having a baby? here’s how to pack your hospital bag to make life easier!

Some links in this post may be affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them we may receive a small commission at no cost to you.

EDIT: I have updated this post following my second c-section in Feb 2021.

what to pack

This is the second post in a series. I recently wrote about what to pack in your hospital bag when you are having a baby. I split that list up into items for mum, items for the baby and items for dad/partner. I then spent some time thinking about the best way to pack it all.

As my job involves improving processes, sometimes I can totally overthink things. This is undoubtedly one of those situations.

I had a planned C-section on both pregnancies time, so I knew I would be in hospital for up to 5 nights and also that my movements would be limited. With this in mind, I tried to organise my bags so it would be easy for others to find things in them for me.

Storage space is really limited in the hospital, with just a small bedside cabinet and wheeled table to store all your bits and pieces. Trying to keep everything tidy and accessible and find things in a suitcase whilst holding a baby can be a real challenge (particularly post c-section).

how to pack it

This how-to describes how I packed my bags for my second baby in February 2021.

I have packed two separate bags; one for delivery and one for the rest of the hospital stay. This means that on the morning of my section, I only need to bring in one small bag (airplane carry-on size). My husband can then grab the bigger bag (medium sized check-in bag) from the car before he leaves and also take home the empty delivery bag.

1. delivery bag

In my delivery bag, I have included the things I will need for the delivery and for the afternoon of the first day.

delivery items:

For me: dressing gown and slippers
For baby(in a ziploc bag): nappy and hat

afternoon items:

For me: clean nightie and comfy knickers
Nappy caddy (see below)
Items for my partner (not pictured)

nappy caddy

I will definitely be bringing my nappy caddy with me to the hospital this time. This is such a simple way of ensuring that I have all the essentials tidy, in one place and within reach.

My hospital caddy is a bit different to my at home caddy. It had everything that I could possibly need to have within reach:

hand sanitiser
face masks
nappies
wipes
nappy bags
nappy cream
breast pads
maternity pads
hair ties
muslins
spare baby clothes (vests and onesies)
spare muslin
water bottle
soothers
snacks
lipbalm
earphones
phone charger etc.

2. main bag

My plan was that my husband will bring this bag in from the car before he leaves (this was made slightly more complicated by covid restrictions). I used a suitcase with two sides (like this one) and packed one half with my stuff and the other half with the baby’s stuff.

For a full list of all the items I packed for myself, check out my post on what to pack in your hospital bag.

*Some of the items I have packed for myself*

bathroom bits

Hospital bathrooms are pretty icky; the floor is usually wet from someone else’s shower and there are limited surfaces to put things on.

My hanging washbag was brilliant for my toothbrush, toothpaste, cleanser etc. but even with miniatures of all my products, it was bursting at the seams.

I also packed a separate waterproof caddy for shampoo, shower gel etc. to keep all the wet items together.

Baby Stuff

For the baby’s clothes, I grouped all the items by type and packed them in ziploc bags by item. i.e. all the vests in one bag, all the bibs in another, hats in another etc.

I labelled each bag with a marker so that it was clear what was inside (all baby clothes look the same…). This was really helpful as it meant I could see what I was running low on (and easily ask other people to grab bits for me).

I originally planned to pack little outfit bundles together, but my (wise) sister pointed out that babies don’t tend to need their entire outfit changed at the same time. I see a lot of posts recommending outfit bundles, but I really just used vests and hats at the hospital.

3. Going home things

I have placed everything that I will need for coming home (clean set of clothes for me, full clean set of clothes and hat for baby, blanket, rain cover etc.) into the carseat.

This way my husband can bring in the carseat and its contents on the morning that we are going home and we will have everything we need.

*Car seat with baby’s going home stuff ready to go*

4. Back Up Bag

I had also packed a bag with spares things that I might need when I was in the hospital. This was to make it easier for my husband to find the item I needed at home (and avoid drama, as his looking for things skills are notoriously bad…)

This back up bag had things like extra maternity pads, another pack of nappies, more wipes, a spare towel, spare clothes for baby etc. Unfortunately because of Covid, my husband was not able to visit, so I had to squash it all into my main bag just in case!

final thought

I ended up fitting all my stuff into a cabin sized holdall and a medium sized suitcase. I angsted a lot that I had way too much stuff and that I was going to be the talk of the nurses’ station for the size of my bags. I even texted friends and spent ages googling “what size should my hospital bag be”. As usual, I was totally overthinking it and I had the same amount of stuff as everyone else that I saw. So just pack what you think you need and don’t worry about the size of your bags!

Happy packing!

Themumproject.ie is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

you may allso like: