Quick tips:
- I brought a rolling carry-on suitcase, which I felt was easier than carrying duffel bag. This is especially helpful if you have to move rooms (which seems to be common these days) after delivery to recovery.
- During labor, I just wore the hospital gown. I had brought a night nursing bra (kind of like sports bra but looser) to wear, but they told me to take everything off under the gown in case we needed to go to C-section. I had considered wearing a prettier delivery gown that you can find online, but in retrospect, I'm glad that I didn't have to deal with dirty laundry post delivery.
- Pretty much everything on this list is for postpartum
- I'd highly recommend a pair of flip flops for the entire hospital stay that you can wear walking down the hall, or in the bathroom to shower.
- My advice is to take into each (labor vs recovery) room only what you need at the time, otherwise you will have a ton of things to lug out at discharge. Your support person can run to the car to get the baby outfits/ your recovery stuff after delivery.
List for Mom: (anticipate staying 1-2 nights for vaginal delivery, 2-3 nights for C-Section)
- towel for showering
- 1 roll toilet paper for bathroom (in case the hospital stuff is not as soft)
- your favorite toiletries
- makeup (I didn't end up putting any on, but depends on if you have visitors, and how you feel)
- nursing pajama and robe
- products to care for "down there" = the first 24 h, I just used the hospital provided mesh underpants with frozen pack, pads, tucks and dermoplast numbing spray. This works very well, but in my opinion is more bulky than needed and tends to leak. Once I had my first postpartum shower, I changed to using the depends "silhouettes" which I had brought, and put in an always ultra thin maxi pad, then the tucks/ dermoplast. I felt way more comfy, less bulky, and did not worry about leakage. This may be TMI - but this was also a good product combination because for the first couple of days I had some urinary incontinence (which don't worry, went away). when i did urinate after my foley was removed, i realized i was somewhat incontinent.
- comfy outfit for going home (I wore a nursing tank top with a maternity skirt (since my belly was still big - approximately 5 month pregnant size when I first went home.)
- hospital will provide some clothes and all stuff you need for diapering the first few days
- all your baby really needs in the hospital is an outfit or two if you plan to take photos in the hospital or for going home.
- As a fit tip, our son was 7lb 7 oz when born, 7lb 2 oz after 24 hours and the 0-3 stuff was big on him at birth. Newborn was the right fit for him. If you anticipate your baby being on the smaller side, you might want to bring one premie outfit (full term babies who are on the smaller size seem to fit into this better according to my web research), and one newborn. If you anticipate a bigger baby, you may want to bring a 0-3 outfit as well.
- swaddle blankets (if you have cute ones you like- otherwise hospital will have some)
- car seat
- whatever he/she needs to feel comfortable in hospital 1-2 days - some toiletries, showering stuff - towel, flip flops, pj's etc.
- our hospital had a sleeper sofa, but not much bedding so my husband brought a pillow and light fleece blanket as well.
- ipad/ laptop for entertainment with chargers!
- cell phone and charger to call friends and family to share the good news!
- camera
- snacks!!! (hospital food is not that awesome)
- take out menus from places nearby (see above)
I hope this is helpful! Goodluck to the expecting mothers out there! It is an amazing experience.
*Of note, this is a list for Southern California, so I didn't feel the need for fuzzy slippers, a thick robe or worry about heavy clothing for bringing baby home. If you live in a colder climate, you might want to consider bringing those for your and your baby's comfort.
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