Packing for the Hospital and Delivery
You’ve waited for months to deliver and cherish your new baby. The crib has been assembled, the diapers are stacked, and the booties line the drawer. Everything is ready – except for your bag for the hospital. Just what are you supposed to pack for one of the most physically demanding, emotionally amplified, wonderful moments of your life?
The Basic Must Haves
Keep an envelope or file folder ready to go with some of the boring, but necessary information. You never know when you might start labor so keep this file in an obvious, accessible place to help ease the process. For my first child I didn’t even realize I was in labor and I went to my regular doctor appointment – he sent me right to the hospital and I had to scramble directions together over the phone for family members as to where to find everything at my house. Other basic requirements for your folder include:
- Insurance card and any required precertification papers
- Photo ID (some hospitals and birthing centers also require labor coaches to show ID)
- A complete list of contact information, including your partner’s or labor coaches contact numbers and a list of who to call to share the great news
- A separate set of instructions for anyone who you are having check on the house, the pets, or care for your other children while you are at the hospital
- Birth plan
For Mom’s Bag
You’ve planned for months how you hope this moment will transpire and have maybe created a birth plan to help facilitate the experience. Your bag should include everything you need for delivery and the day or two before you take your new baby home.
- Eyeglasses and contact supplies
- Toothbrush and paste
- Soap and shampoo – use mild, unscented soap, especially if you plan to nurse so you don’t irritate your baby’s senses
- Deodorant
- Hair brush, barrettes, and ponytail holders
- Sanitary pads – while the hospital can provide these, they are usually not the brand or fit that you would choose on your own (just remember that your flow will most likely be heavier than a normal period)
- Nursing pads – even if you don’t plan to breastfeed you will go through a period of engorgement and need the coverage for leaking
- Slippers and socks
- Underwear – extra pairs you can throw away if they become too stained from blood
- Nursing bras
- Pajamas – if you are planning to breastfeed consider ones that button in the front
- Bathrobe
- Comfortable clothes for the hospital – By day 2 at the hospital I always preferred by own comfortable clothes than pajamas
- Comfy outfit for taking baby home – consider layers as your body will be adjusting to fluctuating hormone levels and you may go through hot and cold flashes
- Pillow – use a colorful case so it doesn’t get confused with hospital issue cases
- Music or other comfort measures
- Picture or item for focusing on during labor
For Partner’s Bag
Your partner or labor coach will need their own little supply bag for the delivery. My husband always left those details up to me, but he was glad for the extra supplies when the days got longer than anticipated.
- Swimsuit – you may want a water labor or even just to shower while in labor
- Change of clothes – you never know how long labor will last or what your partner might be doing when you go into labor (I had a friend whose construction-working husband showed up at the hospital with his orange vest and coveralls on!)
- Money for vending machines and other minimal purchases
- Cameras and battery charges, and explicit instructions on when and where you want those cameras aimed!
- Snacks like gum, mints, oranges, and protein bars
- A copy of your birth plan
- A copy of contact information
The Extras
After our first child there were a few extras I always packed in my bag.
- Gifts for older siblings to receive when they come to meet the newest member of the family – I made t-shirts for them pronouncing their new roles as Big Sister and Big Brother and a special gift
- Pictures of older siblings that I taped to the inside of the hospital bassinet (so when older siblings come they feel they have a special place)
- A gift for the new baby that the older siblings chose – My 8-year-old still has his small teddy bear that was waiting in the bassinet for his birth
- A baby book – you might feel exhausted from labor or you might sit up all night staring at your precious child. I always took a few moments to record those emotions and details that I always wanted my children to know about their true first birthday.
- Thank you cards – there will be a good chance that you might get flowers in your room or have visitors stop by to congratulate your family. Get those thank you notes done right away, and while your baby is still blissfully sleeping away.
Your labor and delivery probably won’t go exactly as hoped or planned, so probably the single most important thing you bring with you to the hospital is acceptance. Accept that your body will do amazing and sometimes crazy things. Accept that you will wish things could go a little faster, easier, or with less pain, but that in the end you will have your beautiful baby in your arms.
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