You have a lot on your mind when you're pregnant. Planning for your child, planning for the future, figuring out how you're going to juggle parenthood, your career, and any other activities you'd like to keep up after the birth of your baby. Oh, and hormones. Lots and lots of hormones. So it stands to reason that you're sometimes going to forget a thing or two. This will especially be true of the quintessential hospital bag. I asked moms to share the one thing they left out of their hospital bag that they'd liked to have had with them, because there's nothing like a solid dose of solidarity to remind you that you're not the only one to lose their mind to the wonder that is gestation.
The irony, of course, is that you will probably wind up pack 2,987,003 things in that damn bag that you don't actually need. (It's OK, you'll look back on it and laugh.) More often than not, the hospital will have everything you need for an enjoyable and productive stay. After all, if you're living in America and footing the overwhelming bill for your expensive hospital stay, that damn hospital better be all-inclusive when it comes to the basics, right? Sure, you get a baby out of it, but there better be a good bag of some sort. That's all I'm saying.
Still, chances are you'll remember to bring, say, a pretty new maternity bathrobe and forget something pretty clutch, like your insurance card. Sometimes there will be things to pack because it didn't even cross your mind that they would be remotely useful. In my case, that item would be a nursing pillow. That thing was a game changer when my partner arrived with it on Day Two of my four-day hospital stay.
So, what did other moms wish they'd brought (or, in the cases of a few crafty ladies, what do they wish they'd brought back with them)? I asked so you don't have to. (You're welcome.)
Nora
"Pretty much everything. Fortunately the hospital had me covered and I still love wearing those really fuzzy socks with the no-slip bottoms they gave me. I really didn't need anything they couldn't provide."
Amanda
"I never even used anything in my bag. I showed up in pajamas, changed back into them after the birth, and never changed or once dipped into the bag the three days I was in the hospital."
Julie
We brought our camera but said camera had no memory card inside.
Ella
"I forgot to bring a pillow from home. Which means I came home from the hospital with more than a baby… I came home with lice! So now I tell people to always bring a pillow when they're in route to delivery."
[Writer's Note: Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Congratulations, Ella, for terrifying however many expectant mothers are reading this article.]
Wendy
"I didn't really dip into my bag ... I did wish I had more space/bigger bag to stuff all the hospital stuff into!"
[Writer's Note: Wendy knows WTF is up. #TakeAllTheFreeStuff #DiapersAreExpensive]
Cindy
3-month clothes, since my turkey didn't fit in newborn clothes!
Penny
"My glasses, and I can't see without some sort of lenses, so I had to wear my contacts for about 30 straight hours before my wife could run home and get them for me."
Christine
"Black pants. I some how missed the memo about the post-delivery crime scene that would last for about a month and packed light blue pajama pants and good underwear..."
Desirée
My phone charger, and I went to the hospital with, like 6% battery. D'oh! What an idiot. You miss every Instagram shot you don't take...
"Lana"
"My phone, and I did it on purpose. I tell people I forgot, but I really just didn't want to feel obligated to answer every text, call, or social media post."
[Writer's Note: Taking kind of the opposite tack of Desirée, but still totally valid. Clever girl...]
Simona
"My tip is what should be in your bag as you leave the hospital — all the mesh underwear!"
[Writer's Note: Simona joins Wendy in the "Bishes Who Know WTF Is Up" Club. #MeshUnderwearLife]
