My Hospital Bag List - What I Actually Packed & Used

Written By Rohini Gaonkar

When I was pregnant, every hospital bag checklist online felt either wildly unrealistic, missing important things or made me feel like I needed to pack for a 4-week vacation.

So here’s my hospital bag checklist, what I packed for myself, my husband, and baby.

My tips:

  • Pack your bag by 32–36 weeks. Babies love surprising us.

  • Check your hospital website, they share what they provide and what to pack as well.

1. Important Documents

These are the easiest things to forget in the chaos of contractions, carry what applies.

  • Health card

  • Hospital registration card

  • Birth plan

  • ID Proof (like Driving license)

  • Insurance paperwork

2. Snacks & Drinks (SO underrated)

Hospital cafeterias close. Labor can be long. Your partner will get hungry too. Pack: Protein bars, Nuts, Chips, Chocolates, Madeleines, Fruits, Gatorade

My must-have: Water bottle with straw, so you can sip while being on the bed

Also, they say chewing a gum after delivery helps with first bowel moment.

3. Clothes & Slippers

Hospital gowns work, and are preferred if you don’t want to do laundry of all the fluids from labour and delivery. After I moved to the post-delivery room, I felt much better in my own clothes, a black bathrobe. Provided easy access for breastfeeding too.

  • Going home outfit for you, baby and father. Yes the dad too, accidents happen and you might stay longer than 24-48hrs.

  • Slippers/Crocs for shower or moving around. You need something quick to get off bed, go use the washroom or change baby diaper (for like millionth time) and be back in the bed.

  • Disposable underwear/pads. Some hospitals don’t provide enough so carry some for yourself!

  • Nursing bras and/or Pumping bra for easy breastfeeding.

My favorite: Disposable underwear is Always Discreet Postpartum Underwear. Amazon Canada – Always Discreet

Many moms say they preferred these or the Frida mom over hospital mesh underwear.

4. Toiletries

Keep this simple.

  • Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Floss, Mouthwash

  • Face wash and Body wash

  • Hairbrush and Hair ties

  • Lip balm (Hospitals can be so dry)

Optional:

  • Shampoo & Conditioner, or a Shower cap

  • Moisturizer, Makeup. If makeup makes you feel human after labor, pack it.

5. Postpartum Recovery Essentials

This is where people either underpack or overpack.

Pack:

6. Nursing Essentials

You may not need all of this immediately but good to have/know.

  • Pump - you can buy a manual one and then buy a hospital grade pump if you need. Some insurance companies reimburse it too, so do check with them.

  • Baby Bottles. We were gifted a mix of different bottles to try. Eventually, we did combo feeding and stuck to Philips Avent and Dr. Brown, you have options of glass or silicon.

  • Breast pads, once the milk comes in (which can take 2-5 days) it comes a lot. It takes 3 months for it to stabalize, so you end up leaking a lot of milk. Breast pads help soak it and not ruin your clothes.

  • On that topic, you may also want to have a look at Silverette, Nursing Cups - Soothe and protect your nursing nipples.

  • Nursing pillow. Carry this to hospital if possible so it helps with breastfeeding journey. The lactation consultants can teach you how to use it. This is what I bought for myself, easy to clean and I was not worried about my son rolling off.

7. Baby Essentials

  • You never know what size your baby will be born, so I suggest

    • 2 newborn onesies

    • 2 size 0–3 onesies

    • 2 sleepers

  • There are lot of options, Carters, Costco’s pekkle and more.

  • If you do end up having a premie, you can have baby in the hospital swaddle while there and temporarily get them home in smallest size available. Hospitals also have gift shops so you could get a premie clothes for going home.

  • Hospitals provide swaddles and cloths, but you can carry following for going home journey:

    • Swaddles [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

    • Baby Blanket or a Receiving blanket

    • Muslin burp cloths - for throw-ups [1] [2]

  • Lot of times, hospitals provide a very limited number of these items, atleast they did in our case. So we carried following:

    • Diapers - again smallest size newborn pack

    • Wipes - we used water wipes pack

    • Vaseline - we used it as a barrier cream. applied it generously after every poop diaper change or bath. We got a set of 3 from Costco, very economical

    • Diaper cream - Sudocrem worked for us, but there are many other options available. You may not need this at hospital, but good to have in the diaper bag.

8. Car Ride Home Essential

You cannot leave the hospital without Infant Car Seat, so make sure to install this BEFORE labor starts. If you are going to take Uber, make sure your car seat has the belt path option i.e. using it without the base. Practice it if possible.

9. Tech Essentials

These were unexpectedly helpful.

  • Long phone chargers and/or Battery pack

  • Headphones

  • Hospital rooms get HOT when you are in labour. Portable Stroller Fan was a multi purpose, for now and then hot summers with the baby.

  • Camera and Tripod, if recording.

Things I’m SO Glad I Packed

  • Snacks

  • Long charger

  • Portable fan

  • Sipper Water bottle

  • Going-home baby outfit

Final Thoughts

Your hospital bag doesn’t need to be Pinterest-perfect.

Pack what helps you feel comfortable, supported, and prepared.

And yes… you’ll probably still overpack. We all do ❤️

Rohini Gaonkar
Next

How to Find an OB in Canada (The Guide I Wish I Had)