What’s In My Hospital Bag For Baby #2

We are getting so close to baby #2’s arrival!

I’m currently nine months pregnant and will specifically be 37 weeks tomorrow. I won’t be going past 39 weeks, so baby girl will be here in two weeks or less! Needless to say, we’re getting SO excited to meet her!

RELATED READING: Baby #2 Announcement!

I have my hospital bags packed and wanted to share what all I’m bringing. With my first pregnancy, I found these types of posts to be really helpful when it came time to compile my own packing list.

To be honest you could show up to the hospital with nothing but an installed car seat and be just fine. The hospital provides all the baby and postpartum necessities you’ll need. However, bringing personal items from home can make your stay feel much more comfortable.

One thing to keep in mind is that you never know how long your stay will end up being. You might plan on staying just day or two and it end up being three or four days. If you have someone who can run to your home and grab things for you, that’s great, but if you don’t, you may want to err on the side of packing a little extra.

RELATED READING: Baby #2 Is A…

There’s definitely no right or wrong answer for what to pack. It really is all about personal preference and what you want to have to be comfortable. Thus, one mom-to-be’s hospital bag can look vastly different from another’s.

What I chose to pack this time around is primarily based off of my first hospital delivery stay. I’m repacking the things I used and leaving the things I didn’t end up using.

I tried to make my list as comprehensive and detailed as possible. I broke everything down into the following sections:

• FOR MOM – (Bags, Clothes, Toiletries, Breastfeeding and Miscellaneous)
• FOR BABY
• FOR DAD
• WHAT I’M NOT PACKING

I’ve also included some final tips at the end of this post.

Now let’s get into what I have packed!

RELATED READING: My Pregnancy Must-Haves

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(This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may make a small commission on items purchased through the links at no extra cost to you).

FOR MOM

BAGS:

For bags, I’m bringing a weekender bag and a medium-sized rolling suitcase.

I could technically get by with just the medium-sized suitcase but I’m bringing my own pillow and blanket, and together, they take up half of my suitcase. If you want to bring a pillow and blanket but don’t have room/want to save space, you could keep them in your vehicle and carry them inside as opposed to packing them in your suitcase.

I’m also making sure I have some room to spare for any extras the hospital gives me to take home, which was the case last time.

• Weekender bag
• Medium-sized rolling suitcase

CLOTHES:

Clothes can be kind of tricky. Personally, I’m okay with wearing items a couple of times if my stay ends up being on the longer side, but I also never know if something will get dirty/stained. So I’m sticking to what worked for me last time.

• Loose-fitting nursing dresses (2). This is what I wore most during my last stay.
• Nursing tops (2)
• Nursing bras (2)
• Button-up pajamas (2). *Button-up* PJs are great for nighttime feeds.
• Comfy pants. I don’t know if I’ll want to wear loose-fitting or fitted pants (leggings), so I’m bringing one of each.
• Leggings. See directly above. ^
• Zip-up hoodie. It seems like you either think hospitals are hot or cold. I fall into the latter category so I’m bringing a warm zip-up hoodie.
• Fuzzy socks. A must-have to keep my feet warm. Mine are plain, but they make some cute/funny labor-specific ones like these or these.
• Slippers. My hospital provides ‘grippy socks,’ but I don’t love the idea of walking around in them and then getting back in bed, so I’m bringing a pair of slippers that have a hard sole.
• Flip-flops. It’s nice to have a pair of inexpensive flip-flops to wear in the shower.

TOILETRIES:

• Body wash (travel size)
• Shower cap
• Shampoo & conditioner (travel size)
• Dry shampoo
• Body lotion
• Hand lotion
• Face wipes
• Face wash
• Face moisturizer
• Lip balm
• Hand mirror
• Makeup. I’m not sure if I’ll end up putting on makeup but it’s nice to have a few essentials in case I do.
• Hair brush
• Hair ties
• Deodorant
• Toothbrush, toothpaste & dental floss
• Contacts, contact case & contact solution
• Eyeglasses & cleaning cloth
• Eye drops
• Prenatal vitamins

BREASTFEEDING:

• Nipple cream. My hospital provides nipple cream, but I’m bringing my favorite one.
• Nipple cups. I learned of the immense value of nipple cups/shields when I breastfed Lake, so this time around I’m going to start using them immediately. I’ve read a lot of great things about these and am excited to try them out.
• Nursing pads. I’m tossing in a few of my favorite nursing pads that I’ve found to be the most absorbant.
• Nursing pillow (Boppy). I didn’t bring this for my first hospital delivery stay but wished I would have. A regular pillow will work but a Boppy works so much better.

MISCELLANEOUS:

• Driver’s License
• Health insurance card
• Long phone charging cord
• Apple Watch charger
• Small extension cord. Sometimes the outlets can be far away from your hospital bed and so it’s good to have a long phone charging cord and/or a small extension cord.
• Pillow & Blanket. A pillow and blanket are something I see recommended time and time again on packing lists. The hospital, of course, provides both…but they’re not great. I love bringing my own so I know I’ll be comfortable sleeping. *TIP: Put a non-white pillowcase on your pillow so it doesn’t get mixed up with the hospital’s.
• Heating pad. It’s nice to have a heating pad for any potential pain experienced from post-birth contractions, general body aches or from breastfeeding.
• Water bottle. I prefer to bring my own water bottle since it’s large and insulated.
• Snacks. Some snacks I’m bringing: granola bars, nuts, dried fruit and popcorn.
• Gum, mints & hard candy
• Cash for vending machine
• Camera, lenses, charger & memory card
• Photo props. Photo props I’m bringing: a swaddle, bows, name tag, letter board and milestone cards.
• Scissors. I include scissors when packing for any and everything. It’s surprising how much I use them!
• Ziploc bags. Same as above. ^
• Thank you gifts for nurses
• Basket for thank you gifts

