When you're expecting your first baby, it's normal to worry about what you need to pack for the hospital or birthing center. After all, you never know when it'll be "go time," and making sure that hospital bag is ready way before you actually need it can be stressful. However, once the "big day" is over and you're snuggling your newborn, you might find most of the things you packed to be totally unnecessary. I asked 12 moms about the one thing they needed most in their hospital bag, because packing that damn bag shouldn't be as anxiety-inducing as it is. Honestly though, I was a little surprised by some of their answers.

I also found that new moms reported a wide variety of so called "essential" items that they needed during labor and birth, so the contents of each mom's hospital bag seemed to vary about as much as their birthing experience. That, of course, shouldn't be too surprising, but even though labor and delivery is unique for every woman who experiences it, there are still more than a few universal truths that we can all, as mothers, collectively agree on. The hospital bag, however, is not one of them.

I, like most first-time moms, packed so many things in my "go-bag" that I didn't really need. However, it wasn't a total loss. The three things in my overstuffed hospital bag that I used the most and that really were absolutely essential were: hair ties, Gatorade and lip balm. But, yeah, that's about it. The rest could have been left behind (and should have been, considering I was taking a baby home with me). So, if you're worried about what to pack in your hospital bag, take a page from these moms' book: