Packing the Hospital Bag

 

Or read the conversation below: 

Liz: Okay, hi!

Lizzy: Hi!

Liz: How's it going? Good good?

Lizzy: Yeah. 

Liz: So today we are talking about packing the hospital bag. 

Lizzy: Yes! Always a lot to include here. 

Liz: Yeah. And kind of stressful. 

Lizzy: Yep. 

Liz: Um, actually I was just talking to my sister the other day and she's due, as you know, in a couple of weeks with her fourth, and she Googled what to bring to the hospital the other day! She Googled it!

Lizzy: I guess you never know what gets added, what smart ideas get added. 

Liz: That's true. I mean, as I know, with an 11 year old things have changed!

Lizzy: Things have changed! I still get questions about things like baby gear because, you know, every child you have there's new stuff, so, no different for a hospital.

Liz: Yeah. So we have a list up on our blog of our master packing list. And we took a few weeks to think about this and go through it and poll our friends and came up with what we think are the essentials and the things that we either really needed or wanted, or wished that we had. 

Lizzy: Yes. 

Liz: Um, so you can check that out on the blog, but we're going to take you through step-by-step and just tell you a little bit about each thing that we thought was really important for that very special occasion.

Lizzy: Yeah. I mean, first on our list, I think especially because it's certainly the first thing I thought about when I thought about the hospital bag, is what you're going to bring the baby home in. 

Liz: Yes! 

Lizzy: And we have our favorite Take Me Home Set listed, which is a great gift set of things you can use in the hospital and beyond. But in there is our wonderful Take Me Home Outfit that comes in many prints, but the evergreen prints we have are the mini radish. And they're so sweet. 

Liz: The sweetest. 

Lizzy: Yeah, I was lucky enough to bring both Major and Mathias home in that. I think both were there. Um, we love that this gets gifted as a newborn gift all the time and seeing precious babies in this, leaving the hospital, brings us joy that we can't even explain because we know what an important part of that trip that decision is.

Liz: Yup. It's the cutest. So the top is a little wrap top and we've updated it to include a little fold-over sleeve, because babies are born with really long nails and they often scratch their face, cause they're like trying to get their hands in their mouth, but they're like going all over the place and they end up like scratching their eyeballs or scratching their face. And so these little hand covers are so sweet and the little footed pants and then the hat makes such a cute little set. 

Lizzy: Yep. Keeps everything warm, the toes, the head, the fingers. That's all included. 

Liz: Yeah, that's in this big XL pouch, and also in that XL pouch, which was part of the Take Me Home Gift Set is a changing mat, which is also made from our 100% organic cotton interlock, which is really nice and doughy and soft. So there's a little changing mat. And then there's a little stroller blanket, which is perfect for that size infant. 

Lizzy: Yeah. 

Liz: Um, coming out of the hospital. 

Lizzy: For the carseat!

Liz: Yes. It's the perfect over the carseat blanket. And since it's cotton, it's 100% cotton, 100% organic cotton is just light; It's perfect for just tucking right over. And then there's also the little pouch in there, which is perfect for just including like a little nail clipper or the pacifier, or like your own hair tie or whatever that you need to get at the ready. 

Lizzy: Yeah. Any little thing that gets lost in the bag is great in there, for you or baby.

Liz: Yeah. 

Lizzy: So that feels most important. I know I never packed my bag as early as they tell you to, because I just always had a feeling that my babies would be late and they all were. Um, but I know, especially with Matthias, we had this set by then, and so that was like the one thing sitting ready, waiting to be packed with other things that took a very long time, but it was very loved. I love, love this kimono. 

Liz: It's so cute. Yeah. It's so cute. 

Lizzy: And then after that for baby, we would argue that almost everything is for mom. The hospital has all the little things you need for baby in the first couple of days. I mean, they need the hospital swaddle at that point and not much else.

Liz: Yeah. Yeah. They have all the creams, they have all the diapers, the wipes. 

Lizzy: Yeah, and they’ll send you home with extra. So there's really no need to bring any of that. 

