What was in my hospital bag?

Hayes is now a moth old and I finally got around to putting together my delivery hospital bag list, Now that I’ve been through this three times now, I definitely got a good idea of what I needed and didn’t need and this time around, I got it pretty much perfect! Well… perfect for us, that is.

So if you want to know:

What’s in my hospital bag?

…or what was in my hospital bag, rather, then here is goes!

• Toiletries

  I brought all of my Tula face routine products - click here if you want to see what I use! And then of course travel size shampoo, conditioner and body wash, toothbrush and travel size toothpaste and the hospital provided the towels.

• Face Wipes

  I know this is a toiletry but these were great for that first night! I hadn’t taken my makeup off and wanted to just feel clean a couple hours after delivery so those face wipes were definitely something I would recommended. And I’ve used them quite a few times here at home the couple weeks after delivery too!

• Slippers

  I lived in them the entire time I was in the hospital to walk around but still be comfy.

• 2 DARK Colored, Nursing-Friendly Outfits

  These are the two outfits I brought with me as I planned on staying 1-2 nights. I ended up wearing their delivery gown (which got pretty bloody so I am so glad I just went with theirs) and then once I got into my room for the night, changed into the black lounge set and went home in that same set. Had I stayed another night, I would have changed into my second outfit but I am glad I had it there just in case! I know one wasn’t so dark but of course, dark is recommended because of blood stains. (TMI?)

• 2 Nursing Bras

  I was wearing a bralette when we headed to the hospital and since it was so fast (click here if you missed my birth story), I ended up wearing that bralette for delivery as well. (click here for my favorite nursing-friendly bralettes that I have in just about every color). Anyhow, that bralette also got pretty bloody SO I changed immediately into a new maternity bra once I was in my own room and didn’t change out of that one. But had I stayed another night, I was glad I had that spare!

• 1 pair of shoes

  I wore a pair of sneakers there upon arrival and left in the same pair of sneakers. The only other pair of shoes I wore were my slippers!

• 2 Pillows

  One pillow for me and one pillow for my husband. Of course they provided pillows for us but they just aren’t the same as sleeping on your own. So this is one thing I’ve always brought and will forever recommend for comfort!

• Long Phone Charger OR Portable Phone Charger

  The outlets aren’t too conveniently placed so we brought one portable charger and one 6ft phone charger so it could reach the bed better. Because… endless photos and calls and FaceTimes means those phones die fast!

• Phone

  This may be a given but I wanted to mention it because I typically don’t go anywhere without my camera. But this time around, I left my camera at home and took all photos on my iphone. And it was so nice packing lighter and not having to pull the camera out every time I wanted a phone.

• Purse

  Another given but of course, you don’t want to forget it through the chaos of labor and getting to the hospital!

• 2 Swaddles

  They have swaddles there for us but I wanted to bring two of our own that were soft and cozy and cute for photos. We ended up only using one of them as a blanket and the other one stayed in the suitcase the whole time. But again, still glad we brought a second in case we had stayed a second night. But if you want to pack extra light, you can definitely skip the swaddles since they’ve got plenty of them there for ya!

• 2 Baby Beanies or Bows

  When Ava was born I packed at least 20 beanies and bows. Seriously. I know, so silly but “I don’t know which bow I will want to put her in” and ended up changing them out like 10 times each day. Typical new mom for ya ;) But this time around we brought Hayes 2 beanies that matched his outfits and left it at that! The hospital also provides little beanies for them but we ended up using both of our own.

• 2 Baby Outfits

  Two outfits was perfect for us. He was born at 8pm so didn’t put on any clothes until the next day (just a swaddle). The next morning I put him in one of the outfits we had brought with us and then before we headed home I changed his outfit again because he had peed all over it right as we were signing the discharge papers (yes, he peed on the paperwork too!). But all in all, 2 was perfect and 3 would have been fine too!

• Photo Props

  We didn’t bring any props with us this time around but if you have a name sign or anything cute you want for that first photo or any photos there at the hospital, don’t forget to pack them!

• Makeup

  I think this was the one item I never used that I brought! I am not huge on makeup but if you are and want those photos with makeup on, don’t forget to pack it!

• Speaker

  I can’t remember if we pulled ours out but we have a little portable bluetooth speaker that we would have used for much longer had my labor not been so fast. So this is something I recommend for down time if you like music!
  
  

What should my husband pack for the hospital?

• pillow (I mentioned it above but it’s always comfier when they have their own!)

• clothes (something to wear to bed and a couple outfits depending on how long that stay is)

• toiletries (we packed our toiletries together so everything listed above was all packed together!)

• snacks (I’ll talk about it a little more below but SNACKS especially during COVID as the cafeteria was closed!)

What does the hospital provide?

They provide SO MUCH for delivery and if you’re a first time mom, LISTEN UP. If you’re not, you probably already know this but…

TAKE EVERYTHING home with you. Take it all. They provide so much for you and your baby while you’re there and if you don’t take it, it’s not going to be used anyways so bring all of the extras with you because you will need it all at home!

Here’s what our hospital provided:

• meals for mom (since the cafeteria was closed, they actually brought meals for my husband too but I am not sure if every hospital does.)

• towels (for showing)

• pads, ice packs, mesh underwear + postpartum “goodies” (bring all of the extras home with you as you will need it)

• diapers, wipes, swaddles, baby clothes (also, bring them all home with you!)

• delivery gown ( I have always used theirs for delivery and never felt the need to bring my own but loved wearing my own clothes after)