My Jewellery Box: Off to the hospital, its D day.....but where is my bag?

Usually at around 30 weeks of pregnancy the experts say that you should have your bags packed and ready for hospital. Who knows when your little baby will decide to make their entrance into the world.

With me however, I can almost most certainly guarantee that I will be longer and then my Doctor will let me go until I am two weeks over due. By then I am SO OVER IT!

Having just three weeks to go I thought I better start packing my bag! (Yes I have left it that late)!

There are so many things I need to get and take with me, however I don't feel like I can even go to the shops. Maybe this is why people tell you to pack much earlier - while you can still walk properly (instead of waddling like a duck or feeling like a beached whale).

So I guess the first thing you need to work out is what type of bag and how many. I usually have a sports bag and I can fit everything in it for me and baby. I usually divide it in half with baby's items on one side and mine on the other. The great thing I like about a sports bag is they usually have extra pockets around the side. These I usually use for the most essentials, like forms & documents, shoes/slippers, lollies (yes these are important).

They even come with wheels these days, so that can make the trip into hospital even easier. (Though I like to see my husband suffer a little on the day by carrying my big bag into hospital).

So now what to bring:

For Mum:

Antenatal card

Birth guide

Nightwear, dressing gown, slippers

Comfortable clothing for day wear

Maternity pads (lots of them) I would recommend 3 packs

Nursing pads, if you choose to breast feed, not only for the possibility of leakage but comfort too.

Nursing Bras

Underwear

Toiletries

Tissues

Book or magazine

Pen

Phone (most essential) so you can tell everyone when the baby is born.

Your purse with your identification, money & coins.

For Baby:

Nappies - definitely would recommend disposables

Nappy Wipes

Nappy disposal bags

Baby Blankets

Baby Clothes, singlets, jumpsuits (make it easy on yourself)

If you are bottle feeding remember to bring your bottles & formula.

Baby soap (toiletries)

Don't forget to install your baby seat or baby capsule for the trip home as this is one thing you do not want to be worrying about when departing hospital.

Try to remember everything otherwise, the end result could be sending your partner home with orders of underwear & toiletries (that he can NEVER find) or he brings the wrong ones or something completely different to what you actually asked for.

If you have other children; perhaps you should also make sure there are clothes set out ready for them to wear (so your partner knows what to dress them in for the important hospital visit). A number of times, my kids have come to visit me and the new baby and I am dumbfounded with what my husband has dressed them in. Some are wearing the wrong sizes, or the wrong shoes (or not even wearing shoes) or even worse have their dirty, food stained play clothes on (one would think he has picked them up off the street).