# Hospital Bag...What do you wish you had packed?



## babyhopes2010

Just wondering if there was anything you wished youd have packed but didnt?

:thumbup::thumbup:


----------



## readynwilling

Its more what i wished i hadn't packed LOL. I took so much stuff... i used:

1 pair of comfy pj's and an outfit for ME to go home in (everyone wants to take pic's and you don't want to be caught in your worst outfit)
The disposable underwear (i really loved these, but prefered the pads provided by the hospital)
A travel kit of hygene stuff (toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, shampoo, etc)
a towel for my shower
1 sleeper for baby (she stayed swaddled not in a sleeper for the first day) and then her going home outfit (which was just another sleeper) i took way way too much for her! I used maybe 10 diapers

Then people brought flowers and gifts and i had SO much stuff to take out of the hospital it was rediculous.


----------



## cherryglitter

i wish i had taken more food and squash! that's about it really. 
i too took WAYYY too much stuff and ended up taking loads of bags out of the hospital as people bought me so much stuff. 

was ridiculous.


----------



## Phantom710

stalking this one. hehe


----------



## mum2be257

Different sized clothes! Sophie was 3 weeks early and hadn't packed anything for tiny baby!! X


----------



## Hunbun

More hairbands, they kept getting lost.

And a towel, I forgot mine :dohh:


----------



## DaisyBee

I wished I had packed less. I barely used what I packed. Us hospital provides lots of things-diapers, wipes, towels, mesh undies, etc. Was nice to get their things dirty and not use mine!

Only thing I wished we would have had was more snacks and food and drinks for dh as he didn't eat all day and I wouldn't let him leave the room. This time- more food for him and bottled water/sodas.


----------



## LaraJJ

Great ideas - stalking :)


----------



## luvmyfam

I like the towel idea. Even though the hospitals here provide them I think I would rather use my own.


----------



## JWandBump

I wish i packed less. And i wish i took my pillow!! Hospital ones are crap!


----------



## amerikiwi

I spent a lot of time in the birthing pool and wish I had brought a bath pillow/inflatable neck pillow. Otherwise, like others, I brought way too much.


----------



## lauzie84

I too wish I packed less! 

This time around I will be making sure I pack more sugary drinks etc, as OH had to run out in the middle of my labour and buy lucozade as the m/wife thought I was getting tired xx


----------



## hotmamax3

For sure packed too much!! Most hospitals provide towels (US), mesh undies, pads, diapers, wipes. I found I wore home the same outfit I came in, and I would rather get their gowns bloody than my own clothes.:winkwink: baby stayed swaddled in hospital blankets up until we went home. The only thing, really, I wish I had remembered (my son's birth was less than 3 hours, start to finish, and we live an hour away from the hospital, he was early, lol), was my laptop and my nursing pillow. The boppy is soooo much better to nurse on than flat, lumpy hospital pillows. Which, by the way, are plastic covered, so definitely bring one, or two, of your own!!


----------



## Rebaby

I packed too much crap and not enough of what i actually needed!

I should have taken more maternity pads, and more tiny baby clothes!


----------



## Pretty Please

Lots of pairs of socks, ear plugs, dressing gown ( thought it was too bulky but sharing ward it would of been lovely )


----------



## Aphrodite

I wish Id packed more food and drinks


----------



## smiler123

Wish I'd packed black pyjama bottoms and a dressing gown :)


----------



## Nimbus

We packed lots of food etc and didn't use much, BUT i'd take just as much again. I took a few days worth of things for our little one, and ended up staying in that long so it was worth it for us. This time i plan on having a second bag at home for OH to bring in should we need to stay in again, so i don't end up taking so much with us. Last time my OH had no idea what i would have wanted him to bring, so the bag will be ready this time. That's todays job! I also figure that he could take the washing away too!


----------



## Cleo

If you are planning to breastfeed, MAKE SURE you don't forget your nipple cream!! I remembered mine, thank goodness, but I had a couple of girlfriends forget theirs and both had really raw, cracked and bleeding nips!! Ouch!!


----------



## Emma&Freya

So I no I need:

Plenty of food and drink.
Maternity pads
My own pillow

Im going to keep stalking this page!


----------



## new_mum

How many pairs of pyjamas, towels, nappies, vests and babygrows would you ladies recommend to pack in a bag?


----------



## smiler123

I packed 2 x pyjamas, 2 x towels, small pack of nappies, 5 vests and 5 sleepsuits. Everything was used :)


----------



## GingerNut

I definitely wished I'd packed dark jammies or a dark dressing gown. I was terribly worried for the first few days that I'd leak and felt self conscious walking around the hospital. I'm on the lookout for something more practical this time!


----------



## smiler123

GingerNut said:


> I definitely wished I'd packed dark jammies or a dark dressing gown. I was terribly worried for the first few days that I'd leak and felt self conscious walking around the hospital. I'm on the lookout for something more practical this time!

Me too! I've seen some dark ones so far in matalan and john lewis... look really nice :)

Edit... I've also just found 2 lovely pyjama sets from m&s for £10 each with black bottoms! Bargain!


----------



## Nyn

I second the bring your own pillow!! and a couple of changes of pjs :)


----------



## hunniechunks

I know it sounds bad but i wish i'd taken my make up bag!! So many photos of me in the hospital looking washed out and awful and i can't bear to look at them. A bit of foundation and mascara would have worked wonders!! Apart from that i also took too much, would reccomend a couple of pairs of pj's for you, a couple of vests and sleepsuits, a hat and some scratch mitts 

x


----------



## Maman

hairdryer!!! i have mine ready to be packed this time! it was awful having a shower then having to sit there with damp hair for hours.


