An EDITED Hospital Bag Packing List (Now I’ve Had My Baby!)

I know what you’re thinking. Didn’t you already do the whole Hospital Bag Packing List post, hun? And you’re right. Yes, yes I did.

But writing about what to pack in your hospital bag for when you have a baby, before you’ve ever had a baby, is a bit of a lol-fest. I mean, I think I was very careful to not recommend that other people pack certain things, I was just sharing what I was doing in my What’s In My Hospital Bag? post last year.

But still, it was a bit off in certain areas, so I thought I really ought to do an EDITED packing list. Y’know, now that I’ve actually had a baby and can tell you what you’re gonna need and what you really don’t need to bring with you.

An EDITED Hospital Bag Packing List 

The Things I Definitely Didn’t Need

Maybe all first-time mums are like this or maybe it was just me, but I was pretty naive about birth when I was pregnant. I learned a lot about hypnobirthing and was adamant I wanted as natural a birth as possible. But even though I feel like a lot of my hypnobirth practices did help me in the earlier stages of labour, by the time I got to the delivery room, I was past it.

So yes, I packed a lot of now laughable items in my hospital bag in the hopes of having a super-zen birth – LED tea lights to create a nice environment to give birth in and a lavender pillow spray to relax me. And I can tell you hun, when you’re in the excruciating pains of labour, you don’t give a flying fuck about lavender spray.

I also packed one of those Magicool mist sprays. Everyone talks about how hot you feel in labour so I thought it would be a great idea. But the thing is, you can’t remember to get anything out of the bag during labour. You don’t think straight, especially if you’ve had any pain relief. And you might think that your birth partner will remember this stuff, but it turns out childbirth can be quite the ordeal for them too. And you know what? I didn’t miss it. I don’t think a spritz of water would have made any impact on my birth experience to be quite honest.

Oh one more thing that I really didn’t need during labour – snacks. I was so focused on getting the right snacks before my trip to the labour ward. Lots of people said you needed snacks that have slow-release energy, blah blah blah. But hey, guess what? I was super sick during labour and couldn’t even keep down water. So no snacks for me, hun. (Snacks for your birth partner are a must though.)

Ok pal, let’s talk post-birth. I packed a few things I definitely didn’t need just because I saw them on other people’s packing lists. Example: slippers. It turns out the postnatal ward is hot as HELL, so my feet didn’t exactly need warming up. I brought flip flops too and they were much more practical for slipping on to go to the bathroom.

I also packed a sleeping mask because some people said it was bright in the ward which made it difficult to sleep. I mean, they were right, it was, but I couldn’t exactly sleep when I had a newborn. And even if I could, I don’t think I would’ve felt comfortable wearing an eye mask in a room full of strangers with my new baby next to me.

Then there were the nursing bras. But hun, they’re for after you go home if you’re breastfeeding. In the ward you’re literally topless most of the time. Or your button-up nightie will give you a bit of cover. Nursing bras, breast pads and the like weren’t really necessary at this point.

Ok, finally let’s talk toiletries. I thought I was taking minimal supplies but LOL, I didn’t use 80% of my toiletries bag and I was in hospital for 3 days. After everything you go through during birth, you don’t care about so many things. Did I want to put make-up on to leave the hospital? Obvs no. Did I use the mini shampoo and conditioner I packed? Nope just dry shampoo-d the shit out of my hair.

In terms of the stuff I packed for Indi, I think I got most of it right. There’s just one thing I’d change in the baby bag… I wouldn’t bring sleepsuits that go over the head. The first time dressing Indi was terrifying and for some reason we had chosen a grey sleepsuit that went over the head instead of buttoning up the front. Very stressful when you have no idea what you’re doing.

The Best Things I Packed In My Hospital Bag

I was very glad that I packed some cheap button-up nighties from Primark. I changed into one to give birth and it was such a mess after that the midwife just took it off me to throw away lol. So yes, Primark is the best shout. I wore the other one on the postnatal ward and it was perfect for trying to breastfeed (even though that didn’t really work out for us).

Oh and I packed some incontinence disposable pants on a recommendation but I didn’t really think I’d use them. Seems like a weird thing to pack. But actually they’re all I wore in hospital! They don’t dig in as much as regular pants and you can put a maternity pad in them to double up.

