WHAT’S IN MY HOSPITAL BAG

I have been asked by quite a few people now what was in my hospital bag. I originally intended on a home birth but had to go into hospital in the end. Whether you’re having a home birth or a hospital birth you still should have a hospital bag packed for emergencies. I found out I was going to hospital on the Saturday morning and was given 3 hours to go home and pack a bag. I ended up staying in for a week!! I was seriously under packed and hubby had to go back home for more things and my mum and dad regularly dropped off food parcels. I literally couldn’t have done it without them. I have written down everything that I took and separated it into things for mum and things for baby. I had one mini carry on style wheelie suitcase (mine is from American Tourista), one nursing bag rucksack from Jem and Bea and one carry bag from Antler for the baby. All these bags worked perfectly. Oh and don’t forget to pop in a couple of canvas shopping bags to act as a laundry bag and extra bag to shove some things in if you’re tight for time moving from ward, to room to ward again etc. Think of yourself as going into hospital for five days and as if you’re going to a naff Travel Lodge or Holiday Inn where there are no amenities or mod cons and then bring everything!! Think of home comforts and what items will make you happy and feel like you’re at home.

FOR YOU

•Nursing pillow
•Plastic flip flops for the shower
•Slippers
•Nightie with straps
•Dressing gown
•Knickers (dark ones!)
•Eye sleep mask
•Ear plugs
•A few outfits that are possible to nurse in
•Thick sanitary pads
•Phone charger (long cable ones if you have them incase the plug sockets are far from the bed)
•Book/notepad/diary/pen/kindle (things to keep you occupied)
(I filled my iPad with downloaded episodes of Friends and movies from a Netflix before going but the hospital had amazing WiFi that you could easily stream tv on which we did).
•Headphones
•Snacks galore (sweet and savoury)
•Hairdryer (Liam brought mine in but I didn’t feel I could use it because of the noise so he brought in my Aquis hair towel and hair brush and hair clips for me to help semi-dry and tame my hair)
•Shampoo/conditioner/body wash/razor/toothbrush/toothpaste/contact lenses/glasses
Body towel/face towel
•Make up
(I did my make up twice whilst in hospital on a couple of days where I mentally needed to spruce myself up to feel “normal”
•Dry shampoo
•Lip balm (I use Balm Balm which is organic and used the fragrance free one as you can have this double up as a nipple balm which is safe for the baby and also needed if you use gas and air during your labour).
•Bottle with a straw (my hypnobirthing teacher told me to get this and oh boy she was right. When you’re in labour or feeding you don’t have the time or hands to use a glass or unscrew a bottle!)
•Clary sage oil
•Games (we took Bananagrams and Dobble)

FOR YOUR BABY

•Nappies
•Wipes/cotton wool pads
•Baby grows with buttons or poppers to make life so much easier
•Socks/gloves (they like you to use a sock over their hands if your baby has to have a cannula)
•Hats
•Wipes or cotton wool buds
•A few large muslins
•A travel changing mat
•Bottles and formula if you’re planning on using formula
•Colostrum harvesting if you’ve done any
•Car seat
•Baby blanket
• Ewan The Sheep
(I was sent this sheep and am so happy with it because Albie hates having his nappy changed but Ewan The Sheep seems to help distract him).

FOR YOUR PARTNER

•PJs
•Toothbrush and toothpaste
•Towel if they’re allowed to shower at the hospital
•Water bottle
•Bedding to sleep beside you (minimum sheet to cover plastic chair/longer & pillow and blanket)
•Books and nightlight (Liam has a light attached to his book)/iPad/tablet
•Eye mask
•Ear plugs
•Snacks galore
•Headphones
•Chargers

I hope I haven’t missed anything out. If you think there’s anything missing or something you took that everyone needs then please pop it down in the comments below. Have a wonderful labour.