Hospital Bag: What I Packed

One more week until due date...!  I had a strong contraction this morning and got excited...but nothing since.  Le sigh.  At least my body is gearing up, I guess.  In the meantime, I've been gearing up and went ahead and packed my hospital bag.  Ok, so I packed it a couple weeks ago.  I'm excited!  And a little bored with the waiting around, hence my preparedness.

So here are the things, after looking through and checking the lists I've found, that I decided to bring with me.

First of all, I've packed two bags. One is a carry-on size duffle bag that holds all my clothes and the other is a shoulder bag with all of my toiletries.  This way I don't have to dig through my carry-on looking for my toothbrush.  I can just take the small bag into the bathroom and it has all that I need.

Inside the carry-on:

• Two nursing tanks
• 6 pack of Hanes undies (one size larger than I normally wear)
• Depends (1 pkg, size small)
• One nursing bra
• One robe
• Two button-down PJ tops
• Two pairs of PJ pants
• Two pairs fuzzy/warm socks
• Slippers (for walking the hospital halls)
• One pair of flip flops (for shower)
• Going home outfit for me: button down top, nursing tank, loose/comfy pants
• Going home outfit for Baby (in a separate bag, within carry-on):
• One kimono-buttoned onesie with soft pants and socks OR
• One footie pajama set (will choose between the two)
• Little knit cap
• One muslin swaddle blanket, if needed

Inside the toiletries bag:

• Two bright towels (not white so they don't get confused with the hospital ones)
• Four bright washclothes
• Baby nail clippers
• Makeup wipes (so I don't actually have to get out of bed to wash my face)
• Clips
• Headbands
• Lip Balm
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Sample of Udder Cream (that I randomly had)
• Body Wash
• Shampoo & Conditioner
• Moisturizer
• Contact Solution
• Contact Case
• Extra pairs of contacts
• Lavender Mint Lotion that smells like a spa day
• Hand sanitizer

My sister-in-law also sent me (in addition to the makeup wipes, hair ties and lip balm) an assortment of snacks:

• Large bag of M&Ms
• Box of granola bars
• Box of Special K breakfast bars

Those are tucked into the side pockets so I know just where to find them!

I think I'm pretty set!  I also think that I'll end up wearing the hospital issued gowns and undies most of the time I'm there, just for the ease of check-ups and such.  But I'm glad I have options in case I'm like, "I must put on pants!"  And I think having my own toiletries is going to make me feel much better.  I know I feel better traveling anywhere when I have familiar things to groom with.  There are, of course, a few things that I will need to throw in the bag the day of:

• My glasses
• A brush
• A makeup bag (even though I probably won't use any)

And I have a separate backpack that Dan is bringing with our other necessities:

• Our Canon Rebel camera
• Camera charger
• Phone charger
• Laptop (for sending announcement emails)
• Baby Book (for recording his stats)
• Magazines
• Skip-Bo and/or Phase 10
• Portable speakers

Again, some of these "time passers" will surely go untouched but it'll be nice to know we have them.

And, of course, Dan is throwing some clothes into the carry-on for himself and he has a little toiletry bag ready to through in the other bag.  And I am also bringing my birth ball and my playlist of songs on iTunes, ready to go.

After delivery, I'll revisit this post and make a finalized list of things I used versus things that I didn't touch and things I wish I had.  But I'd love to hear what you "been there, done that" mamas think.  Anything I've missed??