What Was in my Hospital Bag?

I finally decided to start packing my hospital bag at 31 weeks pregnant, but had spent weeks beforehand reading as many blog posts as possible for ideas, and spent hours scrolling through Pinterest lists. Honestly, I felt a bit overwhelmed at the sheer amount of stuff you actually need to take! 

I thought my messenger bag that I use as a weekend bag would be enough but no, no. I barely fit half of my stuff in there, let alone anything of Charlies! In the end I used my Dads small suitcase, and a changing bag for Charlies stuff. I could have fit it all just in the suitcase, but I preferred having mine and his stuff separated, felt a little more organised that way!

For Me

- Light nightie for labour

- Light nightie for nursing (easy access) 

- Light kimono for after birth

- 10 pack of maternity pads 

- 1 pair of slippers

- 2 pairs of socks 

- 1 pair of flip flops 

- a towel

- 4 maternity knickers + 1 normal pair of knickers

- Wash bag

- Maxi dress to come home in

Wash Bag

- Travel deodorant 

- Lip balm

- Sachet of shampoo

- Nipple cream

- Tangle teaser

- Hairband 

- Hair grip

- Travel body wash

- Travel face wash

- 3 pairs of nursing pads

- 2 travel packs of tissues

- Toothbrush 

- Ash's toothbrush

- A small tube of toothpaste

For Charlie

- Coming home outfit (long sleeved top  & leggings, aged 3months) 

- 1 hat

- 1 pair of scratch mitts

- 12 nappies (newborn size) 

- 12 nappy sacks

- 3 pairs of socks 

- 2 onesies (1x newborn, 1x up to 1 month)

- Cotton wool balls (100 pack) 

- One cuddly toy

- Swaddle blanket

- Muslin square

Extras

- Baby wipes 

- Maternity notes

- Energy tablets

- Rich tea biscuits

- Notebook & Pen

It took me a full six weeks to finish packing because I just couldn't decide what to take to wear home! But once I got to 37 weeks I took the time to go through everything I had, make some changes and finally decided to take a maxi dress; rather than try and struggle with a maxi skirt and top. I think it helped having the tour of the midwife led unit that week as well; as I found out then I could have been there for as little as 6 hours after birth. Although if I had known that I'd be staying a full week I would have packed slightly differently!