FOR BABY

• Installed car seat. The most important thing to remember! You (obviously) can’t leave the hospital without it!
• Swaddle/Receiving blanket. My hospital provides swaddle blankets, but I like to bring at least one of my own. My favorite swaddles are from Caden Lane and Copper Pearl. They’re sooo soft!
• Baby clothes in Newborn & 0-3 month sizes. I may not use these since baby is almost always wrapped in a swaddle or doing skin-to-skin, but I’m bringing a couple of onesies and pajamas just in case and because they take up virtually no space. I’m bringing both Newborn and 0-3 sizes because you never know what size baby will be!
• Hats. My hospital provides hats, but I’m tossing in a couple of my favorites.
• Mittens. I’m bringing a few pairs of mittens which prevent baby from scratching themselves. (A lot of newborn pajamas have fold-over mittens, too).
• Socks/Booties. I’m bringing one pair of cozy socks and one pair of knit booties.
• Pacifiers (2). My hospital provides pacifiers but I’m tossing in a couple of my own, which I sanitized beforehand.
• Nail file. As mentioned above, I’m bringing baby mittens but I’m also bringing a mini nail file in case we need to file baby’s nails.
• Going home outfit. I got the same going-home outfit for baby #2 as I did for Lake…but with her name on it, of course!
• Blanket. It’s been pretty hot where I live lately so I’m not sure if we’ll use this, but we’ll keep it in the car seat in our vehicle just in case.
• Car seat cover. I’m bringing one of my car seat covers from Milk Snob. (I love how versatile it is – in addition to a car seat cover, it can also be used as a cover for nursing, shopping carts, high chairs, infant swings and more).

FOR DAD

• Comfy clothes
• Underwear
• Socks
• Pajamas
• Blanket
• Pillow
• Toiletries
• Contacts/Eyeglasses
• Long phone charging cord
• Snacks

WHAT I’M NOT PACKING

These are items that I either packed last time and didn’t end up using or just don’t feel are necessary for me to bring. I wanted to include this section because just because I’m not bringing the item doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t be necessary or a great idea for you to bring!

• Postpartum items. I know from my first stay that my hospital provides everything I need for postpartum care…pads, disposable underwear, etc.
• Towel. This is actually on a lot of people’s packing list since hospital towels are typically thin and scratchy. While that doesn’t exactly sound appealing, haha, I’ll make due.
• Laptop/Tablet. It can be a great idea to bring a laptop or tablet for entertainment/to pass time, but I’m fine just using my iPhone.
• Breast pump. My hospital has a breast pump if I need to use one, so there’s no need for me to bring mine. If you’re not sure how to use your pump or want to ensure you have the correct flange size, you may want to consider bringing it so you can discuss with the lactation consultant.
• Robe. I strongly considered bringing my comfy robe, but the one I have is light-colored and I don’t want to risk it getting stained. I also didn’t want to buy a new, cheap one just for the hospital stay. The comfy clothes I’m packing will work just fine for me.
• Sound machine. If baby needs a sound machine, we’ll use a sound machine app on one of our phones.
• Diapers & wipes. My hospital has bottomless diapers and wipes!
• Several outfits for baby. As mentioned above, I’m bringing a couple of onesies and pajamas just in case and because they take up virtually no space. But more than likely baby will be in a swaddle/receiving blanket almost all of the time, so there’s no need to bring a lot of clothes for baby.
• Bluetooth speaker. I didn’t listen to music during my first stay and if I want to this time, I’ll just use my iPhone’s speaker.
• Christmas lights, battery-operated candles or other “mood setters.” While I understand how these items would be really great for some, I’m okay without them.
• Portable fan. I’m someone who would need a portable heater more than a portable fan, haha! No, but really, I can see how this would be nice to have while laboring.
• Baby book (for footprints). It’s a great idea to bring this if you want your baby’s footprint stamped directly in their baby book. With Lake, her footprint was stamped on card stock and I just glued that into her baby book.
• Paperwork. I registered online and, if needed, I can access the paperwork on my phone.
• Birth plan. It can be helpful to print out your birth plan, especially if you have really specific details or instructions. I plan to discuss everything with my doctor beforehand.

SOME FINAL TIPS

1. Call the birthing unit at your hospital ahead of time if you’re not sure what supplies they do and do not provide. This can be really helpful when deciding on what to pack.
2. As mentioned above, use a bigger-than-needed bag or suitcase, or pack a tote bag. Many hospitals will send you home with postpartum care items and it’s nice to be prepared with that extra space.
3. Don’t bring any favorite items or items of high value. There’s always the chance that something could get damaged or lost.
4. I feel like this a pretty widely-known packing tip, but rolling your clothes and/or using packing cubes can save a lot of space in your bag/suitcase.
5. If you don’t work from home or don’t live near your hospital, take your hospital bag(s) everywhere you go when you’re nearing your due date. It’s easy to just keep your bag(s) in the trunk of your vehicle. Also, it’s been pretty hot where I live lately so I make sure to bring my bag inside if I’m going to be somewhere for awhile. I don’t want my camera to overheat or my skincare and body products to melt!

I hope you found this post helpful! If you’ve had a hospital delivery before, leave a comment below letting me know some of your hospital bag must-haves!