I'm currently 37 weeks pregnant and my hospital bags are finally packed. I've been packing them on and off for weeks while I've been figuring out what exactly to pack. I've been reading up on hospital bags on blog posts, forums, magazines, and YouTube. Our hospital also gave us a booklet with a very short list that I can't figure out if it's for natural births or c-section births. My plan (or rather, my "wish") is to have a natural delivery, but I suppose you need to be prepared for anything.
My bag
For my bag I actually packed two bags: one for labour and one for afterwards. It might seem a bit excessive but when I read it it made sense to bring two separate bags. For the labour I packed a leather overnight bag that used to be my mother-in-law's.
Inside my bag:
- Towel
- Face cloth x2
- Laundry bag (for dirty clothes)
- Sleep shirt (cheap one that I can chuck if it becomes gross)
- Gown (for walking around in, should I want to)
- Slippers
- Magazine
- Board game - Phase 10
- Juice boxes
- iPhone charger + cable
- Earphones
- Toiletry bag
In my toiletry bag I packed my usual travel bag plus a few extras: cleanser, toner, serum, moisturiser, earbuds, travel size Bio-Oil, Garnier Micellar face wipes, Sorbet Spa shower gel, Oh So Heavenly hand cream, toothbrush plus holder, travel toothpaste, deodorant, hairbrush plus spare Invisibobble, nail file, wide tooth comb, floss, shampoo and conditioner decanted into travel bottles, bath lily, and CoLab Active dry shampoo (it smells amazing).
As for documents I am taking my birth plan (I downloaded one from the internet and just checked the necessary boxes), black pen for filling in forms, hospital stay confirmation (I booked my spot in December already), medical aid authorisation number, and a copy of my ID.
My second bag
For my second bag I packed a small hand luggage suitcase with wheels. Inside the bag:
- Linen savers (I know I'll be in a hospital but I'll be mortified if I ruin the linen)
- Travel breastfeeding pillow
- Breastfeeding bras x2
- Disposable panties x3
- Panties x3 (cheap ones in case I hate the disposable ones and that I can chuck if need be)
- Front-opening PJs x2 (front-opening for breastfeeding)
- Maternity pads (sexy...)
- Breast pads
- Travel hairdryer
- Clothes to go home in (comfy pants and maternity T-shirt)
- Small makeup bag (primer, BB cream, powder, Beauty Blender, eyebrow products, mascara sample)
Baby's bag
I received this beautiful light grey Winnie The Pooh nappy bag from my grandmother as part of my baby shower gifts. The hospital's booklet gave a short list of what to pack in the baby's bag, but it didn't distinguish between natural births (short hospital stay) and c-section births (longer hospital stay), so we're going to have to wing it. They do give you a nappy bag in hospital containing a beanie, a teddy, nappies, maternity pads, and samples, but the head of the maternity unit told me to rather bring along extra nappies, pads, wipes, and surgical spirits. Inside the bag:
- Packet of newborn nappies
- Wet wipes (Dove Baby suitable for newborns)
- Surgical spirits (for the umbilical stump)
- Blankets x3 (one fleece, two brushed cotton)
- Cloth diaper
- Warm onesies x5 (two cotton, two fleecy, one fuzzy)
- Vests x5 (two short-sleeved, three long-sleeved)
- Socks x5
- Hats x2
A friend of mine gave birth at the same hospital two years ago and she said what really helped her is to pack the baby's outfits into ziploc bags so that the nurses can just take a ziploc bag out instead of having to rummage through the entire nappy bag. For a going home outfit I packed an all-pink outfit: pink long-sleeved body vest, pink fuzzy onesie (that her daddy picked out, might I add), and a pink hat.
The cotton onesies are from Woolworths and Ackermans, the fleecy onesies are from Ackermans, and the fuzzy onesie is from Jet. Ackermans and Jet have the cutest baby clothes and so affordable! The vests are all either from Jet or Ackermans, and the socks and hats I can't remember.
Things that I still need to pack in my bag include my iPod, my Fitbit charger (I'm still using it), my medical aid card (still in my wallet), my ID book (still in my handbag), my prenatal vitamins, and some snacks (I'm still trying to think what to get). What would you recommend for snacks?
Until next time!
Hildegarde
xoxo
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