The Hospital Bag

I thought it worthwhile mentioning what we put in our hospital bag for when the baby was being born. We had a C-section so that needs to be considered when reading the list but there are many things which will be useful for anyone.

The Hospital Bag Basics

The basic essentials we took were:

• Clothes for the newborn. We packed whole outfits in small freezer bags so they were all packed together and easy to grab. We then labelled each one so we knew whether it was the first outfit, going home outfit and age (newborn or 0-3 months). Each freezer bag contained a vest, sleepsuit, hat and mittens as appropriate. Take more than you think you need as babies use a lot!
• Also bibs, really advisable to not forget those! Plus of course lots of muslins. Take extra, you will need loads!
• Nappy essentials:
• • nappies (size one of course, unless you know they’re too small/big!)
  • nappy bags
  • water wipes (we are using these rather than cotton wool) – take lots as you will need more than you think
  • nappy barrier cream
  • changing mat
• Clothes for Clare. This involved a lot of logistical organisation to pack everything as you need many things. Nighties, bras, underwear, going home clothes, feeding clothing, flip flops, dressing gown
• Toiletries for Clare. These are your usual items, including hairdryer, straighteners, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush and toothpaste…basically every toiletry you would need to go away for a weekend
• Maternity pads. Do not forget these. They’re thicker than sanitary towels and WILL be needed. Can’t stress that enough!

Those Handy Extras

• If you’re having a c-section don’t forget you need to take a nappy and a hat into the theatre room with you. You can see the hat we took with us to the right here. I’m sure many of you will be thinking phrases such as “why would you torture a child?” or “Call the NSPCC!” but hey, they’re not doing too bad at the minute
• Take your phone. Whether you are having a c-section or natural birth you will want some photos. If you’re having a c-section you can take your phone in to the theatre with you usually (depending on the surgeon I expect) but I’m sure you’ll want to capture some photos of the proceedings (but maybe stay above the curtain!). We were reminded by the midwife to take it too showing how much they encourage it
• Your folder full of notes. If you’re the same as us we were given a folder by the hospital to keep all of our notes together. Of course you have to take this with you
• The Red Book. Your Health Visitor should visit you before the baby is born. Ours was very helpful and nice. They asked a number of questions of us in an effort to understand how well prepared we were and see how they could give us support. They also gave us a red book to store things like vaccinations etc. You need to take this with you
• Baby formula. Whether you are intending on trying to breast feed or not, you should take some baby formula with you. We took a starter pack for example just in case. Clearly if you’re not trying to breast feed then you need to take food with you as hospitals don’t provide this. With regards to breast feeding it is fair to say that it’s not always feasible even if you want to. If you have a section it can often take days for your milk to come in as your milk producing hormone hasn’t been released due to the delivery method. As such, it’s best to take some formula with you. We’ve chosen to take some pre-prepared formula with us as it might not be that easy to make it up in the hospital!

Quick List

• Extension cable
• Phone charger(s)
• Blanket for Dad if you may sleep over
• Toiletries for Dad as you may stay
• Portable phone battery charger
• Snacks and drinks
• Straws – helps the new Mummy having had the operation to drink easier

These are just the items we wanted to take though. Of course there will be other items you want to take, especially if giving birth naturally as I’m sure you will want to make the environment as relaxing and comfortable as possible.

What items did you take that you think others should take with them? What one thing could you not have done without?