Hospital Bag Essentials For Mum

Continuing with my mini series of hospital bag planning, today I’m thinking about what you really need to take in your hospital bag. I actually think I did pretty well with packing my bag last time. I don’t remember having way too much, and I don’t remember missing much. There were a couple of things hubby had to pop home to get but nothing urgent.

I say that, but to be fair my first labour and time in hospital is a complete blur so I could be talking complete rubbish and had way too much in my hospital bag! Either way, this time I’m more experienced, more prepared (or at least will be when I start packing) and kind of more excited!

Let’s start planning what I need in my hospital bag!

1. First up I’ll need maternity/nursing clothing for day and night. With Lamb I stayed in hospital for 3 days/2 nights so this time I’ll take enough for a couple of days just in case. I’ve written a post on maternity fashion for your hospital bag which you can take a look at if you need some ideas. You know the score. Big, dark coloured pants, cosy socks, pjs or nightie (nursing ones if needed), dressing gown, loose clothes etc.
2. Dark coloured towels. I don’t need to explain why do I? The towels n hospital are usually white, it might be nice to have some that don’t show up any marks or stains as easily.
3. Toiletry bag. I stumbled across this really nice toiletry bag on Amazon today and thought it would be the perfect item for my hospital bag. The showers/toilets in the hospital are shared by a number of new mums and can get pretty wet and grubby. This toiletry bag is perfect as it can be hung up and kept away from wet areas keeping your products clean and dry. It;s big enough for everything from make up to shower gel and even maternity pads and breast pads
4. Slippers. the most important thing when taking slippers to the hospital is they have rubber soles. The toilets and showers will most likely be all in one room so the floor will be soaking wet.  These simple and disposable towelling slippers will be perfect. Lightweight and easy to dry if they get wet. make sure you get slip on ones too!
5. Whether you’re breastfeeding or not you’ll need some Nursing Pads in your hospital bag as you may find you leak once the baby is born. If you end up staying in hospital a few nights then you can almost guarantee when your milk comes in you’ll need these. I actually started using them from 25 weeks when I was pregnant with Lamb! I leaked so early! I’m 28+4 weeks and I’m not using them yet, although I don’t think it will be long before I am!
6. You will of course need some maternity towels. You could probably get away with the biggest sanitary towels you can buy, but I used maternity pads last time and actually wore 2 alongside each other for extra protection! TMI? Sorry!
7. If you’re planning on breastfeeding you may want to throw some nipple shields into your hospital bag. I had some at home prepared and had to ask hubby to go home and get them for me. Turns out I have really small nipples (sorry for the TMI again) and this was why lamb couldn’t latch. It broke my heart, but once I put the shields on he guzzled away! You really can’t predict how feeding will go, so it’s worth being prepared if you need a little help in the early days.
8. Again, if you’re planning on breastfeeding you’ll want to take some nipple cream with you. I used Lansinoh HPA Lanolin Cream when I breastfed/expressed with Lamb and it was incredible. I highly recommend it. It’s 100% natural and doesn’t need to be removed before breastfeeding.
9. I’ll definitely be taking my maternity/nursing pillow with me to the hospital. Whether i’m staying n over night or not, I imagine I’ll be in a bed for a while and I’ll need all of the comfort I can get! I’ve really made use of my maternity pillow in this pregnancy and  it’s given me great support to my back and bump.
10. I will 100% be taking my make up to the hospital. I remember when I was in labour with Lamb I made sure I had done my make up before we left for the hospital – hubby thought I was mad! Wearing a high coverage foundation like double wear or studio fix should last pretty well. 
11. You would be crazy to forget your phone and phone charger (unless you don’t own a phone). Labour can be time consuming so you may want to listen to some calming music or play ridiculously addictive games on your phone. You also might want to keep in contact with close friends and family about your progress.
12. Don’ forget to pack your camera and camera charger to document the amazing event! You may just want to use your phone, however taking a camera means you will save your phones battery.
13. Finally, make sure you thrown some mints, drinks and snacks into your hospital bag. Mints for long periods of time where you’re not able to clean your teeth. Drinks and snacks for long periods of time when you can’t sit and eat hospital food!

I think that’s it for my hospital bag essentials! I’m sure I’ve missed something so feel free to comment below with any suggestions. Stay tuned for my hospital bag essentials for baby post coming soon.

Ax