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Is there a hospital bag checklist?
Where can I get my hospital bag checklist?
What do you need in your hospital bag?
What stuff should be packed in your hospital labour bag?
When should you pack your hospital bag for labour & delivery?
Will I need one bag for me and another for baby?
What kind of bag will I need to pack my hospital stuff?
Questions, questions & questions……….
If these are the questions spinning inside your head, then you have come to the right place.
Well, since you are thinking about a Hospital Bag Checklist or wondering as to what should you pack in your Maternity Bag Kit, I presume you must be in your Third Trimester of Pregnancy
I will give you an Ultimate Checklist for your Hospital Bag. The one that I used when I was packing my hospital bag (twice) for my two deliveries.
So lets get started:
But, before we see the Ultimate Hospital Bag Checklist, Lets go through some common questions that we come across by many new moms who are worried about all the stuff that goes inside your Maternity Bag Kit or the Hospital Bag.
Q: When do you need to pack your Maternity Bag Kit for labour & delivery?
A: According to me, the most ideal time to pack your hospital bag would be, at least 2 weeks before your due date. But you could start to gather stuff to pack even before that. By this time, that means before 2 weeks of your due date, your bag should be completely packed & ready to go. Sometimes, it may happen that you might have to go into labour before your due date. During such times, if your hospital bag is ready it helps reduce a lot of last-minute work & stress. So it is very important that your hospital bag is ready much ahead of your due date.
Q: Is there a hospital checklist?
A: Yes.
Q: Where can I get my hospital bag checklist?
A: Good news. Right here. Later in this section, I will tell you about all the things & stuff that you will need to pack in your hospital bag.
Grab Your Hospital Bag Checklist PDF
Q: What kind of bag will you need to pack your stuff in?
A: You can use either a rucksack, holdall or a suitcase for yourself.
Q: How many bags will I need?
A: I had taken two bags, one for myself & one for my baby. So 2 bags is the least number of bags you will need to take. Depending in which country you stay & the rules therein, if they allow your partner to stay in the hospital then you might need to pack one bag for your partner too.
Q: What do you need to pack in your maternity bag kit?
A: Lots of stuff, but don’t overdo it.
Now that we have gone through our FAQs it’s time to see what to pack in your Maternity Bag Kit.
But, before I forget, let me remind you to get ready with your Baby Registry first, so you can pass on the burden of buying some baby stuff, on your family & friends. I am sure they won’t mind it.
Let’s go through our Ultimate Hospital Bag Checklist of things to pack in your Maternity Bag Kit
Table of Contents
List of items for MOM
Get Your Printable Hospital Bag Checklist PDF Here
- Birth plan – Always keep your birth plan with you so you know what has been discussed with your doctor or mid-wife.
- Toothpaste & toothbrush – This is basic requirement, but if it is not in the list, its very easy to forget it.
- Washbag – Shower gel or soap, shampoo, shower cap, lip balm, deodorant, hair clip or hair ties, hand cloth or flannel and other toiletries.
- Towel & bath robe (if you prefer)
- Own gown or night dress & slippers – Depending on your country some hospitals might arrange for hospital gowns others might want you to take your own.
My experience – My son was born in USA & the hospital that I was admitted to, provided there own hospital gown. So you had a choice to take your own or wear the ones that are provided to you by the hospital. Now, my daughter was born in UK & the hospital in which I was admitted to did not provide with any hospital gown.
So you need to check with your hospital for the provision of hospital gown.
6. Loose & comfortable dress – You will need this one on your way back home. I would suggest to pack 2 of them.
7. Nursing bras – Take at least 5 nursing bras as you don’t know how many days you have to stay in the hospital.
8. Breast pads – Do buy some good quality breast pads.
This is the one I would recommend.
Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Disposable Breast Pads
Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Disposable Breast Pads, 50 Pads
9. Maternity / Sanitary Pads – They must be ultra-absorbent & long. There will be quite a lot of blood loss than you can imagine so be prepared. The post partum (after delivery) bleeding is much heavier than your normal period. So you have to get the ones which can handle the extra pressure.
Not all hospitals provide you with them. So be sure to pack them in abundance.
