My Hospital Bag Must-Haves

When it comes to packing your hospital bag for your baby’s birth, as a first-time mom, you might not know what to bring or as a seasoned mom you may not remember what you really need (or better yet, want).

Since both of my births were inductions, I was in the hospital 3 and 4 nights and always like to be over-prepared. You could definitely minimize your bag, but my advice is to pack a suitcase and bring everything you need…because, why not? Why not have options, be cozy, and have your comfort items that make you feel a little piece of home and normalcy over a sterile hospital stay?

I suggest bringing a suitcase so you can put mom, baby’s, and significant other’s belongings in one bag. When possible, I’ll share the exact items in my bag the second time around. Affiliate links included.

Foolproof Baby Registry

If you’re anything like I was registering for my first baby, the process that ideally is fun and precious and so special actually turns out to be an overwhelming sweaty disaster leaving you cranky and over the entire process. I’m also extremely indecisive, so shopping in-store is difficult for me.

How can you pick out of 50 bottle choices? How do you know which carrier is best for you? Can’t someone just decide for you??

Enter Gugu Guru to the rescue! This free, smart online registry system takes the stress out of registering and offers personalized suggestions for those of you who can’t make up your mind, like me. It takes just minutes to set up your free profile, and the system will show you pictures and ask you to pick which one best suits your style in order to tailor their unbiased recommendations to you. The quiz itself was even fun, a much different experience than my first in-store registering fiasco.

Second baby must-haves

You’ve already been through the whole parenting gig and think you have the whole thing figured out (okay, maybe not the whole thing, but at least 3/4 of it…or maybe 1/3 of it?), and now it’s time to expand your family. Hooray! Since you’re into the latest minimalism trend and you’ve been there before, you already have everything you could ever need for baby number two, right?

Mmm, maybe not.

While I’m also on board with keeping “stuff” to a minimum, there are definitely new items that either A. have come out since my first baby and B. need to be replenished and refreshed for a new little one. I’m lucky to be due with my second baby girl on my daughter’s second birthday, so I’ll already have all the right clothes in the correct seasons and sizes (score), so my list won’t include many new clothes, but yours might!