Hospital Checklist – Things to Bring When You’re Having a Baby
December 9, 2021Hospital Checklist
Having a baby is an exciting time in your life. An event that will change your life forever, in a beautiful way of course! Although, you’ve probably noticed it can be a stress-filled time as well. In order to lower your stress and prepare for delivery, we’ve provided a hospital checklist of some essential or beneficial items to ensure your stay goes as smoothly as possible. Hope this helps!
Proper Documents
First of all, and perhaps most important, you’ll want to ensure you have the proper documents in your hospital checklist when you’re having a baby. For starters, this should include the legal identification (ID) for both parents of the child. Additionally, a copy of your birth plan should also be on your list. Your birth plan will make the entire process a lot less stressful for you and anyone with you during this special moment. It’s basically an outline of how you desire your birth process to look like.
Snacks
Who doesn’t like snacks! I’m sure most of us like to indulge in a sweet or salty snack once in a while. When you’re on your way to the hospital, you’ll want to ensure you include a small or sufficient number of snacks for you and however else is present during this time. In reality, you don’t know how long you’ll be in the hospital for but packing for a minimum of three or four days is usually good. You can always re-load! As long as it’s enough to satisfy you because let’s face it, we all get tired of hospital food after a while.
Some snack ideas for your hospital checklist could include things like protein bars, honey sticks, dried fruit, or nuts. These are just a few examples. It’s best to stick with snacks that are relatively healthy and will help to re-energize you. Even adding some drinks like coconut water or electrolytes can help you feel a bit better during your stay.
Health-Related
Your body will also be experiencing a situation that it likely never has before, or doesn’t experience often. Adding in some Emergen-C can help you keep up with your vitamin intake and some magnesium for dealing with possible constipation during your post-birth. Additionally, Arnica 30C or Bio Freeze will help to deal with potential pains you might experience after labor. You can even apply the cream directly to the muscles that are bothering you. You might also want to add some essential oils to your hospital checklist and a diffuser for peaceful and relaxing feelings.
Toiletries for Your Hospital Checklist
You’ll want to make sure your hospital checklist has some basic toiletries on it. You’ll likely appreciate these after day one! Some things to include here are your toothbrush and toothpaste, maybe even some dental floss as well. We also recommend deodorant, lip balm and even a small bottle of lotion can be nice.
Personal Items
A few personal things to add to your hospital checklist for additional comfort during your stay could be things like a cotton laboring gown, warm socks, slippers or other comfortable shoes for walking around, nursing bras, sports bras, or swimsuit tops for during labor if you desire and a clean outfit for when it’s time to go home.
You might also want to add a few other things to your hospital checklist like a camera to capture the special moments, chargers for your phone and other electronics, and maybe even a speaker for some relaxing and mood-enhancing music. Oh, and perhaps most importantly, don’t forget the car seat!
Is Your Hospital Checklist Complete?
If you’re getting ready to have a baby, it’s a good idea to get together all the items on your hospital checklist sooner rather than labor. You never completely know exactly when you’ll have to head into the hospital, so having all your essential items ready to go can reduce the last-minute stress of gathering your items. It also reduces the possibility of forgetting things and having to compromise or asking others to get you the items you need once you’re already in the hospital.