----------



## Treelo

GingerNut said:


> I definitely wished I'd packed dark jammies or a dark dressing gown. I was terribly worried for the first few days that I'd leak and felt self conscious walking around the hospital. I'm on the lookout for something more practical this time!

I got black and navy pj bottoms in penneys reduced from 7 to 4.90:thumbup:


----------



## LM2104

A bag of change to hand for the payphone... I couldn't find mine and I wasn't allowed to use my mobile on observation and I got really upset in the night about being on my own and just wanted to phone my OH.


----------



## hollyrose

more breast pads, maternity pads, and breast feeding pillow and pants, lots of pants!


----------



## RachA

I wished i'd packed more of a size selection for lo - i wasn't expecting a 9lb 3oz baby so only had very little babygros for him.


----------



## GemmaLeanne

money! the one this i forgot, and after being kept in for 4 days, i was so lucky that my OH's auntie popped up and put 5 pound on the tv so i didnt have to sit in silence! :haha:


----------



## RebeccaG

I wasn't expecting to go to hospital as had planned a home birth so my bag was fairly light and then ended upi having to stay in. Thankfully we live close ish to the hospital so my husband could go and get things.
- toiletries!!! (completely forgot these!)
- towel (one hospital gave me was TINY)
- hair clip/bands
- lip balm
- phone charger

I got a huge bounty pack from hospital with loads of wipes, nappies and baby towel in so I wouldn't go too crazy packing these.


----------



## Hollanda

Thanks to this site I think I am all prepared!! I have taken the nappies, wipes etc from my bag, as I won't need them (bounty pack) and packed my face cream, lip balm etc. Also remembered shampoo and conditioner, shower cream, hair comb and brush!! Also several old pairs of knickers, maternity pads and breast pads, a pair of durable black leggings and spare pair of maternity trousers. Baby's bag has baby grows in varying sizes and some vests etc.


----------



## Hollanda

Thanks to this site I think I am all prepared!! I have taken the nappies, wipes etc from my bag, as I won't need them (bounty pack) and packed my face cream, lip balm etc. Also remembered shampoo and conditioner, shower cream, hair comb and brush!! Also several old pairs of knickers, maternity pads and breast pads, a pair of durable black leggings and spare pair of maternity trousers. Baby's bag has baby grows in varying sizes and some vests etc. Also packed a really cute little fleecy blanket. :)


----------



## menageriemom

I did pretty well with packing, but I'll second the girls that said bring dark comfy clothes! Bleeding was pretty heavy the first couple days, and I'm sure I bled onto my pants once or twice, but I didn't have to worry about horrible blood stains with dark clothes. Bring chapstick! Having two clear sodas, two popsicles, and ice chips for 36 hours really did a number on my lips. I should have brought more snacks, too. Not so much for the labor, but for the hospital stay later. 

In the US they really give you a lot - the mesh underwear, pads, soap, etc. mine also supplied nipple cream when I mentioned I'd lost my tube of it in the room. My own pillow was awesome to have. You also really don't need anything for the baby. A blanket, maybe - as the hospital asked us to not take theirs. We came home with about 25 diapers and a tub of wipes. A coming home outfit is nice, but honestly I just wanted to get the hell out of there as soon as they had my discharge paperwork together so changing baby was the last thing I wanted to fiddle with at the time.


----------



## babybefore30

I defintely took too much stuff but would say dark clothes, make up bag and a camera preferably with OH reason being for me is that we got to hospital six mins before LO was born and left the bag in the car so had no pics of LO until he was a couple of hours old.


----------



## fidget

i took my own pillow and towel etc. but i had a really shotr labour and didn't even unpack most of the stuff. 

the only thing i wish i'd packed is bigger clothes for lo. i took two tiny baby outfits and one newborn. he didn't fit in the tiny baby stuff and peed on the newborn stuff... my mum had to run for stuff lol


----------



## KittyKatBabe

I had mine all packed, but will probably be going in tomorrow so need to get organised, I hadn't thought about a towel..........

I need wash all our towels......oh crap! Will put washer on at a more civil hour!!


----------



## Blah11

I forgot my phone charger :dohh: Nightmare!
my l&d didnt have pillows either which sucked so if i was having another hosp birth i'd take my own.
I havent done a bag yet.. oops.


----------



## cait

Re birthing balls - did you bring your own or do they provide them?


----------



## Phantom710

Since I work at my hospital I delivered in, I knew pretty much what to pack/not pack. The one thing I never thought to buy I did end up needing which was a Nipple Sheild, but luckily they provided me one.

Here are the things I found most useful that I DID pack-

Pillow, Dark Clothes, Chap-stick (my lips were so dry after pushing and breathing through contractions). My hospital provides the next few things, but if yours doesn't or are not sure, bring them, you'll use them at home anyways: WitchHazel Pads, Dermaplast (or similar aerosol antiseptic spray. Felt so good especially after my 3rd degree tear) Bring Granny Panties :haha: I brought some but didn't end up using them as I prefereed the big mesh undies they give you because the maternity pads wouldn't have fit so nicely in the granny panties, however, if your hospital doesn't do the mesh undies or you just don't like them, make sure to bring underwear you don't like in a size bigger than you are.

That's all I can think of for now. Good luck everyone waiting on LO's


----------



## holly2234

I wish i took less! In the end i used some going home clothes for me, 1 outfit for Erin (vest, babygro and snowsuit) and one nappy. Shower gel and shampoo and food and drinks. I arrived at hospital at 1:45am, gave birth at 2:30am and went home at 6am so i would have needed more if i had to stay longer. The paper underwear is great for the first 3ish days!


----------

