What to grab for an emergency trip to hospital with your child
In the first year of O's life, we have had five trips to the Emergency department with various ailments. We kicked off on Christmas Day at just two weeks old with an eye infection. Then, when he was 9 months old, the poor little guy got viral tonsillitis, and we spent four nights in hospital with him while he recovered.
I kept a list of all the things we needed for the Emergency Department and over the few days on the ward so that I could be better prepared if it happened again, as I knew from experience that packing a bag for a hospital trip is usually done pretty frantically with a sick baby on your hip.
Just last week, we had another trip on a Sunday evening and here's what we grabbed for our trip to the Emergency department:
Hospital bags packed with ziplocs
Note: 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.
What to pack for your baby
Spare vests and onesies: always throw in more than you think you'll need, in my experience unwell babies tend to need to be changed much more frequently. Footless onesies and short sleeve vests are useful for easy access to lines and wires.
Water beaker: if your child still drinks from a beaker, then bring it with you. It was really helpful to have a familiar item for O when trying to persuade him to take fluids.
Bottles with formula (if you bottle feed): we brought sterilised bottles and bottles of readymade formula with us. The hospital can provide the readymade formula on the wards, but I'm not sure about in the ED.
A list of medications: have the name, dose and frequency
Toys: lots of small toys are great for variety when trying to entertain a bored and cranky little one. At nine months old, finger puppets and small rattles were a big hit.
Special soft toy: our Jellycat monkey has been a loyal companion through every each hospital visit
Snacks: when O is ill, his appetite tends to disappear, so I tend to offer things like mini rice cakes. crackers and cereal puffs.
Nappies: there is no guarantee the hospital will have any in the right size and we went through loads more than usual undressing him for all the different people examining him.
Wipes (so many wipes): these are for you, your child and for the hospital equipment.
Blanket/muslin: muslins have so many uses, we used ours as a liner for the buggy when he was sweaty, as a protector for our clothes, as a toy for peekaboo, a light blanket, folded into a pillow etc.
Soother: if your child uses one, then definitely have a spare stashed away, you are not going to want to give it back if it falls on the floor.
iPad (and charger): O usually doesn’t watch TV as he is in creche during the day, but Word Party got us through some long hours when he was miserable and hooked up to IV fluids
Buggy: this was the single most useful thing we brought. I love our Bugaboo Fox so much. It was the only place I could lay him down safely in the ED as the bed in the cubicle was an adult sized trolley.
Our Bugaboo Fox was the only safe place we could put O down in the Emergency Department
What to pack for yourself
Phone charger: bring a charger with an extra long cable as plug sockets are always miles away from where you need them in hospitals
Water bottle: it's easy to get dehydrated when you're totally focused on your little one. It's also difficult to leave them to find food and water for yourself.
Snacks: I brought salt and vinegar rice cakes and also some Fulfil protein bars.
Medication: Bring any medication you may need as it's always difficult to know how long you'll be in for
Clean set of clothes: bring everything, and don't forget underwear!
Warm sweater/hoody: whenever I'm tired I tend to get a bit shivery, so it was nice to have something comfortable to pull on.
Kindle/book: it's almost impossible to snooze in the ED as a parent, so it was nice to be able to read my kindle with one hand whilst he slept on me.
We've had a few more dashes to the ED with our accident and illness prone little guy and having a list to check off has been really useful when I'm frantically tossing things into a bag! I have it saved in Google Keep and just check off the items as I pack them.
What have I forgotten? Let me know of anything else that you found useful.
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.
