Preparing for your newborn can be the most exciting time as new parents but it can also be very daunting.
Along with the long lists of things you need to get and understand your hospital bag is a very important one. This bag includes all of your, but most importantly, your new babies essential items for the period of time you are in hospital.
From our experience as parents, and the items we took (or wish we took) into hospital and other parents that have visited our shop we have compiled a list of the most important items we believe you should include.
Its a good idea to have your hospital bag ready & packed about four weeks before baby is due and ideally in the car that will transport you to the hospital - the last thing you want to do is forget it!
So Whats Included?
Things for you:
- Maternity notes & Birth Plan if you have one
- Phone charger & Phone / Ipad
- A cosy comfortable outfit for yourself for during labour
- Healthy Snacks and plenty of drinks
- Books/Magazines/Music/Podcasts etc.. for the early stages
- Your own pillow
- Slippers / flip-flops
- Towels (dark colour)
- A Change of clothes for leaving hospital
- Comfy Knickers
- Maternity / Large Sanitary Pads
- Cash
- Nursing Bras - if planning on breast feeding
- Nipple Pads
- Wash bag with essentials -such as toothbrush & toothpaste, deodorant, wipes, any essential make-up for leaving
Things for your wonderful new baby:
- Vests & Sleepsuits in various sizes
- Cotton hats
- Scratch mittens
- Booties / Socks
- Nappies - various sizes and brands
- Blankets
- Muslin cloths
- Baby wipes
- Coming home outfit
- Formula First infant starter pack (if using formula)
- Bibs
Don't forget other essential coming home items like your car seat and important phone numbers. We also took a small blanket to keep with Aubrey when she was born so Andy could take it home and let our dog smell the scent so she was aware of a new scent and person in the house before we came home!
A back-up plan! - sometimes as much as you plan and prepare, things change in a moment when it comes to babies so its always good to have a plan B. With my birth I ended up having an emergency Section which meant all of the planning we did wasn't relevant and we had to plan on the go during a Pandemic which had its own challenges.
The most important thing to remember is to make these tasks as enjoyable as possible and include your partner and children with the process