What’s In My Hospital Bag? *POST-BABY UPDATE*

Happy FRI-YAY, everyone! It’s SO close to baby boy time (in fact – if this goes live and I haven’t had Jack at this point, I will actually be PAST my due date. UGH), I figured it was probably time for me to get my hospital bag packed and ready to go, too! I am using a weekender bag that I picked up from Target. It’s a great size and it easily fit everything I needed it to no problem. Adam used his own little duffle bag, and we were able to put a little bag of the baby’s things in my weekender. The “extras” listed below went in Adam’s duffle! That way we were only bringing two bags into the hospital with us. Let’s dive into this.

*POST-BABY UPDATE* 

So, at this point, I’ve had my sweet, perfect baby boy for 3.5 amazing weeks. If you missed his birth story – check it out here. He is an absolute joy and treasure and we are SO in love. I wrote this post before we had Jack, and went based on the recommendations of a bunch of moms and followers! I’ve had lots of you request that I go back and update this list with what I ACTUALLY used at the hospital and what I could have done without. And as it turns out, I used SO little of what I actually packed. So here’s the update!

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What’s In My Hospital Bag?

*UPDATE: I’m leaving my full list I originally packed in this blog post just in case you have different needs than I did, and it helps you pack! HOWEVER, I will be putting a little “*” next to each item I ACTUALLY used at the hospital. If it doesn’t have a star, I didn’t really need to pack it.

FOR MOM:

• Driver’s License*
• Insurance Card*
• Birthing Gown
• Comfortable pajamas
• Two pairs of socks
• Fuzzy robe
• Hair ties + soft headbands* 
• iPhone charger + iPad charger*
• Cozy blanket or cardigan
• Black leggings
• Loose and comfortable top
• Cute coming home outfit*
  • Leggings
  • Cute T-shirt (nursing friendly)
• 2 nursing tanks
• 2 nursing bras*
• Comfortable underwear
• Extra pads
• Ibuprofin
• Nipple cream
• Prenatal vitamins
• Shower flip flops*
• Towel + wash cloth from home
• Toiletries*
  • Face wash*
  • Moisturizer*
  • Shampoo*
  • Conditioner*
  • Body wash*
  • Blow dryer
  • Hair straightener
  • Hair brush*
  • Tooth brush*
  • Tooth paste*
  • Contact case*
  • Glasses*
  • Chapstick*
• Makeup Bag*
  • BB cream*
  • Concealer*
  • Face Powder*
  • Blush*
  • Bronzer*
  • Highlight*
  • Mascara*
  • Eyebrow pencil*
  • Setting spray*
  • Tinted lip balm*

So, basically: Obviously you need your drivers license and insurance card. As far as the pajamas and birthing gown, I didn’t end up using them at all. I stayed in my hospital gown the entire time and it didn’t bother me at all. I was bleeding so much postpartum that I wouldn’t have wanted to put my nice pajamas on anyways. I definitely used my headband and hair ties – you do not want your hair in the way during delivery. Chargers go without saying, especially if you have a longer labor like I did. I did wear a matching pj set as my coming home outfit and it was really comfortable and easy to change into, and I did wear one of my nursing bras home so that was helpful to have on hand. I didn’t use any of the extra pads, ibuprofen, nipple cream or vitamins I packed. The hospital has all of this for you. They also supply towels and wash cloths for the shower, so I would skip those too! I used all my makeup + toiletries for our fresh 48 session, except my blow dryer and hair straightener. I just let my hair air dry the night before and it looked fine for the photos.

FOR DAD:

• Camera + charger
• Phone charger*
• Extension cord*
• Portable speaker
• Headphones*
• Toiletries*
  • Toothbrush*
  • Toothpaste*
  • Hair gel*
  • Face wash*
  • Shampoo*
  • Conditioner*
  • Deodorant*
• Towel + cloth from home
• Sweatpants*
• Tshirt*
• Snacks +money for vending machines*
• Shower flip flops*

FOR BABY:

• Car seat (already installed)*
• Cozy blanket*
• 1 swaddle*
• 2 onsies in different sizes
• Burp rag*
• Letterboard for birth announcement*
• Coming home outfit*
  • Onsie
  • Socks
  • Hat
• Pacifier*

EXTRAS:

• Bag for extras given by the hospital*
• Nursing pillow
• Massage things for labor: paint roller!

For dad and baby, we pretty much used most of the stuff they brought except the portable speaker (I didn’t want music playing during the delivery. I was way too focused) and the towel/wash cloth from home like I stated above. We didn’t need a million extra outfits for Jack. We only ended up using his coming home outfit for pictures and to bring him home in, obviously. We also didn’t end up using the nursing pillow (they had one at the hospital to use) or the labor massagers. I was induced and put on my epidural pretty quickly, so we didn’t end up really needing those things.

PIN THIS FOR LATER:

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I hope you guys found this guide helpful when it comes to packing your own bag!!! I crowd-sourced and talked with a BUNCH of other new moms before making this list, but in the end, I used less than I thought I would. Next time, I’ll skip some of the non-essential items and know that I can always have someone run home and grab me something if I really decide I need it. In this case, I think less is definitely better!!

What was something you had on your hospital bag checklist?! Let me know in the comments below!!