What I Did And Didn’t Use In My Hospital Bag

I can’t believe it’s already been over a month since our little one arrived. Just over five weeks ago I spent two nights in the hospital after I had a C Section to deliver our beautiful baby girl. I had spent a lot of time watching videos and reading lists about what to pack in my hospital bag. And despite not taking everything it still felt like we had a lot of items.

It’s hard to know exactly what to take as you don’t know how you’ll feel. But we ended up taking a lot of things that we just didn’t use. Some of them I would still pack again if we did it again, but others I just wouldn’t bother with.

Everyone’s hospital bag and experience giving birth will be different, but here’s what I did and didn’t use in my bag.

Stuff in my hospital bag that I did use

I took a button up nightie with me that I did use after the first day when I changed out of my hospital gown. The gowns were fine, but because I needed one facing each way to cover my dignity it was far easier to wear a nightie when it came to going to the toilet and generally moving around. The only other clothing I wore was the dress I arrived at the hospital in. I wore it home as I wanted something floaty that wouldn’t restrict around my middle.

Toiletries were the area I did use quite a bit of from my hospital bag. This was mainly because of how hot it was. I had hair ties and clips to keep my hair off my face which were essentials. Then my hair brush was much needed as it did get quite sweaty. I had cleansing wipes, a cooling face spray and moisturiser which helped again with the heat, but also to make me feel a bit more refreshed. Body spray and a toothbrush/ toothpaste were also essential to make me feel a bit more human, especially just before leaving to come home.

We found portable chargers to be far more practical than long charging cables. I will admit I have no idea where the sockets were in the area I was in. Having a charger each would have let us charge our phones about four times each. Due to the time of the year we were in hospital a fan was one of the best things we took with us, just to have a tiny bit of air flow as were so far from any windows. I also used my e-reader quite a lot during my time in the hospital. Baby girl was asleep a lot of the time and when you’re not able to get out of bed at all (or much) it was a god send to kill the time.

The final thing we took and used was our snacks. Hospital food is okay, but you don’t get much of it, and your birthing partner will get nothing. I had crackers and cereal bars initially to help ensure I wasn’t going to feel sick. Then we had other snacks to keep us going and plenty of lucozade which really helped give me some extra sugar.

Stuff in my hospital bag I didn’t use

I took quite a few things that just didn’t get used, including:

• Flip flops, towel and body wash- I didn’t fancy showering in the hospital, especially with my C section dressing. So none of these items were used and I felt much better showering back in my own home.
• Dry shampoo- Ultimately I didn’t really care how my hair looked, and I did wash it the morning I went in so it really wasn’t that bad.
• Maternity pads and disposable knickers- My hospital provided these for me. But since being back I’ve lived in period knickers which have been much better. So next time I’d just take these.
• Water bottle- The hospital gave us jugs of water and cups and I do think I drank more this way as my water bottle may have been a bit heavy.
• PJs- I should have taken these out when I knew I was having a C section, but I didn’t fancy anything over my wound, even if it was loose fitting.
• Socks- Again I don’t know why I bothered as I had sliders with me and hadn’t worn socks for about a month before giving birth.
• Spritz for bits/ perineal bottle- I was sucked into buying these beforehand and I didn’t need them as thankfully I didn’t have an issue going to the loo. But I would still take them next time as you never know.
• Nipple cream, shields and breast pads- I changed to formula feeding from day two and while in hospital my milk hadn’t come in. Although I have used pads and the shields since coming out of hospital.

Stuff in babies hospital bag we did use

We actually didn’t use all that much stuff for our baby while in the hospital.

Wipes and nappies for changes were essential, but we were lucky and didn’t need all that many of these. We had cotton wool and some water spray for a quick clean on her second night, but again we didn’t need much of this. Most of the hygiene and bathing bits weren’t needed until we got home.

As we moved to formula feeding pretty quickly we used the pre-made formula that we brought in and muslins were a god send to keep baby girl clean and tidy during feeds.

Then clothing wise we used about three 0-1 month onesies, and that’s it. As we weren’t in hospital much more than 48 hours and we had no big nappy accidents we didn’t have to change her very often. But I would still take more clothing next time as you never know.

Stuff in babies hospital bag that we didn’t use

The main things we didn’t use was the excess of clothes we took for baby girl. Some things I wouldn’t bother to take next time, others I would just in case. We didn’t use:

• Newborn clothing as our baby was born just over 9lbs so she was straight into 0-1 months.
• Vests as we stuck to onesies and didn’t need to change her very often.
• Scratch mitts as they just seem pointless. Just get onesies with the fold over mitts.
• Socks as in hospital we used onesies with feet. But we have used socks since coming out.
• Sleeping bag as it was just too hot to use one in the hospital.

The other things from babies hospital bag that we didn’t use was nappy cream as it just wasn’t needed (although I would take again), dummies we didn’t need them, and a cellular blanket as our hospital gave us bits to use.

If you’ve had a baby what things did you take in your hospital bag that you didn’t use?