OB/GYN Packs Hospital Bag for Mom, Partner, and Baby #2 | Labor & Delivery & Postpartum Essentials!
hi we are the doctors bjorkman a physician
couple going through pregnancy now for the second time and this week we are going to
share with you what we are putting in our Hospital bags when we go to the hospital to
have sweet baby number two yeah so after years of catching babies years of taking care of
babies in the newborn nursery and having done this once before we're gonna share exactly
what we're taking what we're not taking to hopefully help you as you're getting ready
to go and have your own sweet baby yes if this is your first time meeting us I'm Sarah
I'm a board-certified ob gyn currently in the third trimester of pregnancy yep I'm Kurt I'm
a board-certified pediatrician and we are the doctors bjorkman
[Music] welcome back as many of you know I am an OB
GYN and I've been delivering babies for years and I'm a pediatrician I've been taking care
of babies in a newborn nursery for years as well and so this week we're actually taking
all that combined career experience and the fact that we've done this once before to sit down
and pack our bag again for baby number two yes so we are going to tell you all the essential
things that you need to ol bags so you are prepared for labor and birth and postpartum as
well as cover some of those things you don't need I've seen lots of patients show up to l
d looking like they're ready to be there for a month and we want to help you know just the
essentials what you need what you don't need and we're going to cover that now also packing
lists mom dad baby are in the show notes below all right so let's talk about the essential
things that you are going to want to pack in your hospital bag when I think about the whole
bag situation I think about kind of dividing it into three bag for Mom bag for Dad bag for
baby okay so let's start with bag for mom um when I think about getting started I
think about when I get to the hospital what am I going to want so I'm either getting
to the hospital in labor maybe I'm showing up for an induction maybe I'm showing up for
a scheduled C-section but I know that I want to be comfy and so one of the things I bring
that's maybe a little extra is a pillow from home want my own pillow remember that hospitals are not
hotels so pillows are pretty thin and covered in plastic sheets can be not super comfy so I really
like to have a pillow and if I get a chance to rest or take a nap I just want my pillow from home
and that brings me joy so things in for us for Mom or birthing person when you're in labor I kind of
Labor is like a very long long workout it can be very active you're doing a lot of working walking
switching positions different things and so I really like a sports some kind of bra supportive
bra and I like a nursing bra so that after you have baby it is clipped down easy access to get to
those boobs once baby's born but so I definitely have a nursing bra packed that is supportive this
is I really like the odd and ones from Target and so I have that packed in terms of clothes mom's
gonna wear generally they switch you put you in a hospital gown as soon as you get checked into
labor and delivery because they want you to be easy access to be able to get an IV it's nice to
be open in the back in case you get an epidural or different things there and so they well give
you a nice hospital gown right usually when you get there I have seen some Mamas and patients who
find a cute hospital gown that are pretty and you know whatever labor birth is also pretty messy
and so if you get blood on it if they break your water and it gets soaking wet all these different
body fluids that may happen during labor I wasn't excited about getting on some cute fancy hospital
gown that I bought and so it's something if you want to do that that's totally fine I find those
blue and white hospital gowns totally fine and then if I need a new one they just bring me a
new one right away other things I think about for walking around during the hospital during
labor are a pair of shoes I like a pair that you can wear in the shower just for postpartum that
way you don't necessarily have to be barefoot something waterproof is really really great other
things that you're going to want to put in your hospital bag is kind of a little toiletries kit
or a makeup kit things you know Essentials that you're going to want in that are toothbrush
toothpaste deodorant hair brush chapstick nail clippers these are things that I have in mind
some extra hair ties a claw clip in the other half taking you taking a little bit of makeup I'm not
a big makeup wearer but sometimes putting on some eyeliner or mascara and a little blush just makes
me feel like a new person and look a little less like a zombie and I don't really want to crop my
head out of every picture with the new baby and so did throw some makeup in you may want to throw in
some shampoo and conditioner the hospital usually has some generic stuff that works just fine but if
you are picky about your hair shampoo something to consider throwing in I'm a dry shampoo kind
of gal and so I have a can of dry shampoo in my bag ready to go the next thing I think about
is okay we made it through Labor and Delivery we you know now we're postpartum we are hanging out
in the hospital for you know 24 hours to maybe three or four days if you have a C-section
what do you be want to be lounging around the hospital in and so things that I remember from
being postpartum are just big comfy easy access things meaning easy access for baby to get to boob
easy access for you to be getting up and getting out of bed and going to the bathroom things like
that so things I am taking with me are a robe again just a simple kind of cotton robe that I
can put on where around the hospital so that I can have something on nurses doctors anesthesiologists
lactation consultant people are constantly coming in and out of your room and depending on you
know your level of comfort with modesty and or different things of how much you want covered it's
nice to have a robe or something that you can just have on and be covered up pretty quickly other
things again a nursing bra or two you may not want anything on your or breasts at all I remember I
had my robe and that was it the nips were so sore and tender the first time I just really couldn't
have anything on them at all so see how you feel um other things for kind of lounging around
the hospital things I loved postpartum with baby number one were nursing camisoles so it's
