My oldest son was born at the end of May 2019, on Memorial Day weekend to be exact. As excited first-time parents, we researched what to pack for our hospital bag only to pack and repack again and again. My husband and I each had a bag plus the baby had a bag. So many bags, but of course, you don’t realize this until you’re carrying it all home while also carrying the baby and the infant car seat. We had classic “first-time parents” written all over our scared faces as I was wheeled out of the hospital with our baby in my arms and my husband pushing a mountain of luggage down the hallway behind the nurse. It was a sight.
The second time around, October 2021, I vowed to bring less and pack more intentionally.
Here’s what went into my bag the second time around:
1. Champagne + glasses, no celebration is complete without a little bubbly
2. Two nightgowns
3. One pair of slippers
4. One pair of compression socks (I have c-sections so I want to get ahead of the swelling)
5. One pair of regular socks
6. Slippers for the room + separately shower shoes
7. Shower stuff (I splurge on face wash and shower gel for the hospital stay to combat how much I feel like a zombie after birth, and this little bit of luxury makes me feel like a woman again)
8. Robe
9. Comfy, stretchy clothes to go home (this is usually a lounge dress with a sweatshirt)
10. Cute outfit for baby to go home in
11. Cute blanket for baby
12. Pacifiers for baby
13. Pump (specifically handheld + haaka)
14. Nipple cream (put on immediately after nursing every.single.time.)
15. Ipad full of my favorite movies + headphones
16. My own pillow
17. Heating pad (the treasured one you had during pregnancy will be even more coveted when those postpartum cramps kick in as your uterus shrinks back)
The hospital will stock the baby’s bassinet with newborn onesies, diapers, pacifiers, wipes, swaddles, and formula. Use what they have before digging into your own stash. Let the nurse teach you how to bathe, swaddle, and brush their hair. They are true experts doing this time and time again in a single shift. Standing after birth can be painful, let alone having to hold ten pounds of a baby while supporting their head and carefully not letting a pacifier or sock drop. Let the nurses help you as much as you feel comfortable while at the hospital, you’ll be home with no handbook and a screaming baby in no time. Truly, it is better than it reads but also as real as it reads.
We walked out of the hospital the second time with a little less shock and awe on our faces and much less to carry. My husband met us at the entrance with the infant carrier waiting for our departure only having hauled two bags to the car and no rolling cart required.
