Packing a hospital bag is one of the most important tasks an expectant mother will have to do during the last stretch of their pregnancy. It might not seem like a super important thing, but it is. Getting your hospital bag packing right can make a big difference to how your experience in the hospital goes.
Having the right things with you can make the whole experience go a lot smoother. That means that packing your bag correctly in advance can have a lot more positive effects than you might even think.
At OnlyMomsKnow, we want to make moms’ and expectant moms’ lives easier. So, we have created this blog with our 5 very best tips for packing your own hospital bag.
We hope you enjoy this blog and that it helps you on the road ahead. If you want to share it with some fellow moms, why not head over to our Facebook page and share our posts. That way more moms can get the tips and tricks they need from OnlyMomsKnow!
1. Personal Hygiene First
The very first thing that you will want to think about when you are packing your hospital bag for labour is personal hygiene. There is nothing worse than feeling like you can’t get yourself feeling clean and fresh while you are in the hospital. Not having the right products that you will need during and after labour can make you feel much more uncomfortable being away from home.
Labour is an intense experience for you and your body. That means you will need some different things to freshen up and clean up after the labour. Getting these things sorted in plenty of dance means that you don’t have to worry about them again until you need to use them. It is like doing your future self a favour.
Here are some examples of hygiene products you might want to bring with you in your hospital bag:
- Makeup wipes
- Baby wipes
- Hand sanitiser
- Sanitary pads
- Moisturiser
- Dry shampoo
- Hairbrush
- Tissues
- Deodorant
- Perfume
- Shampoo and shower gel
- A shower cap
- Flip flops for showering
- Sudocrem
There might be more things that you will like, depending on your normal routine, but having these things ready to go with you is a great start.
2. Comfort Next
After hygiene, you will need to think about your comfort.
Being in hospital isn’t automatically the most comfortable of experiences and you will be in a lot of pain during labour (I’m sorry to remind you). That means that bringing comfortable items with you will help the experience go much easier for you. Not having the right kind of comfort with you will make you want to rush home much faster and it might even hinder your enjoyment of the precious moments involved.
Here are some comfy things you can pack in your hospital bag in advance:
- Comfortable and soft pyjamas – nightgowns and nightdresses are good options as they are open at the bottom
- Slippers
- Comfortable underwear
- Fluffy socks
- Sweatpants and other soft clothing
- A soft hairband
- Soft and clean towels
All of these things will make your trip to the hospital feel that little bit more luxurious.
3. Tech and Chargers
There is nothing worse than going to take a photo of a really important moment and remembering that your phone is dead.
When you are packing your hospital bag, make sure to get a couple of extra chargers for your phone and any other devices that you might want to use throughout your hospital stay. Unfortunately, we can end up in the hospital for longer than we might think and when our devices run out of battery, this can be very frustrating.
Buying some extra chargers, of course, costs a little extra money but it is worth it so they can be already packed away and you can’t forget about them. Relying on yourself to pack your daily use charger during a stressful moment isn’t always a safe bet.
4. Bring a Spare For Your Spare
On the subject of spares: make sure you have them. For everything.
You can’t rely on one towel, one nightie, and one clean pair of pants in your hospital bag. You need to be prepared for spillages, leakages, and accidents all around. Giving birth isn’t a neat or tidy affair and what you pack in your bag needs to be reflective of that.
For everything you pack, pack at least one spare. More if you can. Especially things like clothing and sanitary products. This goes for the items you are packing for the baby too, you can never have enough nappies and baby grows for this first period of life. Babies let out a lot of fluids. That’s just the gory truth. We always need spares for everyone to change into!
5. Have Everything Packed, Zipped Up, and Ready To Lift In Advance
Our most important tip of all for your hospital bag is to have it packed, zipped up, and just ready to grab well in advance.
With pregnancy, we often think that we have far more time than we actually do. But that time slips away as we try and organise everything else for the baby to come home. Your hospital bag is one that is easy to pack in advance and leave ready to go. And you should definitely do so.
Whenever your bag is ready to grab and go, it saves a lot of potential mishaps from happening. It is much harder to forget something when you have been able to pack your bag in a calm and settled mindset. You can even create a list and check items off as you pack them away. Trying to pack at the last minute when you are stressed makes it far more likely that you will pack all the wrong things and forget important items.
You never know when you are going to go into labour either These things can often happen far quicker than we might expect. It is always better to have everything you need at a moment’s notice.
With that, all that is left to say is good luck! We hope you have the best labour experience possible and we hope that your perfectly packed hospital bag helps with that.
