With only a few weeks to go and now I’m on maternity leave I wanted to write up a little list of what I’ve packed for our baby’s hospital bag and what I’ve packed for myself. If you don’t follow me on Instagram, then you may not know that I am planning on having a home birth. There’s a handful of reasons why I wanted to go for one but I think I’ll share more of that when and if it goes ahead otherwise it may be a bit pointless.
I’m at 37 weeks this week so thought it was as good a time as any to share what I’ve packed for use during labour, at home but also ready to take with us if we did need a hospital stay at any point. I was advised to pack my bags around the 32 week mark, just incase and with everything going on with Coronavirus, you can’t just have people pop in with extra bits if you forget anything so it made sense to be cautious and ready for any eventuality.
In My Bag
- Large black bath towel from Primark
- Strappy night dress
- Button nightdress
- Large black PJs
- Lots of large black pants/disposable pants
- A pack of maternity pads
- Breast pads
- Spritz for bits spray
- Toothpaste/brush
- Toiletries (shower gel/shampoo)
- Unscented deodorant (Mitchum is my favourite)
- Nipple cream
- Face wipes (Incase I’m wearing any makeup/want to freshen up)
- Hairbrush
- Hair bands
- Jogging bottoms and loose top (to go home in)
- Bikini top (for water birth)
- Soft non wired bra/nursing bra x 2
- Socks/fluffy socks
- Flip flops
I have separated this into two bags and most of it is in an order of use so Dan can get everything out for me when needed. I haven’t packed much in the way of ‘clothes’ but I’m hopeful I’ll be at home mostly but also if I have to go home in jogging bottoms and flip flops then I’m literally only going to be in the car and home so I won’t mind how I look! I’ve packed enough knickers to last a week which is excessive but it seemed to be the thing people told me to stock up on the most and Primark sold a pack of four large briefs for £3 which was a bargain. They have been a life saviour in the last few weeks of pregnancy too so they’ll be great for ultimate comfort after and if any do need to go in the bin after, it’s not the end of the world.
For the baby’s bag, I have pretty much packed everything in her Mamas and Papas changing bag that came with her pram. I was surprised how much I could fit in here but I think her blanket is in my bag just as it was a big bigger. I have put everything into the largest zip lock food bags I could find and have labelled them according to size. I can’t imagine she’ll be a big baby but if she is, then we have a few options incase the newborn (7.5lbs) is too small.
Baby’s Bag
Up to 7.5 lbs / Newborn clothing
- 2 x sleep suits
- 2 x short sleeve vests
- 1 x long sleeve vest
Up to 10 lbs
- 2 x sleep suits
- 2 x short sleeve vests
- 1 x long sleeve vest
Up to 1 month
- 1 x going home sleep suit (particularly pretty one/her first outfit!)
- 1 x newborn vest
- 1 x long sleeve
Other
- 2 x hat
- 2 x scratch mittens
- 1 x socks
- 1 x bib
- Half a pack of nappies
- Cotton wool
- 2 Muslins from JoJo Mama Bebe
- Sudocreme and baby sanitiser
- Cellular blanket
- Bunny
We think this just about covers everything! It’s so hard to know if you’ve missed anything, need more but whilst there are restrictions, if we did have to go to hospital, we would obviously find a way to sort anything that may be missing and we only live ten minutes away as it is. I think for our planned home birth, it should allow us to have everything to hand downstairs in one easy to reach place until we’re settled and take her upstairs to get her dressed etc. I think a lot of these lists/bags are more for the birthing partners benefit to be able to just reach and go!
If there’s anything you think I’m missing, do let me know!