There are so many different opinions on what you should bring to the hospital. But ultimately, remember that some people literally arrive with nothing and do fine- and you will too :).
Labor and Delivery
I absolutely loved my labor and delivery nurses! I ended up going back to the hospital a week later to drop off a thank you note and Starbucks gift card. I have seen some moms make these huge gift baskets with tons of snacks, which I’m sure the nurses love, but they’re also ok with a hand written note and some candy, a gift card, or other small treat.
While in the labor and delivery room we brought an iPad and a book for entertainment, but I ended up mostly calling my friends and chatting while we waited for our baby’s arrival. With the epidural, I was able to easily have conversations, read, and take little cat naps for the most part.
One thing that was really important for COVID times, but still good to keep in mind is bringing some snacks for your partner! My hospital only provided food for the patient, and my husband was quite hungry! You can also bring outside food in, if you want to get some takeout from a nearby place. In the postpartum room, our hospital had a little a la carte menu you could order from, but I was craving Indian, so my husband got take out and we had a little date night in the hospital.
Postpartum Recovery
The first thing to do, is to talk with other moms who delivered at your hospital. Each hospital is different! My hospital provided everything from the gown, fuzzy grippy socks, peri bottle, mesh underwear, pads, witch hazel, and Dermoplast spray. You also get to take all of these items home (not the gown lol). I have also heard that some hospitals even provide ice packs or “padcicles.”
If you find out that your hospital doesn’t provide some of these items listed above, you may want to purchase beforehand. Frida has all of the postpartum essentials and they sell them at Target and Amazon.
It’s also nice to bring the following items and leave them in your car at first. Your partner can always go back to the car to get these when and if you need them in the postpartum room. These items include:
- Carseat– you don’t need this until you’re discharged
- Nursing Pillow– You don’t need this until the baby has arrived, but it sure does help with the lactation lessons! (My favorite was the “Breast Friend“)
- Breast pump– Leave in the car because you probably won’t need this unless your child is in the NICU. Note that some hospitals will charge you to rent the breast pump parts, so it is nice to have your own. It’s also nice to figure out how to use the pump that you own versus whatever brand the hospital carries.
- Comfort items from home– These include blankets or pillows. We brought a quilt from home to make the room a little more comfortable. You can also bring a pillow in a colored case so you can identify it, but I didn’t think the hospital pillows were that bad. Also, our hospital bath towels were sad and tiny, so we brought our own! I also brought a bathrobe and slippers!
Baby
The fun part is picking out an outfit for baby! I remember putting that tiny little onesie in our bag and getting so excited that we were about to meet her! When selecting an outfit, remember that their umbilical cord is still in tact, so the easiest outfits for newborns are actually little baby t-shirts, so the umbilical cord stump can stick out between the diaper and the shirt.
Of course, we put our daughter in a dress for photos, but we ended up using the hospital-issued baby t-shirt (also called diaper shirts) for the majority of our stay.
These are some of my favorite hospital baby outfits:
Checklist
But below are some things that we brought or wished we would have brought or bought for the hospital.
Tine Murray 