FAQ: What to pack in your hospital bag?

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u/Secret_Yam_4680 Aug 01 '23 edited Aug 01 '23

My response may look a little atypical as my ante & postpartum stay was a combined 35 days. Will focus on most recent birth only. US based, C-section, did not BF, August.

Essentials: bed sheets, pillow w/ pillowcases, own shampoo & conditioner, hand/face towel & body towel, deodorant, toothpaste, electric toothbrush, face lotion, body lotion, Burt’s Bees lip balm, little bit of make up, face sheet masks, cloth headband, light robe, slippers, phone charger, laptop to watch movies & Bravo, really yummy snacks, yoga pants, take home outfit for me & baby and lastly playlist for before, during & after C-section. (Received permission from OR staff to play during procedure)

Items that I did not bring as they were provided by my hospital: abdominal binder, mesh panties.

Helpful hints: Upon admission, there should be a hospital welcoming bag in your room filled with mini items such as tissues, a hairbrush, a tooth brush & some toothpaste. The quality of these products will get you by but imo there’s no feeling like having your own toiletries!

Also US hospitals will throw out your pillows after you leave so take them home as they can make great wedge pillows.

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u/Pixarooo Aug 01 '23

Hospital stay: 2 days post-birth Country: USA Medicated vaginal delivery Breastfed Gave birth in winter

The most important things in my hospital bag were my own pillow, my own blanket, and a comfy robe. I brought a couple "outfits" for me (like pj pants, soft shorts, breastfeeding bras/tanks) but I did not put a single piece of clothing on me until I was being discharged. I did use the grippy socks I brought. Robe + grippy socks + blanket over my lap was the best.

Other important things: my skincare. Maybe because of the season, but the hospital was SO dry. I was very thankful I had my moisturizer (face and body) as well as my nighttime lip treatment. I have extremely dry skin. My tablet. I watched like 15 or 20 episodes of Arrested Development while in labor. It was a nice distraction, but also since I've seen the show exactly 10,000 times, it didn't matter that I wasn't paying much attention. Perfect background noise.

Other things we brought that I was happy about: sleeping eye mask, my husband's pillow, a blanket for him. Snacks (granola bars, etc). Also my breast pump, so I could have the lactation consultant help me with it.

Things I brought that I did not use at all:

shower products. I didn't shower the entire time I was there. I was barely strong enough to get out of bed for the first few days, and it didn't feel worth the energy. Yes, they gave me a shower stool, it still didn't feel worth my time.

A book and assorted "things to do." My water broke at 11pm, a lot of the "down time" at the hospital was spent sleeping. Maybe if I had gone at 11am, I'd have spent some time playing my Switch or reading a book, but by the time I was up and about, the contractions were coming too close to one another to bother with activities.

Baby book. I wanted to fill it out there, but it was so far down my list I forget it existed.

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u/Anxious_Spinach_7422 Aug 01 '23

Length of hospital stay: 4 days (would have been 3 but I pushed to stay an extra day)
Country of residence: USA

Method of delivery: c-section (had one planned for a breech baby but my water broke spontaneously before scheduled date)

Breastfed: yes

Season/month in which you gave birth: August during a heatwave

Packed:

- large water bottle

- breastfeeding pillow (was a must for me because of the c-section)

- nursing/hospital gown x2

- going home dress

- 2 going home outfits for baby

- pacifiers (never used)

- sleeping mask

- ear plugs

- toiletries

- LOTS of snacks (mostly for my husband because he wasn't allowed to leave and come back to hospital because of COVID)

- phone charger + extension cord (key!)

- iPad (didn't use - had a TV in my room)

- book (didn't use)

- car seat

What I wish I had brought -

- cooling/soothing breast pads (I had to buy them from the LC at the hospital and it was like $60 for 2 - highway robbery!)

To be honest, the hospital provided most everything we needed. I just brought some of my own things from home for added comfort.

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u/merrymomiji Aug 02 '23 edited Aug 04 '23

I had an early, unexpected admission and a NICU baby, but I thought I would share some of my personal recommendations (which focus just on my hospitalization portion). I'm in the US, was admitted 11 days before baby's arrival; stayed my full 4 days after (the max my insurance would allow for a c-section. He was too early to breastfeed, so I pumped. Baby was born in May; went home in July.

I may be the exception, but since I was admitted early due to reverse cord flow/pre-eclampsia/IUGR baby, I had a room up on the mother/baby unit vs. starting out in labor/delivery. I was provided with nothing more than a standard hospital bed setup and what I refer to as a "Mr. Big Gulp" hospital insulated water bottle, easy to keep track of your liquids when your nurses are measuring your every cc p/o.

