11. Pack with Peace: Hospital Bag Packing List Essentials

In this episode of Faith Over Fear: The Christian Pregnancy & Birth Podcast, I'm walking you through everything you actually need to pack for your hospital stay—not too much, not too little, but just right for your comfort and your baby's first precious days.

If you're staring at your hospital bag wondering if you're doing this whole thing right, you're in exactly the right place. This isn't just another generic packing list—it's about preparing your heart and your bag so you can approach birth with confidence instead of anxiety.

Whether this is your first baby or your fourth, whether you're feeling overwhelmed by all the "must-have" lists online, or you simply want to feel prepared and peaceful—this episode will help you pack with intention and walk into your birth experience feeling ready.

In this episode, I share:

🎒 The comfort items that will actually make a difference in your recovery (not just what everyone says to bring)

🤱 Essential breastfeeding supplies and what you can skip to avoid overpacking

🍼 What to pack for baby—and why less is more

💤 Sleep and rest essentials that help you get actual rest in the hospital

🧴 Personal care items you'll actually use (including the one thing that saves labor breathing!)

👨 Your partner's packing list so he's comfortable during your potentially multi-day stay

⏰ When to start packing (hint: 34-36 weeks is the sweet spot)

✝️ Why this is about preparation, not perfection—and trusting God's plan for your birth

A Prayer for You: 

I close this episode by praying over you as you prepare for your baby's arrival—that God would fill your heart with peace and excitement rather than anxiety and fear, and remind you that He's been preparing both you and your baby for this moment long before you ever started packing that bag.

Mentioned in this episode:
✨ FREE Hospital Bag Packing Checklist inside the Christian Mama Birth Prep Library

💕 Work with Me 1:1 – Virtual Doula Support & Christian Childbirth Education

🥤LMNT Electrolytes – Clean electrolyte drink mix

🍫 RX Bars – Healthy, non-perishable snacks

👶 Velcro Swaddles – The kind we loved with our kids

If this episode helped you feel more prepared and confident, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with another mama who needs to hear this.
Let's keep choosing faith over fear, one well-packed hospital bag at a time. Go here for the full blog post, show notes, and all resources mentioned!

