As a blogger and new mom, I had to post my hospital bag! I asked around quite a bit and did some research on some staple items I should have. Let me tell you, I didn’t use half of it, more than half probably.

What you see pictured above are the things I did use minus a few and I’ll go into detail as to what those were and why. I’ll also be suggesting some things that I did see commonly suggested, but we didn’t have the need for.

The Bag Essentials

For starters, the bag you see pictured above, I LOVE! It’s the perfect travel bag and was packed for weeks before giving birth, but last minute Joel decided he didn’t want to carry so many bags and we put everything in one larger one.

Comfy pajamas are a MUST! I loved this Eberjey Pajama because it is so soft, makes nursing super easy and bathroom trips a little more bearable. Target has a similar option for much cheaper! On the topic of nursing, bring nursing bras and pumping bras! The ones linked are the exact ones I’m using! I didn’t have a pumping bra on me and do I regret it! While it may not be in your plans, it wasn’t in mine, it’s good to have backup!

It goes without saying you’ll need a charging cable for your phone, but an extra long one is the way to go!

If you read my birth story, you know that having my hair done before going to the hospital was VERY important for me! Wasn’t sure when my next wash would be, so I wanted it to be as perfect as possible before checking in. Bringing my Revlon Blow Drying Brush and Dry Shampoo were lifesavers for touch ups and photos! This is part of my regular routine at home! While the hospital provided toiletries, it was nice to have my own things from home and having them organized in a little baggie definitely helps! I also brought shower shoes with me and I’m so glad I did. While our room and bathroom were clean, it’s just not your bathroom!

Mama also needs a coming home outfit, while a bit more thought went into Sprinkle’s, mama also needs to look cute! My suggestion, a loose comfy dress! This dress was one of my favorites while I was pregnant and love that it’s non-maternity so I can still wear!

Extras:

• Hand pump
• Nipple balm
• Nursing pillow

For Baby

The hospital did a great job at providing most of everything we may have needed for Sprinkle, such as diapers, onesies to sleep in, wipes, baby soap, bottles, a pump, and a pacifier. Really the only thing we needed was outfits for any pictures we wanted to take and a going home outfit. But here are the things I brought, or similar, for Sprinkle:

• Pacifier
• Pacifier Clip
• Swaddle
• Onesie

The Other Essentials

Some reminders of things to make sure are in order before going to the hospital!

• Verifying with your insurance company what steps and documentation are needed to add baby on for coverage
• Car seat installed, we have this one and love!
• Any pre-registration information for hospital
• Your insurance card and ID
• Prenatal Vitamins

Nurse Baskets

While this totally isn’t necessary or required, I can’t tell you how much the nurses appreciated it! If you follow me on IG you know Joel was against it at first, but I think he changed his tune once he saw how happy the nurses were! I had two baskets, one for the labor and delivery nurses and the other for the post partum nurses once I was in my recovery room.

The baskets were simple to put together, found these bins at Michael’s and the Dollar Store and I filled them with non-perishable goodies. I had put them together about a week or two in advanced since we were on baby watch for quite some time. Definitely did not want to put these together at the last minute! I also made sure that all the goodies were individually packaged since it is Covid times!

Things That Didn’t Make the Cut

A lot of what I packed were things the hospital already provided and never even made it out of the bag. For example, diapers for me, pads, Tuck’s medicated wipes (god send), dermaplast, etc. Another common suggestion I hear is a sound machine, nightlight or fan. We haven’t used a sound machine for Sprinkle, so we opted out of this. As for a nightlight and fan, our room had different light options and we were in control of AC, so didn’t find this necessary. There were also a lot of suggestions for your own pillows and towels. While these things would have been a pure luxury to have (the pillows were AWFUL), I think Joel would have killed me if I had him carry one more thing!