When love happens, family happens and you start building a home. Kids have a way of lightening up your world and warming up your heart. Although when pregnancy episodes roll in, you might want to have a second thought.
Either you decide to start having kids as soon as you tie the knot with your spouse, or you decide to wait a year or more, eventually you will come to the point of carrying your own child and this feeling in itself is surreal. But actually, it is real and soon become evident.
As soon as you know you are pregnant, then you should start preparing for your baby’s arrival. You might want to delay a little until after your baby’s gender disclosure so as to know the colors to go for, cloths and accessories to buy, how to decorate your baby’s room and all those good stuff.
Preparing for your baby’s arrival and getting everything needed early enough will save you so much time, stress and the situation of forgetting one thing or the other. Waiting until the dire minute will be overwhelming and stressful for you, especially when you don’t have a help.
However, there is always a hospital list that would guide you so you won’t be entirely clueless as to what to get. Below are the hospital bag essentials for you.
BABY ESSENTIALS
If you as the expectant mother forget anything for yourself, you shouldn’t forget anything for your baby and go with an extra of everything. Although the amount of stuff you pack is dependent on the number of days you’d be spending in the hospital, more importantly, ensure you wash everything cloth related.
1. Baby Cloths: Your baby will need to be properly clothed and change their clothing as often as they can, so you want to go with so many of them and not wait to wash a pair before you can change your baby’s cloth. Buy enough long and short body suits with nice prints and colors and have a cloth set aside for your baby’s home coming. It should be something cute and nice.
2. Baby towels: You can go with 1 big towel and multiple smaller hand towels that comes in handy for you.
3. Baby Blankets and grow bags: You can go with one of each or settle for two of baby blankets or grow bags.
4. Baby wrap cloths, Napkins, baby bibs, socks and accessories that are gender specific or not.
5. Baby shoes: These are exceptional though. Socks could be a better and more comfy option for your baby.
6. Baby Food: This is like a plan B incase your breast milk isn’t coming early.
7. Baby feeder and Feeder wash/brush.
8. Pacifiers and pacifier sterilizer.
9. Nappy sacks for disposing baby napkins.
10. Methylated spirit, cotton bud, cotton pads, extra virgin oil.
11. Baby cream, baby oil, baby wash and baby cream for nappy rash.
12. Water flask
13. Diapers and Baby wipes: You can never pack too much of these.
14. Baby grooming kit: This has the scissors, thermometer, file and basic essentials for your baby.
15. Baby car sit
All these are extremely important and you should go to the hospital with more than one pair for each item.
ESSENTIALS FOR THE MUM
Nevertheless, the mother needs to go to the hospital with some items too. And these items are essential. Ranging from cloths to toiletries.
1. Adult size towel
2. Night wears/pyjamas for ease of breastfeeding
3. Maternity robes, tops and shot that are free and comfy.
4. Cloth for home coming: You are a mum now, status has changed so you should dress like it.
5. Sanitary towels
6. Toiletries: All toiletries should be neatly packed and arranged in a toilet bag for easy access. Your deodorants, sponges, soaps tooth brush and the likes.
7. Disposable panties
8. Flop flop, Socks and blanket/cover cloth for yourself
9. Undies bag: This should contain your nursing bra, breast pad, nipple cream, head wrap and any other good stuff you feel can fit into this.
After going through this list, you’d need a travel bag/box big enough to contain all at once. Remember that preparing early and setting out to get these stuff early will save you so much time and stress. Now that shopping has been made easy, you could shop online in the comfort of your home as well.
SOURCE: Getty