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My Hospital Bag: the 7 Things I Actually Needed

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Hospital bag checklist for mama, partner, baby & what to leave at home || #baby #registry #momtobe #tips

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

I seriously overpacked my hospital bag. After reading tons of checklists and pins prior to baby girl’s delivery, I somehow managed to pack a bag that would have been great if I’d had quintuplets, and/or had planned to take a #bohoinspired vacay following their births. Waaaay too much stuff. Ironically, albeit not surprisingly, my husband, Matthew, barely packed. If we could repack our hospital bags, we’d refine our checklist in order to pack SMARTER.

Quick note that this post was updated August 2023, just after having our second baby.

Heads up! This post contains affiliate links, and at no cost to you, I will be compensated if you click a link that I’ve shared. Thanks!

What to Pack

Hospital Bag Checklist For Mama

1) One nursing bra — like this one, that I’m wearing today…9 months later (and also five+ years later after having our second baby this August!)
2) Two to three comfy, practical, supportive nursing camis — like these — to be worn supportively beneath comfy, button-front jammies — like these from Target
3) One going home outfit — this maxi is super cute, has *pockets,* AND BONUS hides huge mesh undies
4) One pair of joggers like these or this perfectly soft pair
5) One pair of comfy shoes & one to two comfy socks — I delivered (twice!) in August, so Birkenstocks were everything for me
6) One chunky open sweater with pockets (or robe…but see some thoughts below on robes…)
7) Toiletries — toothbrush/toothpaste, floss, body wash, face wash (my favorite), moisturizer (also a favorite), shampoo & conditioner, deodorant, contacts/glasses, brush/comb, chapstick, hairbands, hand/body lotion, and nipple care (nipple cream that’s safe for baby to ingest + nursing pads — disposable or reusable)

Hospital Bag Checklist For Partner/Coach

8) Lounging attire — for my husband, this should have been two to three T-shirts (his favorite), one to two pairs of shorts or sweats (he loves these joggers), two to three socks, two to three undies
9) Button-down shirt or zip hoodie, perfect for partner skin-to-skin with baby
10) Toiletries (see above)
11) One pair comfy footwear

Hospital Bag Checklist For Both

12) SNACKS for mama (if you’re laboring naturally and/or doctor or midwife is good with you eating, as ours was) and also for partner (…we overlooked packing any foods, so about eight hours after we arrived at the hospital, my husband had to venture on a food scavenger hunt…SMH)
13) Cell phones/chargers — perhaps one that’s extra long, as the hospital bed may be a distance from the outlet
14) Entertainment/ways to relax during a potentially long labor — if cell phones or the TV in the room aren’t enough, do you need a book? iPad? Cards? Magazines? Headphones?
15) IDs/insurance information
16) Birth plan — maybe two copies
17) Cash — good to have smaller bills when you want to eat the entire vending machine post-delivery

Hospital Bag Checklist For Baby

18) Car seat (& possibly a car seat insert if bb is extra tiny)
19) Two sweet newborn outfits with hat included & mittens built-in
20) One to two receiving blankets
21) Two easy-to-use newborn swaddles (both babies lived in these during our hospital stays)
22) Nursing pillow (like the Boppy)
23) Download the BabyFeed Timer or Huckleberry Apps, both of which I recommend (and these actually aren’t affiliate links). I’ve used both, and they track EVERYTHING, from eating (breastfeeding — which boob you’re on — and bottles and pumping), diapers (must keep track of how many wet and dry early on), sleep, meds you’re taking (like Motrin), pumping (when and number of ounces), etc. It also helps you guestimate when baby will next be hungry based on time between feedings and offers tons of other helpful analytics and graphs re: baby’s patterns. Hands down so, so helpful in hospital and first weeks home with baby.
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Some Additional Details on the Checklist Recommendations Shared Above

  • Men’s Joggers
  • Stylish, comfortable, laid back
  • Husband loves these:
    • He’s 6’4, 34 waist, and wears an XL
    • Neither too short nor too baggy

Things You MIGHT Want at the Hospital

But That We Ultimately Did Not Need or Use
This part of the hospital bag checklist depends on:
  • a) What you typically use in your day-to-day life,
  • b) Your birth plan, and
  • c) What the hospital will have for you.
Slippers?
Your Own Delivery Gown?
  • I read many blogs with hospital bag checklist suggestions that included purchasing one’s own hospital delivery gown — here’s the one I got. It’s really cute. IN THEORY. In practice? There are many, many liquid reasons why not to bring your own gown to baby’s birth. I showed it to the nurses, who also thought it was cute. And they then suggested I leave its cuteness in my clean, dry hospital bag. But, as with everything else, to each one’s own.

