Hospital Bag

[Sibbo84]

Hi all,

So....I'm 31 weeks and my midwife has suggested I start to prepare my/our hospital bags in case of any changes to my induction or if he comes early. The only issue is when I Google what I should pack, its everything but the kitchen sink!!

Can anyone give me an idea of what I should pack as a necessity? Obviously I'm happy to pack as much as needed but some of the lists seem exhaustive!

Thanks

Sara

[Lovefood1984]

Maternity notes for definate 😉

For you:

Shower bag (shampoo, shower gel, toothpaste, hairbrush etc)

Something to give birth in

Some nightclothes to wear post birth

Slippers or slipper socks

Dressing gown (if you want one)

Clothes that fit when you were ~20weeks pregnant (to go home in)

Disposable underwear/black granny pants (I found incontence pants really nice and padded and comfortable rather than ‘maternity pants’ and I put the pad inside and changed the pads and then the pants when they got a bit icky around the cuffs) (4 pairs will do if space is short rather than the whole pack)

Maternity pads (couple of packs)

Bra (normal or breastfeeding one)

Breast pads

For baby

Vests x2-3

Baby grows x2-3

Nappies (small pack will do)

Cotton wool

Hat (they need to wear one for 24hrs after birth)

Going home outfit if you wish

Bottles and formula if you don’t plan to breastfeed or nipple cream for you if you do

For birthing partner (in case of a long haul)

Comfortable trousers and T-shirt

Change of underwear/socks

For you and birthing partner...snack bag 😊 not that we had time to use ours during birth it was too quick but I did prefer snacking out of it vs hospital food afterwards

I filled a medium suitcase with mine, husbands and babies stuff and had a small supermarket plastic bag with snacks in 😊 It’s the pads and nappies that take up the room 😂 Some people choose to pack the items they’ll need for birth and immediately afterwards in one bag and then another with longer stay stuff for afterwards and leave it in the car, up to you, my whole bag never made it into the room until 40mins post birth 😆

If you think you can live without it don’t pack it, I guess it’s very much an individual thing, what one person can live without another can’t. Some just decide if they need it they will buy it/send someone home for it. I’m anally organised and like to be prepared so my list may be longer than most, I did use most of it though x

[Sibbo84 in reply to Lovefood1984]

Great, thanks

I too neeeeed to be organised or i'll start flapping!

Quick question...would you suggest taking bottle and formula just in case? I 100% plan to breast feed however I know, for some people, it doesnt happen that easy? Everything you listed sounds like a god idea and I would rather be over prepared than not! x

[Lovefood1984 in reply to Sibbo84]

I took some just in case even though I planned to breastfeed although I know a lot of hospitals will give you formula if breastfeeding doesn’t go to plan so if you don’t pack it and it doesn’t work out don’t worry they won’t let your baby starve 😊 We ended up on formula in the end anyway so having stuff in the house was a god send after she slept for 7hrs after coming home and wouldn’t latch on a Friday night 🤦🏼‍♀️ We did try for 3 weeks though so I don’t feel bad about it anymore x

[Sibbo84 in reply to Lovefood1984]

Ahh that's good to know. Yeah I want it in the house just in case, would rather be prepared than panic if he doesn't latch on and we have nothing in! I think there's so many eventualities to prepare for I'm just worried I will forget something x

[Lovefood1984 in reply to Sibbo84]

You only need to buy 1 or 2 bottles, we just washed and sterilised after every feed until we were sure that that is what we were going to do, wasn’t too much extra effort but was definitely worth it for my sanity 😊 If you haven’t signed up for boots parent club I would, we got a small self sterilising Mam bottle for free so you could even do that and not pay a thing. As long as they have clothes, nappies and some source of food they’ll be fine, they don’t need much luckily at that age x

[Sibbo84 in reply to Lovefood1984]

Thank you for your advice, very helpful ☺️ x

[Hidden]

some hospital are different.... did you midwife not give you any list of what to take.

all I had to take was nappies wet wipes clothes for baby and me and maternity pads thats it. I got milk provided and bathing stuff...I was aloud home with in 4 hours after birth.... so I would double check as you could pack all that stuff and not need it x

[Sibbo84 in reply to Hidden]

Nope, basically just said google ‘what to pack for hospital’ hence why I have been freaking out over the amount of things listed hahah! I will check thanks ☺️ x

[lou121087]

I'm 33+3 and I haven't done my bag yet lol and I'll be going for a c-section so I have no idea what extras I need. I'm still trying to buy bits to pack so hopefully by next week I'll be done. On the NHS website there's a list of what to take and what can be brought in later if needed. X

[Sibbo84]

Ahh great thanks ☺️ I feel like 31/32 weeks is a tad early but I guess anything can happen! X

[Kempton]

For the baby:

3 complete outfits (including or plus a going home outfit)

About 10 nappies and some cotton wool

Muslins

A cardigan

For you:

Birthing plan and notes

Dressing gown

Slippers

Pajamas/something comfy to wear

A going home outfit for you

Changes of underwear

Maternity pads - I liked the boots ones

Toiletries and a towel (I learnt the hard way that hospitals don't always offer a towel!!)

Your partner:

Spare clothes

Spare underwear

Toiletries

General :

Snacks (most hospitals will only feed the mum and not partner)

Change for canteen (see above)

Phone chargers (my hubby forgot his and we have so few good pictures of baby when he was first born!)

Maybe a book/magazine if the labour is slow (personally didn't have any time for that!)

I had a 2 night stay and this was all just enough for us.

Good luck with it all

[Sibbo84 in reply to Kempton]

Fantastic! Thank you 😊 x