Birth Bag

Birth requires so much preparation!

Every time I think of it I think of how you will have to choose a care provider. Decide how you will decorate the nursery and where baby will sleep?  How will you choose or end up feeding your baby?  Who is going to do the majority of the care?  What daycare will you choose or will you stay home with your baby?  SO MANY THINGS!

One thing that usually gets overlooked, until the very end of pregnancy is the BIRTH BAG!

See there is this notion that when you deliver your baby you are going to want some comfort items from your own home.  AND I FULLY AGREE!!!  But what do you pack?  And then there is also the question of whether you leave it in the car until after baby is born, or bring it up while you deal with contractions and triage.  And don’t forget, when baby is born anything you brought into the room with you to deliver, will need to be transported to the recovery room.

I find it hilarious to think of all the bags and items that will be carried from one room to the next, the fact that mama will also need to be pushed in a wheelchair, whether she needs it or not, and daddy will LOAD that chair with all the bags, and then carry some himself, and the nurse or daddy will push the chair to the new room only to unload it all in a corner and dig through it for the precious items again later.

So the question is, what do you REALLY need to pack?

I’ve got two lists, the minimalist (which honestly I recommend doing, because daddy has to carry everything you bring into the hospital back out) is what I’ll share today.

Mommy Items:

Pillow (hospital pillows are horrible unless you like flat and lifeless in your quality of a pillow.)

Hair brush (before, during or even after birth brushing your hair might be a nice comfort)

Small shampoo and conditioner (think travel size, the hospital will only have baby shampoo)

Toothbrush and paste

Comfortable clothing for going home in.  (please be sure to bring something loose and soft, you won’t want jeans or tight shirts at this point, comfort is everything and pre-pregnancy clothes probably wont fit just yet).

Hair band or Head band, depending on what you would prefer.

Socks

 

Baby items:

going home outfit

Pacifier (this is controversial, and should only be used under perfect circumstances, but having it when those circumstances are perfect is a nice thing, please don’t use it if you don’t need it though).

 

Daddy:

Strong arms (yeah you get to carry all this stuff.

Change or a debit card for snacks or food at the café

 

So that’s the minimalist list, but if you don’t mind carrying a bunch of stuff and/or have not gotten a doula (I highly recommend that you do, and if you do, let her bring all the comfort items, just talk to her about your preferences and she’ll take care of it) then next time I’ll gladly guide you through a much more extensive list of needed or perhaps appreciated items you could consider bringing with you.

 

Have a Cherished Birth!

What was one thing you took with you that you couldn’t live with out?  I’d love to hear about it!