As promised, I am sharing a few more Easter basket ideas! I will try to share a few more before it is too late, but almost all of the items I am sharing will arrive very quickly if ordered soon!
First, I am sharing a dino themed Easter basket for little dinosaur lovers.
The second basket I am sharing is a pretty basket fit for a little ballerina.
Charlie is such a colorful little girl in so many ways. She loves all things rainbow and unicorn (lol) and so I am excited to surprise her with some fun and colorful Easter treats. Most of these items are found at Target and you can easily pick them up in time for Easter.
We are getting closer to my due date and I thought I would share with you what I plan on packing in my hospital bag with baby #3. To be honest, Charlie was born via emergency c-section 6 weeks premature and I had NOTHING with me when I went in to my appointment and I was perfectly fine with having absolutely nothing on hand. The hospital has everything you need to stay a few days. That being said, it would have been A LOT more convenient and I probably would've felt some sort of sense of comfort having my own things with me. We were able to do without our own items for about a day or two. After that, we sent someone to get a bag for us from our house and thank goodness we were slightly prepared at home with items because we ended up staying in the hospital for two weeks.
I think the most important things to pack in your hospital bag (aside from the basic necessities) are the things that will make you feel more comfortable during your stay, whether that is a nice pair of jammies or a cozy blanket.
Packing for the hospital can be overwhelming, but remember that if you forget something, the hospital will most likely have something similar anyway. Just don't forget a camera!
How cute is this Barrington Bags tote bag? I saw another blogger do this "MOM" monogram and I absolutely loved the idea. All of their bags are completely customizable.
We LOVE the Halo Sleep Sacks. We were lucky enough to have one given to us in the NICU because it was not even something I had at home. We loved these so much that we used them ever since our NICU days and until Charlie outgrew them.
There are SO many adorable pajama options for baby so this is a time to have fun shopping! I would suggest, if your baby is due at full term, to get a newborn size and 0-3 just in case your baby is bigger. If you are expecting your baby early, Dillard's has a great selection of adorable preemie sized outfits. One of our favorite preemie pajama brands is also Kickee Pants.
These adorable hats are so cute with the big bow! Hats were one thing I never bought for Charlie and did not realize that I needed them until I got to the hospital. Luckily, the NICU has lots of donated hats that we could use for our stay.
The hospital definitely has soap for your baby and from my experience, they usually have Johnson's Baby Soap. If you prefer something different for your babies first bath, I would bring your own baby soap. I love the Noodle & Boo products, but I may bring something gentler for babies first bath.
I never fully breast fed Charlie. It was too difficult for me in the NICU with the stress and the wires and tubes connected to her. It never felt natural to me. Instead, I pumped and bottle fed her. I was a low producer and was extra fortunate to be able to use donor breast milk ( THANK YOU DONOR MOMS!!!). If you are looking for breast feeding advice, I am definitely not your person, but I did pump like a crazy person for the first 3 months of Charlie's life and that was about all I could handle. That being said, I would suggest you bring a bottle or two with you to the hospital. We were able to use the hospital bottles, but after about a week in the hospital our nurse suggested we run to the store and get some better bottles to use. We used the Dr. Brown's (here) bottles in Charlie's early months, but later switched to Lifefactory bottles (here) because I could not handle washing all of those Dr. Brown's bottle parts...If you know, you know! LOL
During our NICU stay, Charlie eventually did need formula because I was under producing and her needs were growing. I attribute my low breast milk supply to having breast implants and also to Charlie being born prematurely - I don't think my body knew it was time to produce milk. Also, I was under a lot of stress in the NICU which I am sure contributed. We were so blessed to be able to receive milk from donors (truly a life saver!) so we did a combo of my milk, donor milk, and eventually formula. We used this formula and I really liked it. Charlie had no issues on it and it worked well for us!
The muslin swaddle blankets are so soft and come in so many patterns. We liked having them at the hospital to cover up for skin to skin and also we used them as "crib sheets" in the incubator. There are so many patterns and styles of these blankets. As Charlie got older, we always used them on walks in the stroller.
