Final preparations for the Birth Day and what was in my Hospital Bag

Here’s how we prepared for the birth day and what we packed in our hospital bag. 

PREPARE:In preparation for the big day, we prepared a few things first (I did these things at least a month in advance because I had two friends go into labor four weeks early!):
*Purchase and install the car seat (there’s great videos from the manufacturer on YouTube to help out). Check the size of the shoulder straps, as you may need to adjust them to the smallest size if they aren’t already. Also, put your babies information on the car seat in case of an emergency; police want to know how to reach parents and ER doctors need to know the babies age in order to give appropriate treatment (see below- I used a label maker). 
*Put a waterproof table cloth and towels in your car for the ride to the hospital. I was lucky and my water broke at the hospital, but I’ve had friends who needed these items to protect their car seats. 
*Begin keeping the cell chargers handy. I packed mine in my purse everyday and I ordered a second charger for my husbands phone and packed it as well.   
*Hide an extra house key outside our home. We had pretty much everything packed and ready, but if things progressed quickly, we planned to have one of our parents swing by our home and retrieve our bags so we could go straight to the hospital. This would also be necessary for anyone who has pets and may need a neighbor/friend to check on the animals in case the baby comes at an unexpected time.

PACK:Next, I began packing bags for the hospital. We only live 45 minutes from the hospital, but we packed as though my husband wasn’t going to take a break and run home-and he ended up staying with us at the hospital the whole time. But we also had several visitors who brought him meals so he didn’t have a reason to leave. I packed the following small bags and we only took in the specific bags as needed and hubby rotated the bags to the car (so- we only took in the delivery room bag until we were done in the delivery room, then he put the delivery room bag in the car and grabbed our clothes bag for the hospital room).  

*DELIVERY ROOM BAG: phone chargers, Chap Stick, warm old socks, extra hair ties, deodorant, and face wipes. I also packed massage oil, a diffuser with oils, hot/ice pack, and print outs of positions/techniques to remind stay focused on our birth plan.

*CLOTHES & Personal Items: I packed in a small (carry-on size) suitcase for me and hubby:
    Mommy:
– Two outfits (loose and comfy with access to easily nurse)
– Few pairs of loose old undies (but the hospital will supply you with mesh ones hopefully)
– Nursing bras (nothing fancy, just the sports bra type for sleeping)
-Button-up or nursing PJ’s (this is what I wore the first day and night)
– Socks and 1 pair of comfy slippers (hospital floors can be dirty!)
– Travel shampoo, conditioner, face and body wash, disposable face wipes
– Deodorant
– Hair brush and extra hair ties
– Toothbrush and toothpaste
– Glasses and contacts and solution
-Throat lozenges (after 16 hours of labor and no fluids, my throat was scratchy the next day)
(Our hospital provided nursing pads, lanolin cream, and postpartum care items)    

Daddy:
-sweat shirt (it was cold in our delivery and hospital room, I was always hot, but he slept in a sweat shirt)
-comfy shoes
– Razor
– Toothbrush
– Deodorant
– 2 Outfits
-Pjs, socks and undies

*SNACKS & EXTRA’S:
-Pen and paper (keep list of gifts and any dr’s special instructions)
-Computer and charger  (although we never turned it on….)
-magazines/books (another thing we never even took out of the bag….)
-Snacks (individually wrapped crackers, candy and protein bars)
-bottled waters, Gatorade and juices
-extra cloth bag, folded up, to pack hospital freebie’s, gifts, and miscellaneous items to the car

*BABY’S BAG:
– pacifier we want to use
– outfits for hospital photos
– going home outfit, with hat and socks
– Heavy blanket / car seat cover
– car seat
(*our hospital provided hats, onesies, blankets, diapers, wipes, nasal aspirator, etc. so we brought a few of those things, but never get them from the car)

I hope this helps you prepare for your big day!!  Please comment below to share what you packed. 

If you like this- then you can also see what I registered for and even purchase my registry Excel list of baby items through my eBay store  I’ll email you the document !