Hospital Bag Essentials!

I spent hours poring over lists of what to pack and what not to pack in my hospital bag and eventually compiled my own list.  I had my bag packed from around 29 weeks (it can't hurt to be prepared, especially given that my sister-in-law had just given birth at 32 weeks and was completely unprepared) other than a few essentials such as phone chargers and my toothbrush that I would need in the interim.  I had a small suitcase for me and used the changing bag for OJ's stuff.

I won't post my entire list on here but I will give you a quick run down of what turned out to be absolutely essential and what ended up being completely unnecessary - obviously it depends on your experience of labour, how long you're in the hospital and various other things but this is what I found.

Absolute must-have items:

• Isotonic drinks (Lucozade/Powerade/Gatorade) - As you'll find out when I finally post my birth story, I spent a LOT of my time vomiting in labour.  Water was provided of course but I found that the isotonic drinks helped to give me something with a bit of flavour whilst hydrating me a little.  If nothing else it made a nice change throwing up something sweet rather than just bile.  Even if you're not sick they're great to give you a bit of a boost.
• Maternity pads (lots of them) - I put a whole pack of maternity pads in my bag and I STILL ran out.  I'd prepared to need them after birth for the bleeding but I hadn't taken into consideration that my waters had gone before I even left for the hospital and they continued to leak all day.  I soaked through the whole pack of maternity pads before I even made it to the delivery suite and had to send ALS to the shop to get some more.  After the birth I experienced pretty heavy bleeding and got through another half a pack in the 24 hours before we came home.  I was given a maternity pad when I came out of theatre but when we were on the ward we were informed that they would not be able to provide any and ALS would have to go and buy some for me - a lot of people I've spoken to said hospitals provided them so it's just something to be aware of.
• Slippers - I never wear slippers so I bought a pair specifically for the hospital and they came in so handy.  I didn't want to be walking around in my shoes but barefoot was definitely not an option.  A pair of comfy slippers was a godsend and I've been wearing them non-stop since I got home.  The first few days I was home I had so much swelling they were the only thing I could fit my feet in!
• Plenty of spare clothes/nightwear - Again this depends on your experience but I spent quite a bit of time on the ward before I was in "established labour" and taken to the delivery suite.  During those 10 hours or so I was fully clothed the whole time and soaked through pretty much all the clothes I'd taken with me thanks to my waters leaking (even with pads on).  Admittedly if I hadn't been vomiting I don't think my waters would have been leaking so forcefully through the pads but it can't hurt to be prepared.  I spent most of my time in hospital in a gown but I still got through a lot of clothes before we made it to that point.
• Shower gel - This was something that I didn't think to take for some reason! I'd just put "toiletries" on my list and never thought to pick it up when I packed my toiletries the morning I went into hospital.  I was so grateful to be able to have a shower a few hours after delivery and felt a lot better just for washing myself with water, but it would have been nice to feel properly clean!
• Snacks - Whilst I didn't eat any of the snacks we brought with us (in fact I didn't eat anything at all for the duration of the labour) and the hospital food turned out to be very nice, it was definitely useful for ALS having plenty of snacks to keep his energy up.  By the time OJ was born we'd been awake for well over 24 hours and the hospital do not provide food for partners.  Our midwife in the delivery suite was very nice and brought ALS a few cups of coffee but for the times we were on the antenatal/postnatal ward he wasn't offered so much as a glass of water, so it was really helpful that we had packed plenty of drinks and snacks for him and meant he didn't have to leave me to get himself food.
• Baby wipes - Surprisingly, these aren't for baby.  They like you to clean your baby with cotton wool and water as it is perfectly gentle on that fragile newborn skin and that's exactly what we did.  However, baby wipes are a useful tool in any bag for any trip anywhere.  Even before becoming a parent I always carried a pack of baby wipes and they were great for freshening up before I was allowed to get up and have a shower.

Items taking up space unnecessarily:

• Birthing ball - This is again a bit of an individual one but I was adamant I wanted to take my birthing ball with me.  Firstly, the hospital had plenty of birthing balls that I could have used so packing mine (along with the pump) really was a waste of space.  Secondly, I insisted ALS blew up my birthing ball when I was starting to have regular contractions and then used it for all of 5 seconds before declaring that there was no way of getting comfortable with it - that is entirely my personal experience and had I not been vomiting so hard it may have been different.
• Entertainment - I packed my iPod, a book and a puzzle book to keep me entertained in early labour or after the baby was born.  In my case, the contractions kicked in strongly very quickly and between them and the vomiting I didn't even have chance to think about needing entertainment.  Once I'd had the epidural I did actually get the puzzle book out but it was hard to get into a comfortable position to write in it and quite frankly I was too busy talking to the midwife, having observations done, talking to my birth partners and trying to catch up on a little sleep.  Once OJ was born I had no desire to do anything other than spend time with him and ALS and just enjoy every second of it.
• Swimwear - I didn't actually get to use the birthing pool but, even if I had, I can categorically confirm I would have just headed in there naked - the midwives need to be able to see what is going on and trying to change clothes between contractions is just hard work.  I know some women are easily embarrassed or feel uncomfortable but I was perfectly comfortable with everything on display most of the time. 
• Disposable maternity pants - I thought these would be really useful but the ones I bought, although they were size "small" were massive and wouldn't hold the maternity pads in place which ended up with a lot of blood going everywhere.  In hindsight someone did mention that it may have been worth putting them on and putting a normal pair of pants on top which might have been worth a try but honestly I was more comfortable just in dark pants with good solid maternity pads.
• Dummies - If you're breastfeeding they will advise that you don't give your baby a dummy for at least 4 weeks so as to get feeding established beforehand.  We hadn't actually planned on using a dummy as early as the hospital but it's worth noting that the recommendation was to avoid them so early on.

So there you have it, my essentials and the things that I wouldn't bother with next time.  It's all personal preference and entirely depends on the kind of experience you have - for example, if you were waiting for a planned Caesarean or being induced then entertainment could be far more necessary.

What did you pack in your hospital bag that turned out to be invaluable?  Did you find you had a lot of bits and bobs that you were wondering why you'd bothered packing them?