If you plan on breast feeding, a nursing pillow would be great to have in the hospital. We did not have one in the hospital with Charlie and realized how much easier it would be to have a nursing pillow instead of trying to stack up hospital pillows every time we tried to feed her.
I did not realize, until we were in the NICU, that it is a good idea to put a onesie under every baby outfit! I was pretty clueless before Charlie was born. We used SO many onesies in the first year of her life.
To me, a coming home outfit is the sweetest most special thing. After being in the NICU for two weeks with Charlie, we couldn't wait to put on her coming home outfit to finally be heading to the comfort of our home. There are so many coming home outfit options. I found this cute set with all the adorable accessories.
Before Charlie was born, I thought I wouldn't be giving my baby a pacifier, but when she needed to spend time in the NICU, I wanted her to have something to soothe her when I couldn't be there at night. The soothie pacifiers are her favorite.
The hospital will definitely have diapers and wipes available for you when baby is born, but if you have a preference on what kind of diaper you want to use on your newborn, I would suggest bringing a few of your preferred diapers with you. These diapers worked the best for us. We also used the same brand of wipes.
Packing for Mom:
I suggest packing a separate bag for yourself to keep your stuff organized and separate from baby stuff.
One thing I was unaware of before my first child was born was the massive amount of postpartum bleeding that you may experience. After Penelope was born (vaginal birth), I bled excessively for almost 3 month. After Charlie was born (c-section), I maybe bled for two weeks. My bleeding with Charlie was much lighter than with Penelope. That being said, these maxi pads are a must postpartum. The hospital will provide disposable underwear and pads, but I would bring a few of your own. Definitely have these on hand for when you go home.
In regard to the postpartum bleeding, it is also a good idea to have black postpartum underwear on hand. I would get black for obvious reasons and get brief or hipster so you can use a pad. There are also options available to help with recover like c-section recovery underwear.
If you don't plan on washing your hair during your stay, especially if your stay is short, I would bring dry shampoo to help fluff up your hair for pictures. This is my favorite dry shampoo.
A cute hair accessory is nice to have for those early hospital pictures with baby. Your hair and makeup will most likely be the least of your concerns at that time, but having a nice hair accessory like this one, can make your pictures look better and you won't have to think about styling your hair.
Another little thing to have on hand for pictures is a tinted lip balm. I am never without lip balm and packing it is second nature to me. I hate the feeling of chapped lips. Having a tinted lip balm can make you feel put together after this crazy life changing experience.
I love these nightgown and robe sets, especially the ones that come with a matching baby outfit. This beautiful pink one will be perfect for when baby girl arrives.
A cozy pair of pajamas will be comforting to have in the hospital. I like these button down ones in case you are planning on nursing or pumping. I chose these dark color pajamas in regard to the postpartum bleeding.
A cozy pair of slippers could be comforting to wear in the hospital (or nonslip socks). It is nice to have the comfort of slippers that can slip right on and not have to worry about putting shoes on to walk around.
These $5 sandals from Old Navy are perfect for the hospital, especially if you plan on taking a shower I would definitely wear sandals in the shower. These sandals are so cheap you could even throw them out when you are done if you wanted to.
In the instance that you are bed ridden and unable to get up and walk around (which can be possible after a c-section), it is nice to have an extra long charging cable for your phone so you can call family from your bed.
During labor, it could be peaceful to put your AirPods on and listen to relaxing music. I also like the idea of having AirPods postpartum if you just want to tune out and get some sleep (which can be hard with nurses coming in the room to check on you). I think if you have AirPods in and a sleep mask on they will be less likely to interrupt you.
Depending on how accommodating your nurses are, you may not get a water refill for a while. Having a Yeti Tumbler would be nice to keep your drinks cold throughout labor and recover. You can also add in electrolyte powder to help your recovery.
I hope you enjoyed my hospital bag checklist. Is there anything you brought with you to the hospital that you cannot live without? Share below!
