Oh, how the tables have turned for the birth of baby Elijah. This time around, in contrast to Summer Elizabeth’s home water birth, I’ll be giving birth in a public Costa Rican hospital. Dun, dun, dun...
Although I did have some items packed away in case of an emergency with my homebirth, this time I must pack a hospital bag for the birth, lest I wind up in unfortunate circumstances leading to serious embarrassment. Example: A friend informed me last week that the hospital staff in the public hospitals here change the mamas’ CLOTH diapers in front of the world (or about 20 other women in the labor room)…. that’s not gonna be me!
When I travel, I travel very light. Just ask my husband. When I pack for the hospital, you’d better believe I’m not going to miss a thing! I’m not a beauty accessories & hair dryer, 3 outfits-per-day type of girl, so don’t expect that kind of hospital bag packing checklist here.
What you’ll see below is my list of birth bag essentials and just a couple of odds and ends that you can choose to leave behind, if that’s your style. Obviously, your hospital might provide necessities that my free public hospital would never consider handing out, so be sure to check before packing more supplies than necessary.
Final tip: Stash your hospital bag in the car as soon as you’ve got it 95% packed. You never know when you’ll go into labor and having it safely packed away will take away anxiety when the “big day” arrives.
What’s in my hospital bag:
Docs:
- Birth plan
- I.D., pregnancy check-ups tracker from the govt., social security proof
Food (some not yet packed, but ready to go):
- coconut water (and straw) to drink during labor
- iced red raspberry leaf tea
- natural sports drink (for labor!)
- granola bars
- apples
Toiletries:
- body wash
- toothpaste
- mouthwash
- facial wipes (best if kept chilled!)
- hairband
- comb
- postpartum healing pads
Mama Clothing:
- nursing tank (love this one!)
- 3 pairs of underwear
- warm socks
- flip-flops
- sweater
- yoga pants
- swim trunks for my husband, should he help me into the shower
Baby Items:
- hat
- 2 pajamas
- socks
- handful of disposable diapers (Meconium stains cloth diapers)
- natural wipes
- blanket
Miscellaneous Items:
- MP3 player with playlist card attached
- labor massage oil
- Scripture cards
- towel
- frozen rosemary water in a squirt bottle (stashed in freezer, not yet packed)
- DIY tennis ball back massager
- husband’s guide to labor & delivery
What would you add to the list? What was your #1 MUST-HAVE item during birth? Tell me below in the comments!
I’ve never understood why people pack loads of makeup and outfits and whatnot for the hospital – I just wanted to be as comfy as possible and resting in bed, not doing my hair! (I remember when a friend due at the same time as me told me she was packing her hair straightener, I thought she was kidding!).
I’d also add to this a birth ball – it was a lifesaver for my 68 hour marathon labor!
A birth ball is a great addition! I know I won’t have room in my birthing room with 20+ moms to use one, but it sure would be nice. In fact, with Summer’s birth, I borrowed an exercise ball for the birth though never did wind up using it. Go figure. Thanks for the tip, Luana!
thanks for sharing this!! i need to pack my bag and need help! 🙂
Glad to help, Katie! Hope you feel great for the remainder of your pregnancy, especially since you’ll be prepped and ready to go with your hospital bag already packed.
I just wanted to note that lots of people told us meconium would ruin our cloth diapers. We however chose to use them from day one and they didn’t even stain the cotton. There was no special washing involved just the usual cloth diaper routine.
That was just our personal experience with the situation!
That’s great news to know, Amanda! With our first child a few friends gave us disposable diapers not knowing we’d decided on cloth. As new parents it was easier for my husband to change with disposables the first two days or so as he played nurse to both me and the baby. This time, I’ve got a handful of disposables that were part of a diaper cake. We may or may not use them for more than our time at the hospital, especially now that you’ve told me that our cloth stash will likely survive with no battle wounds.
Another option is to use flushable diaper liners. They are much less environmentally damaging than disposable diapers–it’s like flushing 6 squares of toilet paper per poop, and when you take one out of a wet diaper you actually can machine-wash it and use it over again. We liked the Imse Vimse brand.
I’ve got no experience with flushable liners but it sounds good to me. We cloth diaper 100%, but always wind up getting newborn disposables at baby showers. This time around at the hospital, it was easier for me to take the sposies.
These are all great ideas coming from a Mom-in-the-know 🙂 Thank you for linking up to Mom’s Library, I’ll be featuring you this week at http://www.crystalstinytreasures.com Have a great weekend, and good luck!
Aw, thanks Crystal! I’m flattered. Can’t wait to see the post.
I feel it’s essential to bring something to read! If you’re lucky, labor will progress rapidly so that there’s no time to get bored, and then you’ll be adoring your little one until it’s time to go home. But for me, my first labor was lengthy, so I REALLY appreciated a gigantic book of single-panel cartoons that my partner gave me as a surprise gift: They were perfect for my short attention span, and the humor was helpful. We would walk a lap around the hallways, then rest and read some cartoons. We also had an extended hospital stay because of our son’s newborn jaundice caused by blood type incompatibility, and during his treatment there were long periods when he was just sleeping and I needed something to do; a favorite novel I’d read before was ideal for that.
Reading material, what a great idea! I just read your article about blood type incompatability. I had no idea beyond the Rh factor incompatability– I’ve experienced that with both my kiddos. I’m O- and both of them are A+. Thanks for filling me in and stopping by to say hello.
Hi Jelli! I gave birth to our healthy baby boy — Kamden — December 19, 2013 and I, too, packed a light but essential-filled hospital bag. You can read the full post here —> http://nicoleandkevin.wordpress.com/2013/12/07/whats-in-my-hospital-bag/
Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and I didn’t need EVERYTHING inside my bag but at least I was prepared, right?! It looks like you have all of the essentials. I purchased a new set of pajamas (button-down shirt, long pants) right before and I’m so glad I had them, especially for breastfeeding.
We’re not doing cloth diapers, but on the topic of meconium: use VASELINE. My great-grandmother told me this trick and it worked like a charm, plus it keeps Kamden’s bottom nice and smooth!!!
Good luck and congratulations. =)
So glad you had a great birth experience, Nicole. Never heard any tips for meconium, but this sounds like a winner to me. Since I had my son in the hospital this time around we went the disposable diaper route for his first day or two to make life simpler. In fact, the doctors seemingly asked me every couple of hours if he’s pooped yet, as they wouldn’t let us leave until he did. Haha. Glad you approve of the hospital bag list. Enjoy your tiny one!
Finally a hospital list that makes sense! So many have things I would never want and find pointless. I am actually going to save this one!
Great! So happy you found a packing list for you and baby that fits your needs.