I mentioned toiletries before and the ones that stand out as being MUST-PACK items are Batiste dry shampoo and my fave moisturiser. I was also really glad I packed Vaseline. Gas and air gives you quite chapped lips and I had a lot of gas and air. So it came in handy for sure.

Something I get asked a lot is whether it was worth hiring a TENS machine for labour. Honestly I feel like it helped but not necessarily how I thought it would. I mean, it helped with the pain of the iddy-biddy baby contractions at the beginning, but as things ramped up I didn’t really feel like the TENS did much to block the pain. However, it did distract me which was a plus. It also gave Josh something to do, putting the pads on my back and adjusting them. I think that made him feel like he was helping me in a time that makes birth partners feel pretty useless.

I should add, I didn’t end up using it in hospital though, just at home. The hospital has way better pain relief.

Other Top Tips

I have a few other things to mention here. One is about when to bring the bags in. When you arrive, before you’ve been to triage, there’s a chance you might not be far along enough in your labour so they could send you home. Which let’s face it, would be a total bummer.

So it’s worth leaving your bags in the car at this point. When I arrived I was 4cm dialated, which meant we could stay, but there wasn’t a room available yet on the labour ward so I was sent off for a walk around the hospital. So yeah, not worth bringing your bags in yet.

I had pre-empted this and asked Josh to go fetch the bags once we had the room. But honestly, you only need your labour stuff and the baby’s first outfit/nappy stuff at this point. When we moved from the labour ward to the postnatal ward Josh was basically like Buckaroo with the amount of bags he was carrying. So I’d say to pack a bag that’s just the things you’ll need for labour, and pack a separate bag for your overnight stay that the dad can grab post-birth.

Another thing I wanted to quickly touch on was your Birth Plan. Every book you read will tell you to write a Birth Plan, but I honestly don’t think it was that useful. At the point where your midwife asks if you have a Birth Plan, you’re not that far into labour so can just talk to them about your preferences. And in the crazy part when you’re giving birth, the midwives are focused on delivering your baby safely and making sure you’re ok, so there’s no time to consult your plan. So I felt like mine was a bit useless to be honest. How the baby will arrive is not remotely within your control I’m afraid.

If I ever have another baby, I won’t be taking one and will instead just beg for an epidural on arrival. (Lol but no seriously)

The EDITED Hospital Bag Packing List

Labour Bag

• 1 x Maternity Notes
• 1 x Nightie to give birth in
• 1 x Nightie to change into to go to the postnatal ward (button up if you want to try breastfeeding)
• A hairband and/or headband for keeping the hair off your face
• 1 x pot of Vaseline
• 1 x Maternity pad and 1 x Incontinence disposable pants
• Snacks for your birth partner
• Your phone charger in case it’s a long labour and you want to take photos after

Overnight Bag

• 1 x Lightweight silky dressing gown (not for warmth just for coverage)
• Pack of 12 Maternity pads (Keep more in the boot of your car if you’re worried it won’t be enough)
• 2 or 3 x more incontinence disposable pants
• Your going home outfit (I went with maternity joggers and a vest. Plus the trainers and cardigan I wore on the way there. I didn’t wear normal underwear the whole time – the Tena Lady pants are all you need!)
• 1 x Batiste dry shampoo
• 1 x Hair brush
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• 1 x Travel-sized shower gel
• Mini pack of cleansing wipes (the full skincare routine is not for the postnatal ward)
• 1 x Moisturiser
• 1 x Pair of flip flops

Baby’s Bag

• A small pack of size 1 newborn nappies
• 1 x pack of extra sensitive baby wipes
• 3 x short sleeved bodysuits
• 3 x sleepsuits that button up the front
• 1 x cotton hat for post-birth (it gets mucky so just a cheap one)
• 1 x knitted hat for leaving the hospital in
• 1 x knitted cardigan for leaving the hospital in
• 2 x muslins
• 1 x swaddle for baby to sleep in (if they will, Indi hated it)
• 1 x blanket (both to sleep in, and for the car seat over the straps)

There you go, job done, lads. Let me know if you’ve had a baby and there was anything that was a godsend.

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