Packing Your Hospital Bag

In case you were wondering what you need in your hospital bag when you admit yourself for delivery, here is what I pack into mine. 😀

As you all know (or not), im going to deliver Mikhail this coming tuesday at Gleneagles and I just got around to packing my hospital bag on friday (yes, very last minute because im lazy i didnt have time). Anyway, i hope this helps you out if you dont know what you need since i do see quite a handful of expecting mothers post this question up on forum pages and fb group pages.

Things To Bring To The Hospital

Documents:

1) Hospital Admissions Letter

2) Original Marriage Certificate

3) Identification Card or Passport (both father and mother of baby)

Essentials For Mummy:

1) A set of sleepwear (your softest, most comfortable sleep dress)

2) 3 or 4 pairs of breastpads (in case you are an over supplier and start leaking milk)

3) 2 packs of disposable underwear

4) 1 Pack of wet wipes

5) 1 tube of nipple cream (i brought my Medela Purelan 100 7g)

6) 1 pack of maternity pads (get the long ones thats for really heavy flows, avoid the plastic sort of material)

Essentials For Your Newborn:

1) 1 pack of NB diapers

2) 1 set of NB clothing for the day you bring your baby home

3) 1 Pack of wet wipes

4) 1 Receiving Blanket

Others:

1) Phone charger

2) Your wallet (optional)

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The reason why i encourage you to bring your own personal essentials such as maternity pads, wet wipes, breast pads and baby diapers is because if you look at your hospital bill (especially private hospitals), for every item that you use while warded, you are charged for it. For example, if you ask for 1 piece of maternity pad, you will be charged for the whole pack AND you also dont get a choice on which brand you prefer to use as hospitals usually just carry 1 standard type for such things. Its ultimately up to you of course if you want to ensure that you are using something that you are comfortable with and also saving cost during your stay at the hospital so as not to incur additional charges by packing your own personal essentials.

Please ensure that you have your hospital admissions letter with you in the bag as it is the most important thing that will aid in a smooth check in for your delivery. Pack along all necessary documents such as ICs/Passports and Marriage certificates into a document sized ziplock bag so its easy for you to fish it out of your bag during check in.

Another tip i want to share with you mummies is to leave all your jewellery at home. There is absolutely no need to wear them to the hospital as you will be required to remove all jewellery when you go in for delivery anyway. And you might lose or forget your jewellery during discharge because, trust me, with a newborn, everything else is at the back of your mind.

If you are going in for elective c-section, do remember to fast 8hrs before your scheduled delivery time. No food or drinks (really try) as my doctor has explained to me that it reduces the risk of complications during the surgery. Even though C-section is performed widely and almost seem like theres absolutely no danger, it is actually considered an invasive surgery. Better to be on the safe side and heed our doctor’s instructions to avoid putting ourselves at risk unnecessarily. Although with Charles, during my 16 hour labour, i got soooooooo grumpy and angry because i was so hungry and the nurses kept telling me that im not allowed to eat in case i had to go for an emergency c-section (i opted for natural birth, but Charles did not want that apparently. HAHA).

I hope this helped some of you mummies who are wondering what to pack and may we all have a SMOOOOOTH delivery! 😀

xoxo,

MLBB