Almost three weeks ago our little Eleanor was making her way into the world. Goodness, time is flying… It hurts my heart a bit. Ironically enough, the 2.5 days that we spent in the hospital felt like they took forever. I think that was just because we wanted to get home so badly (despite how great our hospital was!). During those couple of days we learned what we did and didn’t need in our hospital bag. Here’s what we packed and some items that we didn’t but wish we had:

Jordan’s Bag

• Nursing friendly dress – I wore this the day after Ellie’s birth! It made me feel a little bit more put together and like myself but was also convenient for nursing. For the labor and delivery I wore a hospital gown, actually two. One covering the front, and one covering the back… It bothered me to have my bum hanging out (that was pre active labor when all my cares went out the window). I don’t think I’ll ever deliver a child in anything else. It was so nice to be able to just get that messy and not worry about it.
• 2 Bao Bei Bralettes – I wore one during delivery and for the rest of our time at the hospital. You can pull them up or down to nurse easily. I highly recommend. This is another less expensive alternative. That I’ve heard great things about. I just ordered one!
• Tank top – I didn’t end up wearing this.
• Running shorts – I didn’t end up wearing this. I preferred dresses just so my lady bits were bit more ‘free’.
• Another dress – I wore this the day we went home. Dresses were the way to go!
• Birkenstocks – The. Best. Shoes.
• 3 pairs of comfortable underwear (these are my favorite) – I did end up wearing these the day after Ellie’s birth. I preferred these vs. the disposable underwear they gave me at the hospital because they kept the icepacks closer and therefore offered me more relief.
• 2 pairs of comfy socks – In general I was pretty hot the entire time and I don’t sleep in socks so I didn’t wear these. I just wore my Birkenstocks whenever I was up and moving. I did wear the hospital socks during delivery though.

This ended up being perfect for the amount of time we spent there! I never felt like I needed anything else.

Stephen’s Bag

• Sweatshirt
• 2 pairs of shorts
• 2 t-shirts
• 2 pairs of socks
• 2 pairs of underwear
• Sneakers
• Flip flops
• Pillow
• Blanket
• A good book

He wore all of this! The sweatshirt was definitely a must for him.

Tot’s Bag

• Swaddle blanket – For the announcement photo.
• Matching bow/hat depending on if it’s a boy or girl! We ended up using the bow, of course!
• One newborn long sleeve onesie – We didn’t end up using this.
• One 0-3 mo kimono onesie (in case the newborn was too small.. It wasn’t.) – This is what she wore home! It’s super convenient for diaper changes and she always seems super cozy in them.
• One 0-3 mo short sleeve onesie – She wore this after her first bath (24 hours post birth) until we changed her to go home.

** To clarify – Ellie was in just a diaper and swaddle for her first 24 hours of life. Once she had her first bath, she wore a short sleeve onesie and swaddle. It’s what worked for us and was preferred by our nurses for convenience when doing their checks on her.

Oils/Products

This might seem like a lot but I didn’t know what I would want to diffuse/roll on and knew it was just going to depend on how things were going for me and what I felt like. I liked having options! Heck I’d rather have more oils options than clothes options… Ha!

You can learn all about essential oils HERE.

• Feather the Owl diffuser + noise machine – We used this during labor and the entire rest of our hospital stay!
• Stress Away and Valor to diffuse throughout labor/after labor – Our nurses loved when we diffused them! Ha!
• Peppermint to keep me energized/use for head tension/upset stomach. You can add a few drops of peppermint to the toilet bowl water if you’re having trouble going to the bathroom after delivery.
• Lavender to diffuse for sleep support.
• Frankincense for anointing after birth.
• Deep Relief roll-on to use on my back/muscles through labor, to inhale for a pick-me-up, or to help with an upset stomach.
• Placenta push roll-on: 5-10 drops Geranium, 5-10 drops Lavender, 7-15 drops Jasmine, top with a carrier oil – I didn’t end up using this although I really should have. I had plenty of time to!
• Milk maker roll-on: 5-10 drops Fennel and 4-5 drops Basil, top with a carrier oil – I started using this after Ellie was born and have had absolutely zero problems with milk supply.
• Seedlings baby wash to use for baby’s first bath – The nurses were even commenting about how much they liked this!
• Seedlings baby oil to use post bath.
• Rose ointment for nipple cream and/or my itchy hands + feet.

Overall, we used everything we packed except for the placenta push blend! Having the diffuser and oils with us made our hospital room feel a little more like home. I’d definitely recommend bringing one!

Extras

• Canon G7X + large memory card + charger
• Toiletries including shower gel
• Phone chargers
• Masks
• 3 copies of our birth plan
• 4 applesauce pouches
• 1 bag plantain chips
• 2 Cliff bars
• Trail mix
• 4 packets of Ningxia Red
• Carseat!

This is the main section we would’ve done differently…. SNACKS. BRING MORE SNACKS!!! We ate hospital food for a lot of our meals (honestly, it really wasn’t horrible! Some of it was even good!) but we wished we had packed more food because they closed at 7 pm every night and we were always wanting something to eat later at night. I suggest packing all of your favorites, including your favorite treats! It makes it special and more fun. Both of us were wishing we had some of our favorite candies with us. Next time we’re definitely going to celebrate some more by bringing that kind of thing!

We packed all of our things in a small suitcase and all of the baby’s stuff in THIS Fawn Diaper Bag (which we love and shared about HERE!).

I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments below or by messaging me on Instagram (@jordyjean). Stay well, friends.

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