I am a fan of packing light! Ever since my sister and brother in law took me backpacking through Japan at 16, I learned I need few things to travel. Disclaimer, I am not a minimalist though hahaha because I know my husband would read that and remind me of all the craft supplies I’ve accumulated in our home 🙂 But enough of that… hahha
I am not a planner by any means. You’ll see this as a strong theme in my life, and if there was any question if that would change throughout pregnancy, the answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT. My doctor assumed I would deliver early as Maddy was a single umbilical artery baby. She told me to have my bags packed at 32 weeks, but it wasn’t until week 36 when I went in for my stress testing and dilation check did I begin to panic because I was 4cm dilated!!!
That’s when I decided it time to pack! I googled and looked on pinterest what to pack to the hospital. There are a million lists, most of them are so long and I thought to myself so many times but what do i ACTUALLY need? I ended just taking the items I saw on every list, but even then I overpacked.
So here I am, almost 6 months postpartum, and if you’re not into overpacking, I’ve compiled a bare minimum hospital bag list for you!
While I thought long and hard about this list and I am confident that this is truly at minimal what you need, I do want to say that the most important thing is to pack for YOUR comfort. Some people highly suggest robes and breast feeding shirts, but when you’re in the hospital for likely only 1-2 days AND you just gave birth, I really think the hospital gown is the most convenient and best option. Plus you’re still bleeding and the idea of getting blood and other liquids on my clothes was not for me. The hospital will provide what you need for your postpartum bleeding (and pain) and the nurse should walk you through on how to set up pads (although that’s something I’ll likely include in another post) 🙂
I am not sure if the list looks different for planned c-sections, but i’d imagine so, but I’d still highly recommend you do some research! Below i’ll list some links to my favorite items.
Links
2. Handsfree Pumping/Breast Feeding Bra
3. Duffle Bag
6. Aiden and Anais Easy Swaddles
If you need anymore links please let me know 🙂
I didn’t take a picture of my hospital bag on the day, but i’ll leave you with this picture of me and Tim right after I got my epidural and just a couple hours before Maddy was born!
Why I love them
1. Dwell and Slumber Dresses are PERFECT for sleeping in, moving around, and especially in those last few weeks when your belly just EXPANDS, it’s a 10/10 for comfort. I was gifted a swing dress from my friend, and immediately bought 2 more. Great for pumping/nursing and you can wear them as pajamas OR out! So when you’re getting visitors, you don’t feel as grungy.
2. A MUST. I didn’t know I needed a hands free pumping bra so I spent $$ on just nursing bras, then maddy didn’t latch and I had to produce milk. Highly recommend just buying 1/2 of these first until you know what you’re going to do! I have 5 of these now because I am an exclusive pumper! Only downside is there is no padding but you wear breast pads anyways so it’s not a big deal.
3. Cute, perfect size for the hospital!
4. A MUST. Besides your bottom half, the second most painful area will be your nipples as you and baby figure out latching. This nipple balm won’t heal you instantly, but it’ll save you from even more pain.
5. We use these for EVERYTHING!! from swaddling to just laying on her legs in the car seat, these are sturdy and we love them.
6. We loved having these especially for the first several newborn weeks. Easier than swaddling with the muslin cloths 🙂 We used them right away in the hospital!
7. You’ll thank me later. But it’ll save you a lot of trouble especially if it’s longer haha
8. I bought these because they were affordable and SO comfortable. Walked into the hospital with them and all around. If you’re anything like me, your feet will be swollen so thinking about socks and regular slippers/shoes was out of the question.