Liz: And that's on our list too, is just bring an extra bag. I mean, you'll just bring home so much stuff. 

Lizzy: Yeah. Yeah. And they'll always find you extra of your favorites.

Liz: So then let's talk about the things that we want for, um, sort of like labor and delivery. 

Lizzy: Ok. Um, so for labor and delivery, an easy obvious one is a hard candy. 

Liz: Yup!

Lizzy: Something that you really enjoy, that is like a go-to for you in life, otherwise. I will actually say that I never really gravitated towards having anything. My OB always said she loved grape gum and so she would, uh, she had grape gum during labor. Um, I never really wanted any of it. 

Liz: Grape gum? 

Lizzy: Grape gum. I never really wanted any of it, but I always had lollipops in my bag as like a safety net. And I was always thrilled that they were there in case I wanted them. 

Liz: Yeah. Uh, we, I think, um, we had popsicles, I think, or maybe like my sister brought them. I can't remember. But at one point there were popsicles. I don't know where they came from, but I was like so thrilled because at that point, I think my OB only wanted me to have like ice chips or something. And you just like, love having something else besides ice. 

Lizzy: Yeah.

Liz: Because your husband's going to be sitting there. Your partner, whoever is with you is going to be sitting there and chowing down pizza and a meatball sub. 

Lizzy: Oh yeah. 

Liz: You're going to look at them like you want to murder them 

Lizzy: So many stories about what partners have ordered in hospital for themselves. 

Liz: Awful! Criminal, I shall say. Don’t even get me started.

Lizzy: So that's one. Socks is another great one because your feet are out and there's not a lot of blankets involved for a big portion of it. So keeping your feet warm and cozy is important and you can easily get in slides that can shuffle you to the bathroom when you're still able to do that. 

Liz: Yeah. The slides versus flip flops is key for me because you need to be able to like wear something in the shower and not feel gross. And then also to be able to quickly tuck your socked feet into something while you're strolling up and down the hospital floor. It's just nice to have those easy ones ready. 

Lizzy: Agreed. I think the most important thing, which I didn't do at least for the first delivery, maybe I did for the second, but definitely for the third, is an extra long cell phone charger cord. Uh, you will find that the plugs are on the wall and like several feet away from your bed. So if you don't, you either can't charge or you are holding the phone up against your shoulder practically. And especially if you end up having a C-section, it's very uncomfortable to turn at all after that. And so it makes it very difficult to use a phone. But even without a C-section, it's much more convenient to have something long plus in today's world, you're FaceTiming, there's a million things you're doing with your phone that you want the 10 foot cord for. 

Liz: Yeah, for sure. 

Lizzy: If not longer. 

Liz: If not longer than 10 feet? 

Lizzy: Well, yeah, I feel like you can't go wrong!

Liz: Excuse me. Here's my electrical cord. My garden cord. Roll it up! 

Lizzy: And then we have an eye mask because delivery can be very long. Not all of it is painful. And there are times when there are nurses in and out of your room and there's beeping and there's machines and you just, there's no way to have darkness if you don't have an eye mask on, and if you're able to get any sleep, it's so important.

Liz: Yeah. And for sure afterwards, I could never sleep before, but definitely for after, um, you just need to get the sleep in whenever you can. 

Lizzy: Yeah. I, I got sleep before for at least my first two at some point, because I was induced for both of them. So that was a big piece. For immediately after delivery a nursing tank, an easy button up, sweatpants.

Liz: Oh my gosh. Yes!

Lizzy: These are all the things! It feels so wonderful to take a hospital gown off. It just feels so wonderful once you're able to shower and then putting on clothes of your own is really life-changing. 

Liz: It really is life-changing, and, the hospital underwear. I remember a friend telling me like, “oh, you have to bring a bag for the hospital underwear.” And I was like, “girl that is so gross, like, I'm not wearing hospital underwear” and I loved them! And still just only want to buy underwear that looked like hospital underwear. They're the best. 

Lizzy: Yeah. I mean, they're very important at that stage.  

