What to Pack in Baby’s Hospital Bag + a Printable Checklist

I was super excited to start packing my hospital bag.  It meant that it was r-e-a-l. I was that much closer to meet my baby. One of the best things about being pregnant is the anticipation and preparation.  So naturally, I had a checklist for everything.

It may sound strange, but I quickly realized I was not packing 1 hospital bag, but 2 or even 3!  It’s easier to think about it like this:

• One “bag” for Baby’s essentials
• One “bag” is for mom’s labour items
• Another “bag” is for mom’s post-labour necessities
• And lastly dad’s stuff can be stuffed in one of the other bags.

One thing that helped me is to either have several bags designated for each purpose or one large bag with your items clearly divided into categories inside it.  

I ended up with 3 bags.  

For my baby’s items I used my regular diaper bag. I bought the Ju Ju be Be Prepared diaper bag as it was one of the biggest ones I could find.

Mom and dad’s items all went into one duffel bag where I divided everything in plastic bags to make it easier to find.

And the 3rd bag was a tote (I used the medium blue ikea bags) that had miscellaneous items (like extra diapers and water bottles) that we left in the car.

In this post I’ll cover what I placed in my baby’s hospital bag and included a printable checklist you can download. I have also prepared a hospital bag printable checklist for mom and dad in this post.

Enjoy and I hope it comes in handy and helps keep you organized!

Here is my baby’s hospital bag checklist

For Feeding Baby

• Breast pump – Ok, so I did not actually pack this but I wish I had.  I aimed to breastfeed and due to circumstances, I ran out of milk on my second day in the hospital.  I wish I had the pump to try to keep my supply coming.
•  Milk storage bags – If you are going to pump at the hospital, it would be good to have somewhere to store your milk.
•  Bottle(s) of formula or expressed breast milk – Even if you aim to breastfeed, in case there are hiccups, having a back up plan with formula is wise.  Check with your hospital to see if they provide infant formula and if not, bring your own.

For Diaper Changing

• Diapers (30) – Bring a lot!  The first night my little one was born he was soiling a diaper every 30 minutes!!  It was unbelievable how many diapers we went through. The literature I read set my expectation that babies will soil 8 to 10 diapers in a 24 hour period, but we went through that in his first 6 hours.  We had about 30 of diapers we brought up to our hospital room and left a box I the car just in case we needed them.
• Wipes (1 regular size) – I went through ¾ of a full size one.
• Diaper Rash cream, oil, or moisturizing cream or baby powder for baby’s bottom – really the goal is to make baby’s bum oily enough so that noting sticks to it.

For Baby’s Personal Care

• Blankets (2-3) – You can use them as swaddle blankets, a changing pad cover, nursing cover, bib, shade, a towel, or burp cloth.  I only packed 1 and I wish I had packed more. The hospital did provide swaddle blankets, but they were thick and they were not very soft.  I felt that it was irritating my son’s skin just from rubbing. In hindsight, I wish I would have done this part differently and brought my own.   
• Baby’s grooming kit and First aid kit (Thermometer, Baby acetaminophen or ibuprofen, Antibiotic ointment, Sterile bandages, Tweezers, Calamine lotion or hydrocortisone cream) – I did not need this one bit. Even though I was in a hospital, I just could not see myself not having it handy.  I have Safety 1st Deluxe Health & Grooming Kit
• from Toys R Us and added to it.  I keep it in my diaper bag all the time.  
• Packed diaper bag – You guessed it … I have a checklist for this too.  You can download the Diaper Bag Checklist here.
• Pacifier – The recommendation is not to use one until breastfeeding is established, but I had it packed just in case.  

For Travelling Home

• Car seat – Granted a car seat won’t fit in your hospital bag, but it is a super important item to remember for your baby.  You won’t be allowed to leave without having a car seat for your little one.
• Car seat cover – For winter babies
• Blanket for car seat
• Coming home outfit – For his hospital stay, my little one ended up living in a diaper and swaddled in the blankets the hospital provided.  Because he will be examined often, I doubt you will have your baby in an actual outfit while at the hospital. Since I didn’t know what size of clothing and I figured if I needed anything to dress him in while at the hospital I would have extras.    
• Onesies (2-3)
• Sleepers (2-3)
• Socks (2-3)
• Hat (2)
• Snowsuit / Pants / Sweater – For winter or cold weather babies

You can download the free printable and editable Baby’s Hospital Bag Checklist here.  

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Baby Hospital Bag Checklist

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Remember to hop on over to this post to download the printable checklist of what to pack in your hospital bag for mom and dad and all the other random items you might not know you need.

And if you still need to prep your baby registry and plan what you need when baby arrives with the Printable Baby and Nursery Essentials Checklist.

Once baby arrives, you might also want to see want to download my diaper bag printable checklist.  It’s a neat little printable that I had tucked in my diaper bag so that I don’t forget what I need.