In Our Bags: The Hospital

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In Our Bags: The Hospital with Baby | The Fresh Exchange

These are the things I have in my Hospital bag, ready and packed. Being nearly to our due date it seems appropriate for us to have our bags packed and ready for whenever D-day arrives and our little guy decides he is ready for the world. Little projects such as this help with the waiting game and the guessing at every single change in my body these days. Knowing we are ready is extra reassuring as I personally want to be able to focus on the process of bringing him into the world and not on whether my bag is packed. When I was prepping my bag I asked the internet world for some advice on what we needed. All of you had some AMAZING suggestions and if you are interested in seeing all of those you can check out this Instagram post for other ladies suggestions. There are some great ones in there!

Now that our bags are packed I felt it would be great to share a little different view on our normal travel series, In Our Bags. This time we are taking a little different type of trip, but one that it is all its own type of adventure. So here is what we packed for our trip.

In Our Bags: The Hospital with Baby | The Fresh Exchange

Birth:
An outfit to wear if you desire:
 I purchased a black oversized tshirt dress .It is comfy and doesn’t feel medical, which was important to me. 

A Bath Sheet Towel: If you have noticed towels don’t fit too well these days so I got a large bathsheet towel that would feel comforting after spending time in the shower at the hospital and not scratchy

Robe: To wander the halls in (also for recovery as well). I picked up this one from H&M in linen. I didn’t want anything heavy or fluffy. 

Blanket: I packed a favorite blanket that either I can use or Mike can. 

Favorite Sweater: I have a sweater I have worn throughout pregnancy and I figured it could bring a lot of calm during birth so I made sure to pack it. 

Comfy bra or top: I packed 3 of  these bras from Everlane in black to wear. I am a pretty private person so I wanted to have these available if I felt the need to be covered. 

Speakers: Whether you are using a specific playlist or just want a noise machine or ocean sounds to keep you calm this is a must. We are taking a Bose speaker that works off bluetooth.

Tea bags: Another thing you can typically have in most hospitals and practices. There is a Third Trimester Tea from Earth Mama that is supposedly wonderful in early birthing and even afterward.

Aromatherapy: If you don’t like the smell of a hospital you may want  a diffuser . I love Doterra’s On Guard and Wild Orange, but also packed Peppermint and Lavender

Chapstick: Most hospitals are very dry so having a chapstick like this one was great. 

Birth Plan: I highly suggest having this with you or already presented to your caregiver. But keep a copy with you just in case.  

In Our Bags: The Hospital with Baby | The Fresh Exchange

Partner:
Comfy and warmer clothes: Women get hot when they are in labor typically so the room can be cold to their partner. Also overnight stays they will want something more athleisure. Mike is bringing these pants and this sweatshirt

Camera: Mike is the camera guy so he is in charge of bringing it and keeping it charged. He is bringing our Fuji and our Canon Mark III but of course your iPhone can do pretty darn well if you don’t have a camera. Good window light is about all you need. We don’t plan to have any photos taken of the experience until after he has arrived. We live with cameras all the time and we feel this is a private time and I want to remain focused so we chose a hospital that didn’t allow for camera usage during birth to keep everything private and in the moment.

Chargers, Iphones, Ipads, any electronics: He is in charge of the electronics during this time so all these things went in his bag. He also was the one who chose a service similar to Circles.Life mobile to ensure good connectivity along the trip.

Lights: We want to create a calm atmosphere so we plan to keep the lighting low and subdued. We brought a reading light to use as our alternate light source instead of the room lights. We plan to face it up toward the ceiling to create softer light in the room. 

Toiletries: Anything he may want for his stay and that keeps him feeling his best. Things like a toothbrush and toothpaste and to take a shower. 

Snacks: At least at our hospital partner meals are not included so having food to keep him sustained especially the later parts of the evening if things close. 

Car Seat: Well he is in charge of making sure it is installed and ready to bring our little guy home safely. We have the Nuna Pipa carseat .

In Our Bags: The Hospital with Baby | The Fresh Exchange

Baby:
Swaddles: You don’t have to bring these. They have them at the hospital but I wanted our own. I brought ones from Solly Baby. They are so soft and I wanted to introduce our home smells to him right away and to be very comfy in his own things as soon as possible in hopes that transition into his home is that much easier. 

Socks: He most likely will be in a diaper most of the time but he has been in my very warm body and I couldn’t bare the thought of his toes being cold. I am a classics girl and went with these basic socks from Gerber.  

Hat: They give them to you at the hospital as well, but we are bringing one of our own for the ride home. We brought  this one from BabySoy

Winter Outfit: It most likely will be below 50 when we come home so I got him this outfit to stay warm in when we leave. If you are having a summer baby, obviously this isn’t necessary 🙂

A couple outfits in a couple sizes: We took 2 0-3 outfits and 2 newborn outfits with us. No matter how they try to guess the size of your little one (we have refrained from finding out) you just aren’t going to know until they are out, so having a few sizes for them is best. I love the basic and simple outfits from L’oved Baby. The organic cotton is so soft and they come with mits on them, which is great for those little baby nails they come out with. 

