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| Trying to close my suitcase before leaving for the hospital! |
I can't tell you how many lists I saved on Pinterest of what to pack for the hospital, so I thought it'd be helpful to share what I brought that we actually used, what we didn't use, what the hospital had and what I would bring next time.
If it wasn’t during COVID, we probably would have left half of our stuff in the car for Houston to go get later but he wasn’t allowed to leave and come back once we checked in so we had to bring everything in when we first arrived except the carseat. Poor Houston had to carry our stuff around from room to room!! Houston's suitcase was mostly filled with things I couldn't fit in my bag 😂 Also in my defense, we stayed 4 nights since I had a c-section and insurance would pay for up to 4 nights so I packed a little extra knowing we'd be there longer and couldn't leave the hospital due to COVID.
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| All the things |
What we used
- Wallet with insurance card and ID
- OB lab paperwork
- Masks (due to COVID)
- Small gift for nurses - we brought 12 individually wrapped Christmas Cookies made by my friend Laura & Chick-fil-A gift cards, this is TOTALLY optional but each of the nurses and hospital staff we gave these to really seemed to appreciate it!
- Stroller fan - this was so helpful as I was always hot in the room and poor Houston was freezing!
- 10' long iPhone charger
- Boppy pillow, but could have done without since its pretty large to bring, would bring My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow instead
- Airpods - nice to have when calling family/friends and not disrupt baby as much, also Houston could watch TV/movies on his phone while I slept
- Eye masks for both Houston and I - super helpful as room isn't very dark plus nurses have to come in to check on you every few hours you can remove your eye mask when you want to
- 6-pack mini Gatorades
- Snacks - we brought lots of Perfect & Outright protein bars
- Chapstick
- Diffuser with my favorite volcano candle scent - definitely not necessary but nice to make hospital room feel a little homey
- Cosmetics, makeup, makeup remover
- Glasses, contacts, solution
- Travel-sized shampoo, conditioner, body wash, razor
- Hairbrush, blow dryer, straightener
- Dry shampoo
- Dirty clothes bag
- One pair of shoes, same ones I wore to the hospital
- Carseat (left in car until we were leaving hospital)
- Baby Book - for nurses to stamp baby's feet directly in the book (much easier to have nurses do it than for me to try and do it at home, they have a lot of practice!)
- Motherlove Nipple Cream - this is a must!!
- Nursing bras and underwear
- Nursing pads
- 3-4 pairs of socks
- Hatch Baby Rest Sound Machine - Sound machine and light, really glad we brought this!
- Pillow and blanket for Houston
- Hospital gown, changed out of before surgery, maybe I would have kept it on if I didn’t have a c-section? I ended up wearing it home from the hospital because I did NOT want to wear the leggings I packed to avoid having any pressure on my incision
- Going home outfit for me (sweater, dress and shoes) and Margaret (outfit, socks and blanket)
- Special outfit my mom wore with me 29 years ago when I was born and the little newborn outfit for baby Margaret (see picture below)
What the hospital had, so I didn’t need to pack
For Margaret:
- Swaddles
- Hat
- Half onesie
- Diapers
- Wipes
- Blue potty pads
- Pacifier
- Pump
- Bottles/Nipples
For Me:
- Hospital gowns
- Tons of pillows
- Pads
- Mesh panties
- Blankets
What I didn’t use
- I brought an outfit for each day in the hospital for me and Margaret, silly me! I only wore the hospital gowns and Margaret wore the hospital half-onesies until we left so I really only needed a going home outfit for myself and Margaret
- Brought my nice camera, but we just used our phones
- Shower shoes - understand some people might want them but I didn’t use mine our hospital room was very clean
- Nursing tank top, again I really only wore the hospital gowns until we left to come home
- Slippers
- Sweater/jacket - might use next time but never left our room so I didn’t use them
- Roku
- Tablet - couldn’t get it to connect and we just watched the TV that was in our room
- Small speaker to play music
What we wish we brought
- Warmer clothes/blankets for Houston, his bed was right next to the AC unit and significantly colder than where my hospital bed was
- Medela Contact Nipple Shield - really hard for me to get Margaret to latch without help from nurses or lactation consultants, would bring this next time to use once my milk comes in
- Hair tie for me, somehow I forgot a hair tie but just used a hair clip I had in my purse
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| Leaving Piedmont Hospital as a family of 3! |
Hopefully this list is helpful for those of you having a baby soon or know someone who will be! What else did you bring or wish you left at home??
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