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A Robe?
  • Ask yourself: Am I a robe person? I decided to buy one for our time in the hospital. It’s soft. Thick. It’s NICE. However. I am not a robe person. Never have been. It was thus silly for me to think that hours post-delivery — trying to breastfeed and mother and recover and survive — that I’d suddenly don a robe. Buy and/or bring a robe if you know that you’ll actually wear it.
Your Own Pillow? Towel? Blanket? Shower flip flops?
  • Are you particular about your pillows, towels, and blankets? Shower shoes? If yes, bring your own. If not? Leave at home. I brought a towel, which I didn’t use. And the hospital where we delivered was saturated with pillows, which were either actually comfy or we were way too sleep deprived to care (most likely the latter). The shower smelled like straight bleach — it was like scary clean. Shower shoes not required.

Sound Machine? Essential Oils & Diffuser? Speakers?
  • Are these part of your birth plan? Have you confirmed these items are okay to bring to the hospital? Will they make you feel more at home and less stressed? Pack them!
  • If you’re only maybe planning to use them, I’d suggest to leave them at home. I maybe thought I’d like to diffuse oils, and then I promptly forgot this thought when my body was trying to produce a human.
  • We do have a Hatch at home and love it. We also were gifted Hatch’s new adorable, portable mini option (which I recommend adding to your registry ASAP). Also so appreciate their customer service: our first one glitched out after a couple of months, and they sent us a second one for free…no questions asked.
Makeup?
  • Do you always wear makeup? Are you having newborn pictures taken at the hospital? Bring it.
  • If not? Skip it. Other than the toiletries I listed above, including my favorite face wash and moisturizer, the makeup I brought remained in my hospital bag.
“Throw Away” Undies?
Bathing Suit?
  • I was open to using one of the hospital’s jacuzzis for pain management. Hence, I packed a bathing suit, as I was also open to no pain medication/natural birth. This, though, was prior to contractions. An epidural quickly replaced a jacuzzi in my birth story.
Baby’s Diapers & Wipes?
  • As one of our favorite nurses put it: “If it’s not attached to the wall, you’re taking it.” (Also because with insurance, whatever ‘it’ was, we’d already paid for.) We had PLENTY of newborn diapers & wipes from the hospital, as well as several cream-colored newborn shirts (…hospital baby clothes designers are smart because these shirts have built-in mittens…), hats, and hospital swaddle blankets (which can double as burp cloths while still in the hospital).
  • Because you’ll be bringing baby and some extra hospital goodies home with you (and potentially gifts/flowers from family & friends), it’s wise to ask what the hospital will have for baby to avoid overpacking (…read as: I packed maybe three but probably five extremely adorable newborn outfits and used not one of them).
  • If your hospital recommends and/or you feel better bringing along some extra diapers and wipes, we’re huge fans of Dyper and Honest.
Nicer Outfit for Partner?
  • Only if newborn pics are happening in the hospital or if tons of fam/friends who judge your clothing choices are planning to visit.
Is it Winter or Freezing?

In Summary: Less is More

Pack in your hospital bags with what will allow you and your partner to be MOST COMFORTABLE. But don’t overdo it.

Because in the very best way, that moment after baby is in the world, all the stuff in the bags will matter a whole lot less.

Is this post about how to pack your hospital bags and what to include on your checklist helpful? What did you bring? Leave at home? What are you curious about? Please comment and share!

Comments

  1. Zahra says

    Hey Anya! Thank you for sharing this as well as the post about your baby registry. Both have been super helpful. I made my registry based on your guidelines and everything has been super useful!