A Complete Hospital Bag Checklist For Expectant Mothers

Once your pregnancy reaches 34 weeks, it’s a good idea to start practically preparing for birth. This means making plans for the hospital and ensuring you’re ready at any given moment. While there’s plenty to be done, hopefully you’ve gotten most of the preparation for the home and nursery out of the way. Now you need to focus on packing your hospital bag so you aren’t scrambling when those telltale contractions signal it’s time.

For your convenience, we’ve organized the following items into six different categories. You may switch items based on personal needs, but the following items are commonly included on the hospital bag checklists of expectant mothers.

For Comfort

The first thing to think about is comfort. After all, leading up to delivery, your goal is to stay as relaxed and pain-free as possible. Here are some items you don’t want to forget:

1. A warm robe for the cold hospital
2. Comfortable, non-skid socks
3. 2 to 3 maternity bras (regardless of whether or not you plan to nurse)
4. 2 to 3 days worth of clean clothes
5. An extra pillow

For Organization

While comfort and safety come first, you could argue that practical items, like the following, are next in line in terms of importance, since they can minimize unnecessary stress:

6. Insurance info and hospital forms
7. Birth plan (if you’ve decided to create one)
8. Cash and cards (for snacks and quick runs to the store)
9. A list of people you need to contact

For Hygiene

While the hospital will provide you with all of the necessary items, you may want to pack some of your own hygiene items that might help relax you. Here are a few to think about:

10. Your preferred shampoo and soap
11. Heavy flow sanitary pads
12. Standard toiletries (things like deodorant, face wash, conditioner, toothbrush)
13. Bath towel (the hospital will provide a thin one)
14. 2 to 3 pairs of maternity underwear (again, the hospital will provide some, but it’s your choice if you’d rather bring your own)

For Your Partner

Your needs come first, but your partner also gets to bring some items. Their list should have the following items included:

15. Painkillers (your partner’s not going to get much sympathy or attention, so they’d best pack their own pain relievers)
16. Stylish performance clothing (shirts made from phase change materials are ideal)
17. Camera or phone (for snapping memorable pictures and calling family members)
18. A pillow
19. A hand-held fan (to cool down the expectant mother)
20. 2 to 3 changes of clothes

For Waiting

You never know, labor can last for a matter of minutes or for hours on end. You want to be prepared to fill the time between contractions and delivery:

21. Reading materials (books, magazines)
22. Netflix or some video-streaming service
23. Calming music
24. Plenty of snacks
25. A watch or timer

For the Baby

After the baby is safely delivered, you’ll want to make sure your role as a parent gets off on the right foot. The hospital will supply you with some basic things you need, but don’t forget the following special items:

26. Infant car seat (it’s incredibly important that you get a back seat one)
27. Warm blankets
28. A cute coming-home outfit
29. Nursing supplies
30. A journal (for documenting everything about your baby’s first days)

One Last Tip: Prepare Well in Advance

As you can see, you need to bring a lot of different items with you to the hospital. If you don’t plan ahead, you’ll end up just throwing whatever you can find into a bag, causing yourself unnecessary stress later. That’s why it’s advisable to have a bag ready to go at 34 weeks or sooner.

By preparing your hospital bag checklist and packing in advance, you’ll feel prepared whenever the time comes to rush off to the hospital and welcome your newborn baby into the world.

Featured photo credit: marcia furman via flic.kr

The post A Complete Hospital Bag Checklist For Expectant Mothers appeared first on Lifehack.

from Lifehack http://ift.tt/1Lg8cpB