just a camisole that has the drop down the easy access snaps and I liked this postpartum because
it has some belly coverage so you can kind of be sitting there in your nursing just having this
on and then you also have some belly coverage um which I really appreciated uh postpartum and
so I have two nursing Camis packed I have a big pair of sweatpants some joggers a pair of gray
sweatpants things that are super comfy remember you're going to be wearing some mesh undies with
a giant pad so you want to have room in your pants for extra things because you're gonna be putting
ice pads on you've got these lovely mesh undies such a glamorous time postpartum is so weird
you kind of never feel more wrecked or like a disaster but also totally feel like a warrior
who just gave birth to this tiny perfect human so it's a huge mix of emotions you just want to
be sure that you can be comfortable and feel like you have the things you need when you're at the
hospital so those are kind of the I mean that's it um the other thing you need is something to wear
home because you you know you got to leave the hospital eventually again I have a big pair of
sweatpants and a big sweater probably that I will wear and that's it I have a North Face zip
up that in all reality is probably I'll wear my North Face and my gray sweatpants and out we
will go the One update that I would have made this hospital bag packing from the first time
I went is nipple care okay and I kind of said you know I had a hard time the nips were so
sore first time around the thing that I found saved me that really helped recover my nipples
was silverettes there's these silver nipple covers and basically what you do is you have these
on your nipples anytime the baby isn't nursing for those first couple weeks and it really helps with
moist wound healing so this is the one thing that I'm adding to my hospital bag that I did not have
the first time the first time I tried a bunch of different nipple creams lanolin different they
just didn't work I felt they were really greasy I like the robe I had for baby number one has
like nipple grease stains there right in the chest and I just loved my silverettes and really
felt like they helped me heal and saved my nipples and our breastfeeding relationship there at the
beginning so the silverettes are going in the bag and coming with us things that you absolutely
don't need regular underwear you know you have your pair that you wear in but if they break
your water if you have any bleeding postpartum you're gonna want the big mesh undies to fit
those pads in you really don't need underwear regular bras you're not going to need you do not
need to take any pads you don't need to take any nipple creams again they're going to have that
unless it's something you love Perry bottles they have they often have the ice pads at the hospital
and so all of that kind of perineal care nipple care breastfeeding supplies potentially formula
for baby if you need it in the United States they have most of these things for you at the hospital
so you don't have to worry about packing that just the things that you need for you in your
suitcase save that extra space for your stuff so when it comes to bag for partner dad the
biggest thing to think about that I thought about the first time that I'm thinking about again
as I'm getting ready for us to go in ourselves is what do I need to be really supportive and part
of that means what do I need to make sure that I'm going to be a happy human being who's ready
to be helpful and then also what other things that I'm going to need to just help support
the team while we're there so in terms of like things for me really just an outfit like something
comfy whether it's like some athleisure away or whatever you're comfortable in whether it's a
flannel or something else a pair of joggers pair of sweatpants something like that got that packed
in my bag set to go what am I going to be wearing during the labor process what I'm going to be
wearing in that time after birth as well right you're thinking about kind of the balance between
leading up to birth and then also however long you need to be in the hospital until you're going home
for us we were in the hospital we were so lucky for 36 hours total the first time that's probably
the shortest amount of time you could be in the hospital and so if you're someone who like feels
like hey I need a new pair of underwear every day absolutely it's a great thing to pack extras of
like you might get sweaty the birth process is hot it just happens then other things like during
the time between arrival and birth and then after delivery what kind of other things you need
whether it be just to pass a Time Entertainment whatever I brought a laptop last time didn't
actually touch it at all but the thought was hey if the induction process was along or if we end up
needing to spend a couple extra days it'd be great to watch a movie on or if I needed to do any work
at all or anything like that communicating with family that that would be nice to have the other
thing that I thought was great on the first time was a wireless speaker we just had music on in
the delivery room was so nice to just like have some background music for us to like whether we
were passing the time and then even like I like remember the song that was playing when my little
girl was born and Jason DeRulo will now always have a special place in her heart absolutely like
make a birth playlist for that too like we did that my own fault I put that song on anyway so it
goes other things is just thinking about like how are you going to document something that like
we something we brought the first time that I didn't use but might use um just a camera stand
something to take pictures with I know we had packed our big camera the first time didn't touch
it we took pictures with our phone it was easy it was smaller again less is probably more um and
then the last piece for electronics is Chargers um get a phone charger ideally if you can
get one with it and insanely long cable because invariably you'll be in a room where the
bed is far away from the Elwood and your partner is going to want to be able to have their phone
charging while they're laying in bed so your job as partners to make sure they can charge their
phone where they're sitting so whether it's that or we also just happen to like love these little
portable charger bricks have been great for us and then the final and maybe most important part as
partner is snacks okay again for me like if I'm hungry I get hangry so I want to be happy and
