What to Pack in Hospital Bag for Baby

You’ll be bringing another human home from the hospital.  What should you pack in the diaper bag for the baby after the hospital?  This checklist helps you pack the necessities.

This is part of my hospital bag for delivery series.  It’s split up into a few pieces:

• Checklist for labor and delivery
• After the baby bag
• What to pack in the diaper bag for the hospital (that’s this posts)
• What to pack in hospital bag for dad

What to pack in hospital bag for baby?

These items are not needed until you’re going home. Some people like to dress the baby in their own clothes (which I’m fine with) but I say save the baby laundry for the hospital to do. 🙂

I try to leave the baby bag in the ccar seatuntil we need to bring the carseat up to take baby home.

Items needed for baby care in the hospital will be provided by us.

You are welcome to use your own clothes, diapers, wipes.  Whatever makes you happy — but if it was me — I’d rely on what we have, save your products for yourself.

BUT, you need a bag for when you’re set to go home

Baby Hospital Bag

Here’s what we pack inside:

1.  A light blanket to tuck around them in the carseat (a small receiving blanket like this one is great for the carseat, but if you want to swaddle outside of the carseat I’ve heard rave reviews about these).

2.  An outfit to take them home in

3.  Pacifier — we always used the Avent kind with good luck, but this one with the giraffe is too dang cute (and won’t get lost in the carseat)!  Or, get custom ones on my baby freebies page.

4.  Burp cloths — I LOVE these tri-fold diaper kind.  They hold the most spit up and they are just super handy.  Possibly not as cute (although you can add ribbon).

5.  Diapers — I would get one SMALL pack, we preferred huggies of newborn diapers.  You’re never sure if you’ll need more.  I would also have some size ones on hand (that is a great price on a box from Amazon).  We just liked Huggies more, but you might prefer a different brand.   While we’re on diapers, Amazon Mom was totally my favorite way to buy those unless I was on top of my game and had a lot of coupons and time to shop sales. 🙂  I usually keep about 5 in the diaper bag.  And, don’t forget wipes.

{if you’re going to buy baby stuff online — be sure to sign up for ebates!}

**Also, with most hospitals, the remaining items in your crib are yours to keep.  So, if there are diapers, blue pads or wipes — feel free to take them.  This does NOT extend to linens.

Baby Hospital Bag Checklist

I have a whole printable checklist to for just what you need for you, dad & baby.  Get it, totally free today:

Give me the list!

We never share your information with third parties.

What to pack in the diaper bag for the hospital

**This is a fairly decent time to just pack your diaper bag (I lo-o-ve this one, this one  — I think that one dresses my truth— and this one).  You need a lot of stuff with a baby and you’ll be heading out to appointments with it soon, so you might as well get it ready, you most often have an extra outfit in your newborn diaper bag anyway.

Clark’s Condensed has a great post about diaper bag necessities.

Be SURE to check out this post for all my favorite baby stuff, that you REALLY need!!

**Leave the carseat (we always used this kind, they’re easy to use which is #1 in my book, but I also really like this one in my experience with newborns lately) in the car until they’re ready to discharge you.  It takes up a lot of room.  Make sure the base is hooked in though.  You don’t want to have to deal with that once the baby is in the carseat.  Check that post mentioned above for more info on carseats!

**You HAVE to have a car seat in order to take the baby home in a car — we literally can’t discharge you without it. **

If you liked this post, be sure to check out what you’ll want in your labor bag, postpartum bag and for dad bag — and grab the printable here:

Give me the list!

We never share your information with third parties.