When I look back to what I took to hospital in my ‘maternity bag’ for my first baby I’m kind of embarrassed! Literally I had a wheel along suitcase and about 10 carrier bags full of extra ‘last minute’ stuff I shoved in. From clothing to pillows, room sprays, food, snacks, fruit, drinks, chocolate – I really had it all.
This was all fine when I first arrived and settled in but once I was moved into the labour suite it took my husband several trips backwards and forwards to move it all to the new room. And did I use any of it? Barely! And I was cringing when I saw the looks I was getting from the busy midwives who had more important things to deal with than my rider.
I didn’t fancy any of the fruit because in the warm labour room it went all manky, I didn’t need all the clothing, slippers, cardigans, spare tops at all because again, it was so roasting in there I only wanted to wear a thin layer.
But what do you actually need in your maternity bag? In all honesty all you really need is your phone and your birth partner but to make it all a bit more pleasant there are a few things you can bring along.
Phone and charger – this is so important and one to remember whenever you have to make a trip to hospital. If you find yourself ever making a dash to A&E as your little one has a fever/cough/rash/any number of other symptoms – the one thing you need to grab is your phone charger!
A nice lip balm (one that has a bit of colour). It will make you feel nice, will help when your lips get dry in that warm environment and will also help when you start breastfeeding as then your lips get really dry.
This one is really good and I highly recommend it. It feels lovely when it’s on and comes in a variety of colours
A water bottle with a straw is also really useful as your partner can hold it up to you to drink even if you’re laying down or bouncing on the birthing ball.
Headphones because you might want to concentrate on your hypnobirthing affirmations, or fav music or podcast. And the labour ward can be noisy at times either with babies crying or people talking.
Maternity pads – and a good pair of granny pants :) This is for after the labour when you need a bit of support and absorbtion. You’ll go through more pads than you realise so make sure you have some at home too.
A black lightweight nightdress this is a nice thing to search for and buy as it will make you feel a bit more like ‘you’ in hospital. Doesn’t need to be glamourous but lightweight and ideally black so that you don’t feel self-conscious about any leaks.
THIS ONE from JoJo Maman Bebe is nice :)
