Second Time Mum: What's in the babies hospital bag?

When I had Violet, I literally had NO IDEA what we would realistically need in our hospital bags. I just followed a couple of online guides and hoped for the best. It turned out we were in hospital quite a lot longer than I packed for so V had to run home to get spare food/clothes and nappies but as we didn’t live too far from the hospital it wasn’t too much of a problem, I’d packed most of the essentials so we survived.

The thing that really annoyed me was the WAY I packed the bag. It was a rucksack style change back and I’d just stacked all the clean clothes, nappies, wipes and blankets inside – so as soon as we started to need things from the bag, it soon turned to chaos, a mishmash of clothes, loose nappies, muslins – we had to keep pulling everything out to find what we needed, by the end of the week it was a giant mess ball, – NOT what you want when you have a brand new baby in your arms and she’s crying! So, the way I’ve packed this bag is very different….. all will be revealed below!

So, firstly – let’s talk about THE BAG. Yes, it’s rather jazzy isn’t it?! It is the Mia Tui Jennie Baby Change bag in rose gold. I remember feeling so frumpy once Violet was born, I’d put on loads of weight, I was still in maternity clothes for a couple of months – so I thought with this change bag at least it will at a pop of pizazz to any outfit, however frumpy I feel this time round! The bag comes with a large organiser bag with padded change mat, buggy clips to attach to pram or stroller, matching clutch bag, perfect for loose change, lipsticks, pens and little essentials, two insulated bottle holders, phone pocket, pen holder and a large shoulder strap, making it a super versatile and useful change bag. It’s also MASSIVE so plenty of space for spare clothes, nappies and everything you’ll need! Not only will this be our hospital bag but the babies change bag when she’s here too.

So, let’s talk about what’s inside!

CLOTHES

Firstly, I know the blue bags look a bit odd, but stay with me. I’ve made these little ‘outfit pods’. This was an idea from my midwife, so I can’t take total credit, but it’s made packing and organising everything SO MUCH EASIER. So, in every pod, there is a nappy, a vest, a baby grow, a hat, a set of scratch mitts – I’ve then wrapped each little bundle into a sandwich bag, sellotaped closed and labelled each one. The idea is that when the baby is here, we will just be able to grab a ‘pod’ and have everything we need in one place! It’s made packing so much easier as inside the bag I’ve just stacked the pods, putting ‘babies first outfit’ right on the top for easy access! Plus I love how fresh and clean the bags keep the clothes too. I shall report back with whether this helped us at the hospital, I’m sure they will.

Inside babies ‘First Outfit’ pod…. The babygrow the first outfit Violet wore when she was born too!

BLANKETS, MUSLINS & A TOY

I’ve freshly washed and rolled a cellular blanket (our trusty Mama Designs blanket that we used for Violet) although I’m not sure she’ll need it in the heat but it’s best to be prepared. Plus, I’ve popped in a couple of muslins (essential) and a cute toy to give her too. I’ve been collecting Flamingo clothes/toys for this baby so we will start her collection from day one.

EXTRA NAPPIES & WIPES

Obviously, newborns go through a LOT of nappies so we’ve packed lots of spares, with an entire pack of newborn nappies in my hospital bag (I’ve got a little suitcase so a lot more space!). This time I’ve not bothered with cotton wool and a top and tail bowl which some midwives who are more old-fashioned don’t agree with but wipes worked with Violet so we will stick with that. I’ve packed some Mamia Extra Sensitive Wipes from Aldi, which I’ve heard are as good as Waterwipes at a fraction of the cost – again, I shall report back on this! Our nappies are from Aldi too as we’ve used them for over a year with Violet and have found them the best.

EXTRA BITS

We have also packed some extra little hats (in a couple of different sizes, as you never know!) and scratch mitts. I’ve also packed a lip balm into this bag as I remember my lips being SO DRY in hospital, I think I’ll have about 4 lip balms dotted around in my bags so will have no excuse but to put some on!

Ta Da – the packed bag, ready to go…….

Our room at home is also ready, the Snuzpod 3 is built and by the bed (don’t worry we will connect it to the side of the bed before the baby arrives, but we made the mistake of connecting it before I’d given birth last time and it makes it impossible to get out of bed when you are heavily pregnant) – we just need the baby now! ??