Hospital Bag Checklist

Alright y’all today I am sharing what I packed for the hospital! I will be the first one to tell you I am an over packer haha and obviously a first time mom, so I’m sure there are plenty of things on this list that I don’t need to bring with me. BUT it makes me feel better to know I have these things JUST IN CASE! Because of COVID Allen can’t leave and go get anything that we might’ve forgotten or need. Our family won’t be able to bring us anything either so I packed everything that I thought might be helpful for us! If you follow along on insta-stories you’ll know last week I was actually admitted to the hospital due to high blood pressure, and thank goodness I had our bags packed already! Luckily I was able to go home the next day and everything has been looking good, but it was kind of a “test run” for Allen and I. Here are the list of items I packed for myself, Hudson, and Allen! I packed everything in my Hollis Duffle Bag and had plenty of room! I love their travel set so much, everything’s so organized and it will be easy to wipe down after we leave.

For Mom:

Button down pajama set x 2 ( I love these sets from Target, they are so comfy and soft).
Nursing bra x 2
Something loose and comfortable to wear home. I ordered this black maxi dress off amazon because it was comfy and won’t bother an incision if I end up having a C section just in case.
Slippers or socks with grips
Slip on shoes to wear home
Flip flops for shower
Eye Mask– (I can’t sleep without one)
Toiletries:
- toothbrush/toothpaste
- deodorant
- face wipes
- face moisturizer
- dry shampoo
- chapstick
Hair brush & hair ties
Makeup
Curling iron (yes I brought my curling iron haha I wanted to look decent for pictures lol!)
Pillow & Blanket (at first I didn’t think it was necessary to bring our own pillows and blankets and honestly it just grossed me out because of germs! But after Allen and I spent 1 night in the hospital when my blood pressure spiked at 36 weeks I changed my mind because we were both so uncomfortable with the hospital’s sucky pillows and blankets. It’s definitely not a necessity, it’s doable for one night. But after our 1 night staying there I decided I’d rather have my own pillow and blanket just to make myself more comfortable especially if we end up having to stay longer for any reason).
Trash bag – (packed a trash bag to put all of our dirty clothes, blankets, etc. in so they can go straight into our washing machine when we get home).
Frida Mom Kit– One of my friends bought the Frida Mom postpartum kit for me! I am not packing it for the hospital because I know they will give me everything there. But I am saving this for at home and have heard from many other moms that their products are SO helpful!

For Baby:

Diaper Bag
Car seat
Boppy pillow
Diapers/wipes (the hospital will provide these but I kept some in the diaper bag anyways).
Pacifiers
Going home outfit
Hat (I found this adorable one on Etsy we got for Hudson).
Newborn Nest swaddle/gown/sheet set (for announcement photos)
Letterboard (for announcement photos)
Extra set of clothes (onesie, pants, socks)
Cozy blanket

Miscellaneous Items:

Snacks – You will want to bring a bag of different snacks for you and hubby. Because of COVID Allen isn’t allowed to leave to go get us food and no one can bring us food either. We will have to eat the hospital trays for main meals but definitely wanted stuff to snack on in between.
Tripod & Camera– Again because of COVID, photographers obviously aren’t allowed or other family members that would’ve been able to take pictures for us so tripod it is haha!
Extra long phone chargers
Portable sound machine– Allen and I both have to sleep with a sound machine. We got this portable one for Hudson so we just brought it with us too.
Mini Fan
Mini night light – the lights in the hospital room are so bright! I had quite a few mamas recommend this handy little tap light off of Amazon so you don’t have to turn on the big lights to feed your baby. I’ll also be keeping it on my nightstand at home to use for middle of the night feeds.
Speaker
Firestick to watch Netflix, hulu etc. – We were so glad we had this during our stay this past week otherwise we would have been so bored!

For Dad:

Comfy clothes/ Pajamas
Extra change of clothes
Jacket or pullover, the hospital rooms are cold!
Toiletries
Reusable yeti cup
Phone charger
Blanket & Pillow
Eyemask

UPDATE: What We Did/Didn’t Use

I wanted to give y’all a little update on what we were glad we had packed with us and what we ended up not needing!

What we were glad we packed:

Firestick to watch Netflix, hulu etc. This was a must have!
Mini Fan -I was so happy to have this mini fan, I had it attached to the hospital bed and it helped keep me cooler and helped the few times I got sick during labor. I’ll use it as a stroller fan too for Hudson.
Mini night light– This mini night light was great to have for middle of the night feedings at the hospital. I keep it on my bedside table and have used it every night since Hudson has been home because its dimmable and our regular lamps are too bright. I think this is a must have!
Pillow & Blanket for you and husband- Not super necessary to bring if you don’t want but we were glad to have our own pillows and something cozy to sleep with.
Portable sound machine– We used this to help sleep both nights!
Boppy pillow– I was glad we brought this with us it helped make nursing more comfortable.
Eye Mask

What We Didn’t Use:

Tripod- We ended up not using our tripod we had the nurse take a pic of us 3 and we mostly just took pictures of Hudson anyways so it wasn’t necessary.
Speaker- We didn’t need this!
Diapers & Wipes- the hospital has all you need!
Slippers/ Socks with grips- Anytime I walked around the hospital room I just wore the slip on sandals that I brought to wear home.

Everything else on our list we pretty much used except I only needed 1 nursing bra/set of pajamas instead of 2, however just in case you have a C-section or need to stay longer I’d pack extra anyways just to be safe!