A Blanket: We brought a blanket my mom made for him so he could be wrapped up while in the hospital. We also probably will nab a few photos of him on it. 

Pacifier: This is a completely personal decision, but we are comfortable with it and our hospital doesn’t provide them so we are bringing one of our own for him. 

Diapers: They provide them sometimes at hospitals but I wanted to get started with what we will be trying at home right away so he didn’t go through too many switches so I packed a few to ease him in. We are starting dispable because we figure we have enough to learn in the first few months. We are giving Honest and Whole Foods diapers a try for him. Any other suggestions would be good. 

Bathwash: We are hoping not to be in the hospital too long and can do this at home, but just in case we brought him bath wash from Zoe Organics that we will be using regularly at home for him as well as a few wash cloths that are super soft. 

In Our Bags: The Hospital with Baby | The Fresh Exchange

Recovery:
Favorite toiletries:
I opted to spoil myself as I figure this will be a moment where I might get to really enjoy a shower for a little while since he will be his sleepiest post delivery. I thought I would spoil myself a little bit. I got this skincare kit from Fig and Yarrow on Huckyberry to give myself a little pampering. 

Snacks: Everyone says you are starving after labor so I have some favorite snacks incase that happens to be in the middle of the night or before anything is open for me to order food. I packed Kind Bars and other things that give me a lot of energy so I can hopefully get some sustinance and some sleep afterward and not be starving. 

Comfortable Pants: I have a pair of jogger type sweatpants and a pair of really soft leggings I have worn throughout pregnancy. I am not 100% sure what I will want so I brought both for pants. 

Comfy nightgowns: I packed two gowns that are henley style to make it easy for feeding but are cozy and comfy. 

Oversized Cardigan: I wanted an oversize sweater like this one or this one, I could wear that opened easily for skin-to-skin but still kept me warm. 

Larger underwear: I couldn’t bring myself to buy granny panties and I may regret that, but I bought these ones from Target which have been my favorites during pregnancy and I purchased them in a size larger than I normally wear. They are so soft, weightless, and have no hard bands anywhere. I figure they will work. I stuck to dark colors as well. 

Bottom Spray: This one has been recommended and I will accept any advice from my girlfriends about recovering this are post-delivery. 

Pads: I wanted my own. I know the hospital gives you some and I will probably use them, but the whole idea of this already is weirding me out enough. So, I did research and though I typically am an organics girl I went mainstream for these guys because everyone swore by them. They are not really thick which is nice and they whick away which is even nicer. I figure it is for a short time and then I won’t have to think about them again till the next time around.

Nipple Cream: I have this one from Zoe Organics and hear great things. 

Nursing Pillow: I have this one from Ergo so I figure we will packing it in the car and if I want it Mike can bring it in. 

Nursing Bras: I opted for this type from Target for now. I am sure I will buy more specific ones once he arrives and am home, but I figure this will be a great option for the first few days or so. 

Going Home Outfit: I most likely will wear one of the pants or tunics I packed depending on the warmth of the day and an oversized sweater. I just want something comfy. 

Shoes: You probably came in with them, but knowing myself I would forget them or something so I set the pair I would wear to the hospital next to my bag to make sure I didn’t forget them. I opted for something slip-on.

Makeup: I want to feel like myself afterward so I will probably bring my basics like mascara and a little bronzer

Your own Toilet Paper: Sounds crazy but when I did our hospital visit I saw the toilet paper and agreed this was a great idea. 

I think overall the best advice I have heard from moms is the following:

  1. Remember your little one is just entering the world. Think of how you would like to feel when experience the world for the first time and after such a crazy journey. Thus, I chose as many natural and soft things for him as well as made sure everything smelled like what his life at home would smell like. I really tried to think through this and respect that this is as much a transition for him as it is for us.
  2. Treat yourself because you just did something amazing no matter what the journey was. I bought a few things that I never would probably never treat myself too because of this and I think I will be thankful on the other side while in recovery. Give yourself gentle things to be respectful of your body.
  3. Think about your partner. Sure I am physically and emotionally bringing a child into the world, but he is going through a lot too. I wanted to make sure he is well cared for in the process and have made sure to ask him along the way the things that bring him comfort as well so he can care for me and our little one at his best.
  4. Bring an open mind. Life is about to change. A journey is about to happen and no matter what you pop in that bag with you, you are going to go through this one way or the other and it will go exactly how it is supposed to. So keeping a calm and open mind full of a willingness to surrender to the process will be the best thing you can bring with you.

I would love anything else you would suggest as I am sure other ladies would as well! I am sure I am over packing but as I am sure many of you can relate to, it can feel a little overwhelming not knowing what to really expect since you haven’t been through this before.

Excited to hear your thoughts!

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