helpful so snacks for me and then also snacks for partner right now the key thing there is when
they are in the active like labor process they're gonna be told they can't eat and that's just in
case they needed to go for an urgent emergency section surgery any food in the belly could
be potentially dangerous but I will tell you having food for immediately after that baby comes
was a God sent to us in the first the first time through actually like we ended up getting ordered
a pizza well like Sarah was in active labor which was maybe a little cruel and that like we were
eating pizza and she was couldn't eat it but it meant like immediately after baby came there was
food she was hungry she was ready to eat and so whatever it may be to have food available
for that and then also like hospital food is probably available that worked out great
for us we didn't pack a whole lot of snacks um you know Sarah loves Dove chocolates I have
some of those packed a great granola bar protein bar beef jerky something like that something easy
don't go too extravagant but just making sure that you're thinking about food for yourself and
then food for your partner after baby comes when it comes to all of the packing stuff as partner
in my mind I'm also realizing that there's going to come a time where I'm going to be carrying
everything out myself if I can make it in one trip awesome and so what it comes down to is kind
of a carry-on size piece of things for mom maybe a small backpack or small bag for myself and a
small bag for baby and then of course the car seat things that I can do in one trip easily really
and so really I don't need much Mom just needs a little bit baby just needs a little bit and so
definitely less is more and that's something I appreciated the first time and then even whittling
down a little bit more for time number two all right so when we are thinking about baby's
bag generally it's we found it easy to just have you're gonna need a diaper bag to carry things
around for baby in the coming weeks and months and so we said hey let's just pack the things we
need for baby in the diaper bag we are going to use we have this we got handed down uh this land
diaper bag for our first kiddo thought it worked great found the same thing for this next one it's
on Amazon it's 20 bucks it's not anything we have that link for you too yep but it's has lots of
pockets holds everything you need so in diaper bag for baby you don't really need much again the
hospital at least in the United States has many many most all of the things that you are going to
need to take care of that sweet babe once they're first born so they have diapers and wipes and
butt creams pacifiers little baby hats swaddles little onesies different things clothes you might
need for them while they're there they have all of those Essentials and so really if you did not
bring a single thing for baby you would be okay um a lot of the things that we're thinking about
in the diaper bag are for that ride home leaving the hospital and going home um and and just like
sweet things you might want for a photo or things for that so then one essential thing you need
in your diaper bag is an outfit for baby to go home in which you really could leave them
in hospital things but you know we picked one um you want something with legs okay I love to
put the little newborns in the bags that tie at the bottom but that is not conducive to
buckling them safely into a car seat and so um newborn outfits we love are kind of
just these zippered onesies with the feet um keyword there being zippers zippers zippers
buttons are awful snaps you don't do that to yourself zippers are awesome and so a little
one little outfit for baby to go home in you may you know you don't need it but you may want
one other cute outfit for a photo at the hospital um totally fine they're so small they don't take
up very much room um but I originally had like four in here Kurt told me I needed to tone it
down but in all honesty you should maybe have a backup because invariably there may be a blowout
on the way home and so having two or three outfits kind of thinking about that homegoing outfit may
need to be two or three depending on how long your ride is it's better to plan ahead kind of they're
little so you know a couple little a bag a zip up um you'll be all set yeah it's really all you need
um thinking about that car ride home though yes in anticipation of maybe needing to do a diaper
change the other thing that we have on our very short list for baby is having a little changing
pad another like just a simple something a space that you can put baby on to change to keep
everything else clean and keep baby Queen too invariably plan ahead it's likely going to
happen for you and then this brings us to the most important thing to bring to baby the
thing you must bring cannot go home without it being a car seat part of safe discharge is
having a car seat for maybe to go home in um get it installed early so that it's ready
we have ours in our vehicle already giving our toddler ready to be around a new baby
brother yes things that are in this diaper bag that are not essential that just happen to
be there because we have a baby a pack of wipes a couple pacifiers some Desitin purple Desitin
butt cream and some Aquaphor and a burp bread that's it that's it so if we have to stuff
anything else in there there's some extra room oh we hope by going through our list again the second
time it's helpful to you to make sure you've got everything you need and hopefully not a lot of
things you don't of course like no one knows you better than you and so exactly use that to decide
kind of how many extra things you're going to pack um and probably as you go on
to the baby two three four five Etc you're gonna bring the less
and less I imagine the next time um we're bringing a little bit less this time than
we did the first yes so wishing you all the best and such a fun time to be getting things ready
to go to the hospital for your baby if you guys have any things that you love or you thought were
essential that you wanted to have at the hospital with you please leave that below to share with
the other moms and parents who are going to be getting their bags ready and otherwise we
will plan to see you all next week bye guys we're doctors but not your doctors
anything we've said in this video is for education or entertainment
purposes only it is not medical advice any specific medical questions you
have should be directed to your provider