There were no toiletries provided. I don't know if that would have been different had it been a more routine labor/delivery scenario (there was a bathroom attached to my room) or had I just asked for them, but that was my setup. Also, no mini fridge, so anything I needed to keep cold was taken away by a nurse and placed in their fridge. After I had my c-section and was wheeled right back up to my original room, the room was magically turned over into a "postpartum" setup, with a little gift box of snacks and a hospital grade breast pump and brand-new Medela pump parts package waiting nearby with a wash bin and a little soap bottle. They also had a peri bottle, a variety of pads, hospital underwear, and some meshy fabric that they helped me make my first crude-but-functional "hands-free" pumping bra out of.

To cut to the chase, if you are planning to pump, I would highly recommend bringing a hands-free pumping and/or nursing bra, and possibly your own breast pump (if you have one already) so that your nurses or lactation consultants can get you started with it and help you troubleshoot. I hadn't read a thing on breastfeeding yet at 29 weeks when I was admitted, but my nurses had me trying to pump within a few hours of my c-section, and my husband and I had the setup/routine down pretty quickly before I left.

A small cooler bag can be really handy! There wasn't a mini fridge in my room, so my husband would pack a small cooler with an ice pack and bring me cold beverages or foods that needed to stay cold in them. It also came in handy (weeks later) for transporting breast milk on my daily commute to the NICU or for night pumps (not having to take my milk downstairs to the refrigerator).

100% your own pillow or two (and don't forget your partner's, if you have one). These will do double duty if you have a c-section when you are driving home or sneezing or laughing or coughing and need to have something pressed against your stomach to help with the pain. Also, a large extra blanket for yourself can be really cozy when the thin hospital blankets aren't enough. I had pretty bad sweats and chills post-partum. A small battery-operated fan could be helpful, too. The room temperature will never be comfortable at that far along or with the hormonal changes post-partum. I had a magnesium bolus prior to my c-section, and that was a 30-minute-long hot flash, and I also tend to get hot when I'm nauseous, which was my experience post-c-section, so a fan would've been helpful here. Bathrobe, socks, and slippers (and shower shoes!) are a must. A hospital floor is not the place to walk barefoot, and it's nice being able to throw a bathrobe over yourself quickly when you are trying to pump and the doctors are rounding unexpectedly. A couple pairs of flowy pajamas or nightgowns because I felt like I lived in my jammies until I went home, and you will be very sweaty on and off, and if your milk comes in before you leave, it will make you feel much fresher having a clean pair to change into at some point or another.

Another pro-tip are (deep) v-neck shirts and button up tops. They can be really convenient for doing skin-to-skin, nursing, or pumping post-partum.

Bring all the handheld electronics and their long power cords; maybe even a power strip. I'm all about the distractions (at least, before baby arrives) and having them close to the bed is ideal.

Random, but ETA: don't forget a folder or some sort of organizer that can keep all of your paperwork neat. You will have most records given to you electronically, but there will be some stuff--brochures, printouts, keepsake hospital birth certificate (not the real one), etc.--that will be in paper format and you will want to get that home neatly.

Lastly, snacks. Once your baby arrives, you will be busy and healing and suddenly hungry at all hours of the night, and I found light snacks to be helpful to fight off some of the weird hormonal shifts I experienced while starting to pump. It's also good to have something in your stomach when you are taking a bunch of pain meds (though your nurses can likely bring you some crackers, etc. for this purpose).

Basically, anything small that can increase your comfort and feelings of privacy are a great idea in my perspective. An eye mask and/or ear plugs may be helpful at various points when you are trying to sleep but can't get past some of the lights or sounds. Also, hospital and birth anxiety is very real, so talk to your nurses and doctors if you need something, e.g. a sleep aid.

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u/tiredofwaiting2468 Aug 02 '23

My sister recommended packing two bags. One for a standard stay at your hospital. A second to send your support person home for if your stay is extended. Trying to explain which underwear you want, what a nursing camisole looks like, and remember where it all is, while explaining over the phone when you are both sleep deprived is no fun.

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u/bunveggy Aug 01 '23

Length of hospital stay? I was induced on a Thursday night, delivered on Saturday night, and was discharged on Monday around noon.
Country in which you reside? United States
Method of delivery? Vaginal with vacuum assist
Breastfeed? Yes, but she was hypoglycemic and had a bad latch so we were triple feeding from the beginning.
Season/month in which you gave birth? (for weather purposes) Winter which is generally mild here but has some cold snaps and light amounts of snow.