Liz: They're very important. I totally agree that you just want to be so cozy and these, um, this nesting robe is so soft and pretty for hospital and for home. And the easy button up shirt. I personally loved having a button up shirt for nursing and just gives you like a little extra room when you know, like things are a little ugh.

Lizzy: Yeah, well, along those lines, once I discovered nursing tanks I did not understand why nursing bras existed. They give just like just a little bit extra stretch over your belly and around, and they don't even have to be tight. It is just like, it is some coverage that feels good to have. And from the hospital, though whenever I breastfed, I was in a nursing tank 24/7. 

Liz: Yeah. Cause it can be layered with anything that's smart. 

Lizzy: Yeah. And the sweatpants. We had a funny discussion when we added this to the list. Liz said, do we even need to tell people they need to bring sweatpants on? I said I've heard such funny stories about women bringing their pre-pregnancy jeans to the hospital, thinking they would just..

Liz: I can’t even with jeans!

Lizzy: Thinking they would just pop right in them. And they're not. 

Liz: So upsetting. Don't do it. PSA “Don't do it!” 

Lizzy: Yeah, serious urgency. Um, and the other things on our list might feel a little bit more frivolous, but we have our favorite Paume hand sanitizer, one of our favorite lotions and then also our new linen spray because a hospital can feel icky at times and you can feel icky after your body goes through so much and having a few things that smell wonderful is life giving.

Liz: Yeah, it feels totally life-giving. It feels so luxurious at that moment. 

Lizzy: Yeah. It really changes the atmosphere in an instant when you take out that hand cream, and just being in a hospital, hand cream and chapstick, like your lips can feel so dry, your hands can feel so dry. 

Liz: Oh yeah. Chapstick, that’s not something we put on there, but that's a great one. 

Lizzy: Yeah. It feels good to have those things at the ready on your little table. 

Liz: Really, any toiletry that you live with on a day-to-day basis should come with you. 

Lizzy: Yeah. And for all of that, we have our Zip Pouch Sets listed on here. It's easy to tell someone to go get you your medium sized pouch, or call it by print or whatever it is, you can organize them. And our Baby Bag is really the most wonderful size for all of this. And you can tuck everything you need in the pockets and know where everything is. And plus it's so springy and happy to have with you. 

Liz: Yes. Yes, it's perfect. And then, um, mindless movies and shows. Yeah, can't forget that.

Lizzy: Yeah. Josh insisted on watching some like, intense Italian subtitled show when we were there for India. And I was like, well, you can watch that on your own, cause I can't like, I can't even look at the screen seriously for three minutes. 

Liz: No, no, that's equivalent to the meatball sub or in my case, the pastrami sandwich that was devoured next to me. It's like on a different planet. 

Lizzy: Yeah. Yeah. Unaware. 

Liz: Totally unaware! Hello! That could be a whole nother blog post and a whole nother podcast episode. 

Lizzy: It could, my sister who you obviously know well, um, she carried a baby and her wife carried a baby. Her wife carried a baby first, and [my sister] said like, as soon as she was in the hospital, in delivery with hers, she was like chuckling to herself at all the things she couldn't begin to comprehend when she was in the other seat. So, it's so funny to have someone that can have both perspectives. Because that's so rare. 

Liz: It's so true. I mean, completely rare. Wow. 

Lizzy: Yeah. So those are our staples. You don't need much more, and like I said, I have never eaten the lollipops or maybe there's something else you won't use, but they're all things that you'll probably use one of your times, if you have more than one child and they're all like really good safety nets for any of these situations.

Liz: Yeah. And we'd love to hear what we're missing here. So comment on the blog or DM us, um, we're always, you know, curious and would love to add to this list because as I said, it is ever changing. 

Lizzy: Yeah. One hundred percent. I'm curious if Katie got any feedback that we were missing.

Liz: I'll have to ask her, but she did mention the linen spray on her own. She's like, oh, I'm definitely bringing that. 

Lizzy: Oh, I love that. 

Liz: Yeah. It’s great. So that's it! 

Lizzy: Yeah. 

Liz: Great. All right, I'll talk to you later. 

Lizzy: Okay. Bye.