Hospital Bag Essentials
I feel like things get very real when you start thinking about your hospital bag… Although I’m not finished physically packing yet, I did want to have my organisational ducks in a row for when the time comes. I made two Amazon purchases to make things easy to organise, find and access – Zipper Storage Bags (which come as a pack of 24 in a variety of sizes that are slightly more robust than sandwich bags), and Printing Labels.
I had a look online for ready to print labels for hospital bags, but could only find checklists. So I’ve put together a little downloadable of my Hospital Bag labels for anyone else who may find it useful. You can of course amend these to fit what you personally decide to pack, but this certainly covers every general category. My PDF is measured to fit a 21 per page label print off eg. the ones I ordered and linked above.
When it comes to creating a Hospital Bag Checklist this needs to be completely bespoke to you; after all it is your bag and belongings. Everyone has a completely different labour and post birth experience, and what you choose to pack will also reflect that. I have tried to take your most common suggestions on board and combine them with what I feel is a comprehensive, yet practical list that will also work with my labels above.
I plan to breast feed, but I have included a sample list for those who opt for formula feeding too. When it comes to the essentials so many of you suggested, a dark towel, flip flops for the shower, face fan to keep cool, long extension lead and Silver Cups were among the Top 5. Feel free to download the printable and tick things of as you go, or simply use it to take some ideas for your own checklist.
