I thought I'd covered all my bases when I went to pack my hospital delivery bag [1] for the upcoming birth of my son [2]. Baby's coming-home outfit? Check. Camera? Check. Toothbrush. Duh. Besides, this was my fourth baby. I had this, right? Wrong.
There were several things I didn't pack that I really, really wish I had. I'm hoping that by sharing what I regret failing to include in my hospital bag, I can help other soon-to-be mamas [3] enjoy the most comfortable, convenient hospital stays possible. Keep reading to find out what I wish I had packed along with the essentials everyone tells you to have on hand when you head into labor and delivery.
Snacks
Food was scarce during my stay at the hospital. Meals arrived around the time I nearly passed out from hunger! And this was after sleepless nights, when breastfeeding [5] was depleting my energy and hormones were, well, making me mean. On my second day in the hospital, by the time breakfast arrived, I was in tears. If I had it to do over again, I'd have packed snacks to carry me from meal to meal. Crackers, fruit, a few sweet treats; anything would have been better than practically starving and being unable to leave my hospital room to stock up on reinforcements.
Slippers
The floor in the recovery room gets beyond gross because so many people come in and out to visit, and nurses [6] and doctors are constantly checking on you and baby. My feet were literally black with dirt by the end of the day. I ended up wearing my flip flops in the room, but I really wish I'd packed comfy slippers to pad around in.
Pads
I'd forgotten that after you give birth, the hospital supplies you with pads from 1980. They were seriously pillows, and I felt uncomfortable AF wearing them. Note to self: next time, bring your own pads, ones that were designed sometime in the last 15 years!
Pillows
Hospital pillows = prison pillows. I wish I'd packed a few of my own fluffy friends from my bedroom to make my stay more comfortable. I know I would have gotten a better night's sleep [7] and felt more like I'd brought a touch of home with me during our time in recovery.
Magazines
Take it from me: there's nothing on TV in the middle of the night when you're wide awake staring at your baby, making sure he is still breathing. And there is only so much you can Google on your phone before you go insane. I also had a lot of downtime in between visits from my family and trying to nap. I regret not packing some magazines or a book to pass the time.
Hand Lotion
This may be a small thing, but let me tell you: hospital hand soap is beyond drying. I was dying to apply some hand lotion and couldn't wait to get home to do so.
Boppy Pillow
I couldn't live without my Boppy pillow for breastfeeding [8] my newborn. It enables me to find the right position for him to latch on and saves me from upper back pain since I'm not supporting his body weight with my arms. Unfortunately, I didn't think to pack the Boppy when I went to the hospital to deliver. The good news is that my husband brought it for me on day two of our stay and nursing my little guy got much easier!
Pajamas
After about 24 hours in the hospital, I grew sick of wearing a dowdy hospital gown. If only I'd packed a few of my own nightgowns so I'd be comfortable and feel a little more like myself for the rest of my hospital stay.
Plastic Bag
OK, so this is so minor, but became so necessary when I didn't have one in my hospital delivery bag. You see, by the end of my stay, I had tons of dirty baby clothes I'd so lovingly packed for my new arrival, having been tarnished with poop, pee, and spit-up. I ended up stuffing the crusty onesies and pajamas back in my overnight bag, wishing I'd had a separate dirty clothes bag instead.
Hat
Holy crap, my hair looked awful after enduring a brutal labor [9], as well as a few hospital showers with shampoo I'd snagged from a recent hotel stay. No amount of styling would have saved my hair, not that I had time to spend hours in front of the mirror with a newborn baby! How I longed to pop a cap on top of my head and call it a day. Bonus: a hat would have helped shield my exhausted-looking eyes.