10 Must-Have Hospital Bag Items for Mommy-to-be

Expecting a baby is so much fun, until you get to week 35 or so and you begin to freak out. Or at least I did. Where do we go? How long will we be in the hospital? What will I need in my hospital bag? Those were my thoughts with my first of my child, my son. There were things I missed and didn’t know about, so this last time around I was bound and determined to write down things to help other mommies-to-be!

1. Nursing bra(s)… if you’re planning on nursing. If you’re wanting to formula feed then no need to worry about this (even though they are super comfy). These are the ones I use, so comfortable and they’re still like-new at 9 months of use!
2. 10 foot long phone cord. Sure, you might think oh, it’ll be fine charging on the counter across the room. No. It won’t be. You’ll want to take pictures of your sweet baby, people will be texting you constantly, and if you already have a child you’ll want to FaceTime with him or her, and you won’t want to get up and just to get your phone. Trust me on this. 10 foot phone cord will be a good investment if you don’t already have one.
3. Go to Walmart, Target or check Amazon and get yourself a cheap pair of house slippers. You’re in a hospital… the floor is cold and full of germs… they give you those ugly gripper socks that look identical to what your grandmother wore back in 1990- that’s right, they haven’t changed the colors at all. They’re probably overstock from 1992 and they’re still trying to use them all. Ok, maybe that’s a bit extreme, but you get the point. They’re not fashionable. I picked up a pair of house slippers for $8 at Walmart and wore them while after having my son (with my daughter, since she was born in the middle of the summer, I took a pair of $2 Old Navy flip flops), then threw them away upon leaving. I didn’t want to take those germs home and they served their purpose.
4. Clothes for your baby! Call me crazy well-prepared, but I also packed swaddling blankets and accent bows just for pictures with the hospital photographer. When the photographer came to our room to do some pictures she asked what we would like and if we had any special outfits for her to be photographed in. That’s when I whipped out a bow box with 12 bows and 3 different jersey swaddle blankets. She looked at me and said I was her favorite mommy that week. I wanted to have some cute things that matched for those pictures. You may not be that type of mom, but by golly I am! If you’re having a son, you can take some cute hats and swaddle blankets! Etsy always has cute, unique little baby hats!
5. Smell-good shampoo, conditioner and body wash. My hospital gave me small bottles of shampoo and conditioner, almost like a hotel, but after having a baby and not being able to take a shower for 24 hours I did’t want unscented shampoo and body wash; I wanted to smell like a coconut and some random flower. Yep, that’s right, I wanted to smell like I walked out of an Herbal Essence commercial where they keep saying “YES!”.
6. Snacks! You’ve just had a baby. You aren’t going to get much rest and if you’re nursing then you’ll need to keep up your calorie count; plus if you have a husband/partner/boyfriend in the room with you they’ll need snacks. Our hospital had a little kitchen in the women’s ward with peanut butter, popsicles, crackers and tons of juice for new moms. It was marvelous. But, we still took a bag of snacks. Go get some of your favorite things and pack them in your bag- you’ll thank me for this one. Don’t forget Little Debbies! No one judges in women’s ward.
7. Baby nail file. Your precious baby has just spent months without a manicure or pedicure, their little nails are long! My son was in the NICU and they didn’t allow nail clippers so I used a nail file there, but with my daughter I came prepared with baby nail clippers. Big mistake. I clipped 1 nail and it started bleeding- they’re still slightly transparent so it’s hard to see where the quick starts and their nails are soft and bend… just learn from my mistake and poor baby tears and take a nail file. It will save their faces from scratches, as well as your skin from scratches with their sharp nails.
8. Nipple cream. This is a killing 2 (or 3) birds with 1 stone type thing. I use nipple cream for chapstick, as well. It works so well and soothes almost immediately. Plus, you can use it as a diaper rash cream, if needed. I found this out by requesting some butt paste for my daughter and the nurse told me they no longer give it to moms with newborns because they shouldn’t need it; so nipple cream to the rescue!
9. Outfit to go home in, as well as other lounging clothes. Not going to lie, I didn’t feel like going full hair and makeup after having a baby and finally being able to shower. My guess is you won’t either. Some people say oh take a robe and nursing cover, blah blah blah. Let me tell you, unless you are doing a lifestyle photoshoot in that small hospital room, you won’t want all that. I get wanting to feel normal, I’m blessed with curly hair (took years for me to say that) so I was able to throw mousse in my hair and dry it. Ta da, 10 minute hair. And for the nursing cover, you lose all privacy and basically dignity when you have a baby. You have doctors and nurses checking you, lactation consultants grabbing your boobs… your husband is no longer the only one to see you naked daily. So my point, you’ll want clothes that are easy to feed a baby in- tank tops, camisoles, scoop neck shirts; and comfortable, LOOSE pants. You either just pushed out a baby or had one cut from you- either way you spin it everything is swollen and sore down there and the last thing you’ll want or need is tight pants and panties.
10. A camera! Yes, I am aware that iPhones take amazing photos and videos, but some of us are old school. I took my SLR with me both times. There’s a certain quality of photo you can get with an actual camera that you can’t get with a phone, in my opinion, plus when people are in there they can just pick up the camera, snap some shots then you’ll have them in one place when you go home, not having to ask Aunt Martha to text you pictures and Uncle Don to send you that video.

I hope these tips help you! If any of you other seasoned mommas have anything that helped you put them in the comments!!