Again just to state my experience, during my after the delivery of my son in USA, I was provided with the big sanitary napkins in the hospital. After my second delivery, in UK the hospital did provide me with the napkins, but that was in limited quantity so I also had to use my own. So it is always better to buy & take them with you in the hospital as you will NEED them.
I would recommend Always Ultra Night sanitary pads – These are not your regular maternity pads but they are cheaper & do the job.
Always Ultra Night (Size 3) Sanitary Towels Wing
10. Few pairs of knickers – Now you might want to get a size larger than your normal or you can buy disposable ones.
I had a few disposable ones, but I found them a bit uncomfortable, so I switched back to the normal ones.
11. Camera – You don’t want to miss on those treasure moments. Also don’t forget the batteries.
12. Mobile & Charger – Nowadays mobiles have a built-in camera which can take wonderful pics. Also, after the delivery, you want to announce the birth to your relatives & friends. Again, do not forget your mobile charger.
13. Books, music for passing time – Well you might not have much time in hand to relax, but still it is good to have with you a book or some form of music so as to relax when you do get time.
I had ample time to relax after the birth of my son as the hospital had its own nursery section where you could keep your newborn for some time & the nurse would care for them.
14. Medicines – If you have been prescribed some medicine or been on them even before the delivery do keep them handy. I would recommend you to first check with your doctor or midwife if it is alright for you to have them now. Also, don’t forget to put in nipple cream.
I had used Lansinoh Lanolin Nipple Cream
15. Healthy snacks & drinks – You might want to pack a few healthy snacks to munch on as the hospital might have fixed time of serving food.
That sums up the checklist for Mom’s hospital bag
List of items for your Birth Partner
- Copy of Birth Plan – Mom to be is going through a lot. So it is advisable for the birthing partner to also keep a copy of the Birth Plan so Mom can relax on that aspect.
- Watch – Now one would ask why watch? Many people like to know the exact time of the baby’s birth down to nano second. So a watch with seconds hand will come handy.
- Washbag – Include your partner’s toiletries in this bag
- Clothes – Since the birth partner might have to stay in the hospital, they would require change of clothes.
- Camera – Who would want to miss those precious moments? So don’t forget the camera.
- List of phone numbers / names of people – It may sound weird in today’s time & generation to take with you a list of phone numbers of people to inform as all the numbers are stored in your phone already. But it is that moment when you are so overwhelmed that one can easily get confused & might forget to inform some people. In such a case if you have a list of phone numbers or names of people whom you want to inform, it will definitely be handy.
- Robe & slippers
- Books / music – Things to pass the time in the hospital.
- Snacks & drinks – Hospitals may not provide with any food items for the partner. Hence it is better if they carry some snack & drink items with them.
- Money – Cash, Credit card, Debit card to pay the bills.
That should be all for the birthing partner checklist for the hospital bag
Baby Hospital Bag Checklist
Now let’s see what we are going to pack in our new baby’s hospital bag
- Clothes – Baby clothes including bodysuit, onesies, night suits. You might want to check some tips on buying baby clothes on a budget here.
- Homegoing dress – a good outfit for going home
- Photo dress – Some hospitals have tie-up with professional baby photographers who come to the hospital to take your baby’s pics. So might want to dress up your baby for the photoshoot
- Diapers & diaper rash cream– Pack a good bunch of diapers. Check what kind of newborn diapers are available & purchase accordingly. Also, take with you some moisturising diaper rash cream
- Blanket – Get receiving blanket, outside blanket.
- Winter clothing – Buy season-appropriate clothing for the baby like booties, cap, etc.
- Car seat – you will need a car seat on the day of going home. There is no need to get a car seat on the day of labour.
- Mittens – Babies have sharp nails. You might want to buy some nice mittens.
- Wet wipes / Cotton balls – For cleaning up baby
- Baby towel
- Bottle & Formula – Even though you might want to breastfeed your baby, its good to keep some baby milk formula & bottle handy.
- Burp clothes & Bibs – Burping after feeding is very important. Do not forget the burping cloth. Bibs will be required while feeding.
Now that kind of sums up for the Baby Hospital Bag Checklist.
Don’t forget to Grab Your Hospital Bag Checklist Here
Raising a family is not only a difficult task but can also be expensive. You might want to check out our blog on how you can reduce your debt while raising a family here.
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