process. Anyway I hope this will be helpful to any expectant mothers out there. I will try and make a pdf when I get time for you to download and print yourself. Having a tick list may help which is what I did.

 

Meagan x