When you’re pregnant everyone has advice on what you should pack and take with you to the hospital.
Most of the advice was good and luckily for us specific to the hospital we were using, some of it was pretty outdated. Most people do not need change for the payphone or batteries for the camera anymore.
You’ll want to make sure you check with your hospital in case you need to bring any baby items. We were very lucky and the hospital provided everything we could need for our daughter.
Our list was a bit different because we knew the day our daughter would arrive. My handwritten list is below.
A very smart friend suggested one color clothing to make outfits easier. She also suggested dark colors because they are less likely to show any newborn-related liquid. I ended up going with black everything and colorful cardigans (most hospital rooms are chilly). One of the best purchases I made while pregnant was maternity yoga pants. They were dressy enough to wear to the office the last few weeks when nothing else fit and very comfortable. I lived in these for the first couple of days after our daughter was born.
In addition to chilly, hospital rooms tend to be very dry. Chapstick is a must. I used almost a whole tube while I was there.
Bringing my own pillow was a really great idea as the hospital pillows can be hard to come by. In retrospect, I would have added one for J. He unfortunately ended up pillow-less a few times. I also added last-minute a towel. Actually, a beach towel. The ones available were pretty flimsy and it was nice to wrap up in my own.
I also would make sure to add some snacks and a water bottle. The hospital provided me with a water bottle, but not one for J. He used a lot of the little cups. I got regular meals, but he had to fend for himself. By the second day (we ultimately had a four-day stay), we had a nice stock pile but those first few hours in our room would have been better if we hadn’t been starving.
