When you’re in labor, you’re going to want to have your hospital bag pre-packed, so that you don’t have to worry about forgetting anything when that exciting time comes. It is SO easy to overpack your hospital bag, especially when you have NO idea what to expect. You have enough on your mind, so I am going to tell you what you’ll really need (and what you really won’t need). 

Let’s start with What you WILL need.

A Long Phone Charger

Sometimes labor takes a while. I was in labor at the hospital for 27 hours. Your phone will die. It just will. So, bring a charger for sure. While you’re at it, make sure it’s a nice and long one, because after you get an epidural, you can’t walk around (your body will be numbed from the waist down, for those of you who don’t know how an epidural works).

Comfy socks/slippers

Those hospital floors can be really cold, and you are going to want to be as comfortable as possible during your stay

Your own pillow (for you and your partner)

Odds are, you will be doing some sleeping while you’re there (or at least trying to). The pillows at the hospital have nothing on my tempurpedic pillow from home. 

A LITTLE bit of make up

If you’re not a make up girl, you can disregard this. You are obviously not going to have beautifully done, flawless make up the entire time you’re there, but I’m glad that I packed some so we could do some going home pictures right before we got to leave the hospital with Hollings.

A comfortable going home outfit for you and baby, and a baby onesie

You won’t need to bring a ton of baby clothes for your time in the hospital. They had a baby top and hat that they put o Hollings after she was born, and they just kept a diaper on the bottom. I don’t think I changed her clothes until the next day when I put her in her going home outfit. My going home outfit was actually a black cotton dress with a matching black cotton robe to go over it. Simple, but still a little put together for pictures.

Granny panties

Yep. You’ll need them.

Okay now that we have covered the essentials, I am going to tell you What you WILL NOT need

Diapers

Trust me, the hospital will not be short on newborn diapers. They’ll give you a stash to use during your entire stay. On top of that, you’ll need to save up those diapers for when you’re home, because they go fast.

Pads

Like the diapers, the hospital will have pads for you. They’ll also have granny panties in case you don’t want to bring your own, but no lie they were pretty uncomfortable.

Outfits

For some reason when I packed for the hospital, I thought I was going on a vacation to the bahamas? I brought like dresses and tops. Who knows why. I stayed in my hospital gown or my pjs the entire time.

Food

This one is like the make up, because while I didn’t need it, one of you might. I brought a ton of food/snacks, because I thought I would need/want it. Once I was induced, I wasn’t allowed to eat, so all of those snacks were kind of pointless. 

There’s a chance that I might be forgetting something, so use your best judgment on what you know you’re going to want to have there with you (a book, your own water bottle, your laptop). Even though 27 hours sounds like forever, it flew by. So did that day in the hospital after I gave birth/before I got to go home. If you forget something, it won’t be the end of the world.