What Lindsey Packed In Her Hospital Bag

What a crazy month it has been! Grady Robert was born on April 6th and we are so in love!

I filmed this reel to show you guys what I packed in my hospital bag, and wanted to write this post so that I could expand on a few things for anyone who is expecting and may be interested in what to pack! I am typically a chronic over packer but I was happy with everything I brought! We welcome comments for what were your favorite/must have items you packed!

XO

L

1. Clothes for mom- a mix/variety of options! For me that included button down pajamas, your fav pair of maternity leggings (I brought regular leggings and flare), oversized sweatshirt, regular pajama pants, going home outfit; going home you may be swollen (which I was!) and I was very happy that I had FLARE leggings and recommend having a non fitted option for your pants incase you end up with extra swelling too. I don't think regular leggings would have been a cute look with my swollen legs! Haha.

2. Nursing bras- I brought a variety of ones with clips and non clip/sleeper style- I recommend these! These are great for beginners and comfortable for sleeping as you don't want bras too tight- Target Auden Nursing Bras

3. Clothes for dad- a few t-shirts, long sleeves, athletic shorts and joggers, and a sweatshirt. Be sure to pack either pair of sandals, slip on slippers, or crocs (or really any easy slip on shoe) for dad to throw on easily!

4. Clothes for baby- you mostly just need a going home outfit! I packed a few options and some at different sizes since we didn't know how big he would be. Also, depending on the season, you may want a hat and/or socks. We packed some plain onesies but the hospital had ones you could use. If you wanted to pack clothes for baby to wear during your hospital stay then I would recommend sleepers and ones that have double zipper and hand covers/mits. (Grady had long nails and scratched himself early on but luckily went away quickly!)

5. Health and Beauty- I packed my own prenatals, and made sure to have stool softener and gas X (for possible c section) as I didn't want to risk being without them! But the hospital did have those things. I also packed my Bio oil, hair elastics/clips, headbands, portable mirror/with light (great if you end up needing catheter as getting up is annoying and complicated!), tweezers and razor (no one likes rogue hair to pop up!), Poo-puri (small hospital rooms with bathrooms attached- need I say more?), make up wipes, toothbrush/toothpaste, shampoo/conditioner, body wash, dry shampoo, hair brush, eye patches, nipple cream, chapstick, deodorant, body lotion. I love these amazon pouches I purchased! (Quilted bag, Quilted top handle bag)

6. Electronics- Extra long charger for both parents, portable charger (my favorite!), charger cords for other electronics, Polaroid, laptop/iPad, small night light (great for night changes/feedings)- the pouch I used!

7. Portable fan- great to have during labor if you find yourself getting hot!

8. Heating pad- great if you have back labor or post partum to help with cramping. Of note, heat can't be applied if you have an epidural! Of course I did have some back pain that wasn't in the path of the nerves the epidural covers and my doula had a water bottle pouch that could be filled with warm water that was super helpful! Will consider packing one of those next time!

9. Speaker- music was super calming and helpful for me; the nurses commented on my playlist and loved it!

10. Hatch Sound Machine- Was nice to have white noise not only for the baby, but for us too! The night light was nice to have in the evening as well.

11. Shower shoes, slippers, towel- they have towels of course but they are small and I knew I wanted to have a normal towel. I brought an older towel that we don't use incase it got "ruined". Also, easy slip on shower shoes and slippers- again, you may swell significantly after delivery so make sure you have loose fitting shoes!

12. Blankets- I bought a cute blue bow blanket at Marshall's for myself (was also inexpensive so if it got ruined I was fine with tossing) and brought one of our Chappy Wraps for Mike to use! The Chappy Wrap was the perfect weight.

13. Breast feeding pillow- I knew I wanted to try breast feeding and wanted to have a pillow I was planning on using at home at the hospital so that way I could use it with the lactation nurses and get tips from them how to position! I brought the Boppy pillow since it can be used more than just feeding, but a lot of people like the My Breast Friend Pillow which helps with ergonomics (which is super important)!

14. Momento items- Hello World sign, It's a boy sign (Citrus and Daisy local shop!), imprint ink pads and sheets, extra polaroid film

15. Weighted sleep mask- this was one of my favorite items I brought! Gifted to me, I used this mask in both labor and recovery in post partum. During labor and PP, there are times you may need to nap/rest and with people coming in and out, lights from machines, overhead, etc. this mask helped not only block out the light but fall asleep quicker! I still use this mask at home when I need to rest and it is light out or after a night feed if I am having issues falling asleep.

16. Bathing suit top- I knew I wanted to utilize the shower and wanted to have a top I was comfortable being wet in! Very happy I had packed one.

17. Frida Mom Boyshorts- the hospital has all the supplies you need but I brought these to wear home and these really do live up to the hype. Of note, I did also pack the Frida Mom Peribottle as I heard it was better than what they have (and I believe it) but since I ended up with a c-section I didn't need it.

18. Messy mouth stain remover and pacifiers- I brought the stain remover incase any of our clothes were stained while there, and I did use it! Also, I was told that the hospital doesn't use pacifiers but they did have the Philips Avent style there. But you may want to pack just incase if you're interested in using one!

19. Baby blankets/swaddles- I packed a muslin swaddle, Ollie swaddle, bow "specialty" swaddle to take for pictures, and a stroller blanket (Mini Chappy Wrap) for the ride home. The nurses are amazing swaddlers and our baby loved being swaddled! They had their own blankets which he mainly used, but Mike and I could never do the swaddles as well as they did, so I do recommend bringing a different velcro swaddle for the middle of the night! Since being home, we have really liked the Halo swaddle.

20. Snacks- definitely recommend having your own snacks on hand for easy access! For both mom and dad. (Gum too! Which can be great if you have a c-section)

21. Important document folder- we had our birth plan, and insurance cards in here and it was also where we put documents we received at the hospital.

22. Zip pouches- highly recommend separating your stuff into pouches or cubes to make it easier for your partner to grab something if you need it. These pouches from target were great! 2 pack for $3!

    
    

    **We used our rolling luggage Away Carry On's and I highly recommend rolling luggage as it is easier to carry out than just duffle bags/totes. We also had totes but they were able to each sit on top of the rolling luggage which made it easy when going to the car. Also, one of the suitcases was only half full so that way we had room to take any supplies from the hospital that we needed. We took diapers and other supplies!

Items I didn't pack but grabbed on our way out:

1. Pillows- bring your own pillows!!

2. Makeup

3. Hair dryer/curling iron

4. Doona/car seat- we are already so obsessed with our Doona and it proved handy on our first trip out of the hospital so that way we didn't have to awkwardly carry a car seat through the hospital; we could use it as a stroller until we got to the car and converted in seconds to the car seat.