Things that I packed that I used - 10' charging cables for electronics, hand lotion, tablet (mostly to watch stuff together during induction), personal hygiene products, snacks (mostly for after the birth. I have allergies and there was almost nothing for me on the hospital menu), and my zip hoodie which was unexpectedly great for being able to open for breastfeeding/pumping. Oh, and I asked my husband to pack himself shirts that opened in the front for skin-to-skin. He thought that was weird then lived in them once she was born.
Things that I packed that I didn't use - any of the clothes for me, including my eye mask and robe. I felt gross after delivery and didn't want anything of mine to get gross. I was so sleep deprived that nothing kept me awake. Clothes for her other than her going home outfit. She just wore kimono onesies from the hospital. This seems to be very personal though and I hear from lots of people that they loved getting into their own clothes as soon as they could. I would probably still pack some clothes just in case.
Things that I didn't pack but wished that I had - a pumping bra. It was so hard to not have use of my hands while pumping. I didn't even buy one because I naively thought I wouldn't be pumping until I was ready to go back to work. Nursing pillow. It was so hard to get a position using their pillows. Going home shoes. I had no idea how much my feet would swell and my partner could barely get my winter boots on me for the ride home.
Things that my hospital provided - My hospital provided everything needed for postpartum like disposable mesh undies, ice packs, tucks wipes, and a peri bottle. They also had everything for the baby like diapers, wipes, and cream. They gave us tons of stuff to take home, including extra of the ready-to-feed formula that she was using. When I started pumping, they gave us a wash basin and soap to keep that and the pump parts clean. Oh, and I used their pump while I was there. They also provided oral syringes and spoons to feed her the colostrum that I was collecting. I didn't know anything about hand expression or I would have expressed more than pumped. You get so little at first and it gets lost in the flanges and collection bottles.

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u/qu3stions4a Aug 01 '23 edited Aug 01 '23

US. 2 night stay. Vaginal delivery, BF baby. Spring.

Things I would pack for baby #2:

For me:

-phone charger with extra long cable -my own hospital gown for the postpartum room (mine was from fridamom, wayyyy more comfy than the hospital provided ones) -hella snacks -big ass water bottle that keeps ice cold -my own toiletries -hair ties!!! -big comfy clothes to go home in -warm socks -nursing pillow -ear plugs/eye mask -portable white noise machine -open front cozy cardigan

For baby: -2-3 Velcro swaddles. we were so bad at blanket swaddling and it was annoying to ping the nurse every time -2-3 footies in NB & 0-3 -car seat

For partner: -pillows -blankets -earplugs/eye mask -PJs and fresh clothes -extra long phone charger -toiletries

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u/huffliestofpuffs Aug 01 '23

I went in on a Wednesday night for induction. Had a baby by c section Thursday morning. Was discharged Sunday mid day. United States.

I wanted to breastfeed but latching was a shit show (turns out he had a severe tongue tie) plus he was in the nicu for 8 days. I would up exclusive pumping.

Gave birth beginning of November.

I wish I had brought more pajamas clothes. Once I was allowed out of the hospital gown after the pulled my catheter and such I went through so many clothes because I had terrible post partum sweats. Also I was there longer than most I suspect due to nicu baby.

I brought snacks but I wish I had brought more. I also did travel size toiletries and that worked well.

Oh and I preferred the disposable diaper underwear vs the mesh panties with a pad so glad I wound up bringing those and wish I had brought more.

Definitely overthought outfits for baby. Literally just bring one newborn ans one 0 to 3 and you will be fine for going home. They stay in a diaper swaddled in the hospital blanket basically the whole time.

Oh I am glad I brought a robe and the stroller fan that I used on my bed.

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u/brithelm3 Aug 01 '23 edited Aug 01 '23

3 days in the hospital. USA. Vaginal delivery. Breastfed. Spring.

I packed a big water bottle, snacks, phone charger, toiletries, clothes for myself and baby to come home in, makeup for photos, cute nursing pajamas - one short sleeve/shorts combo and one long combo because I didn't know if it would be cold in the room or not.

They only things I used were my charger and water bottle. I walked around in mesh undies and the cotton tube top they gave me for skin-to-skin time. They provided every toiletry I could need and they also had a room with snacks. We were discharged at 10pm so I didn't even dress him up in cute clothes.

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u/IVFistheBestRevenge Aug 01 '23

2 days in the hospital. USA. Vaginal delivery. Breastfed that baby. Season irrelevant because I live in Southern California.

I packed several things that are usually included on lists (my toiletries, make up if you want to take photos with it on, going home outfit for you and baby, etc).

But I mostly wanted to contribute a few things that aren’t always on lists: 1 - a gigantic water bottle for you and your partner. I did not like constantly asking for my tiny pitcher to be refilled to be poured into a cup with a crappy lid! 2 - eye mask for sleeping, again for both you and your partner. Even with the “lights off” in my room, it was so bright. 3 - breastfeeding pillow or at least your own big pillows. The hospital ones were terrible. Like it took stacking 3 of them to maybe be able to support my baby to breastfeed. If I was planning to breastfeed again, I’d bring my Boppy Best Latch.

FAQ: What to pack in your hospital bag?

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