Transcript

Natalie Portman: 0:45

Hey, beautiful mama, and welcome back to the podcast. If you're in that stage where you're staring at your hospital bag, wondering if you're doing this whole thing right, you're in exactly the right place because today we're going to walk through everything you actually need. Not too much, not too little, but just right for your comfort in your baby's first few days in the hospital. I've created a companion handout that breaks down everything we're going to talk about today into an easy checklist you can actually use. And here's the best part, it's completely free. So when you sign up for the Christian Mama Birth Prep library, either at faithoverfearbirth.com, or you can also check the link in the show notes to sign up for that free resource. We're gonna cover the comfort items that will actually make a difference in your recovery, the practical things that many moms forget that they need. And yes, we'll also go over what to pack for your partner and for your precious baby too. So whether this is your first baby or your fourth baby, let's get you feeling confident and prepared for this incredible journey ahead. So let's start with the items that are truly going to make your hospital stay more comfortable as you recover. Starting with clothing, you'll want to pack some cozy pajamas. These are things that are nice and stretchy, whether that be some, comfy. PJ pants and a shirt. Preferably one that buttons down so you can easily nurse or even a nursing dress. Something that is comfortable and loose, but also easy access to nursing if that's what you plan to do. Another thing you can bring is a cardigan or a robe, something again, that has easy access to breastfeeding, but is comforting if you find yourself in a really cold room. And then also packing things like slippers fuzzy socks, and even gripper socks most hospitals will provide gripper socks, but if you have your own that are more comfortable, by all means, bring that yourself. And now let's talk about some sleep and rest items. So I love my pillow. Like when we travel, I bring my own pillow with me so if you are also that way and you just cannot really get a lot of sleep, unless you're with your pillow, bring your pillow to the hospital. That's totally fine. You can even bring an extra pillowcase in case it gets dirty or something like that, especially if you're. Using it while you're laboring. A lot of the times, fluids and blood and things can get on it, so bring an extra pillowcase if you decide to bring your own. And then you can also bring from home your own comfortable thick blankets. They will provide blankets in the hospital, obviously, but they're pretty thin. A lot of the times moms will need to layer up a lot of the hospital blankets'cause it's just not that warming. So bring your own comfortable, thick blankets, that is not a problem. And it also helps just bring your own scent, which that sounds kind of strange, but. Really, really helpful when you're just trying to get into just a comfy, cozy feeling. And then I love suggesting bringing a sleep mask or an eye mask. It's great to have during the labor, say that you're trying to catch some sleep during the labor itself, or if you're just trying to block out all the other things that are happening in the room. Having an eye mask is great for that. But then when you're trying to sleep and the hospital is bright or there's people coming in, it's nice to have an eye mask. Okay. And then when it comes to recovery, you'll want to have with you adult diapers if you would like to go that route. They also provide pads and things of that nature. If you just wanna bring, you know, your own, just regular underwear and then you wear the pads. But adult diapers are a great option as well, if you would prefer that. And then. Just know that the first couple days after you've delivered, you're gonna be bleeding a good amount, and it's gonna be like a period, but maybe more intense. And then as the days go on, it'll definitely start to dwindle the amount of blood that you have. But for those first few days, you're definitely gonna wanna be wearing. Adult diapers or pads 24 7. And then if you're planning to breastfeed, these are some items that I think would be helpful to bring with you. the first being nursing tank tops and nursing bras. Those can be really comfortable, but it's also nice to have that easy access to your breasts when you're breastfeeding because that's, that will be your new full-time job after you have a baby. You can also bring a Haakaa, which is basically a silicone single unit pump, and that can be really great if you're trying to get some extra breast milk or say you're planning to exclusively pump. That can be great. You can also bring your own breast pump if you plan to pump, or if you want the lactation consultant to show you how to use your pump, but by and large. If you're not planning to exclusively pump or want somebody to show you how to use your pump, I would leave this one at home. It's pretty bulky and a lot of moms end up not needing it. They just end up nursing the whole time they're there. So totally up to you. It's just up to how many things you want to bring into the hospital with you. I also suggest bringing your nursing pillow like a Boppy and a couple extra cases like pillow cases for that Boppy, because again, birth is messy business, so you can get some, blood or other things on it. It's really great to help you find a more comfortable position as you're nursing the baby. whether that be in the hospital bed or, sitting on the chair, next to the bed in your room. If you forget to bring your Boppy, that is totally fine. You can just ask for a couple extra pillows and put the pillows underneath your arms. But for some women it's more comfortable just to have the Boppy. I'm definitely one of those moms that it is very hard for me to nurse without my Boppy because I'm tall and so my torso's longer. And so if my arms are not resting on something, oh my goodness, my back hurts so bad. So bring a nursing pillow if that is what you think would be helpful to keep you more comfortable while nursing, because again, you will be nursing full-time, it will be a full-time job and the more comfortable you are in the positions that you're nursing, the longer you can nurse and it just more enjoyable experience overall. A really important element to the labor and postpartum time is making sure that you are hydrating and nourishing yourself properly. I highly recommend getting a refillable water bottle with a straw. That's the key. Something that is easy to drink, hands free, and that someone can. Hand to you or put up to your mouth like, a drink. Just so one can put it up to your mouth and you can take a sip. Very helpful for labor and very helpful whenever you're trying to multitask and do a bunch of other things after the baby's there. And then I even recommend having two, so having one with just water and then having another drink with electrolytes like LMNT, L-M-N-T, I'll put their website in the show notes, but that's a great brand for clean electrolyte drink mix and having healthy snacks that you enjoy. I'm a huge fan of RX bars. I'll put that link in the show notes. Fruits, nuts. Dried fruits, anything that is healthy and is pretty non-perishable. Those are great options to have. You can even pack a couple protein drinks and whatever you like to eat or drink. And then some personal care and hygiene items. Make sure to bring your personal toiletries, your face wash, deodorant, hairbrush, all those you know, fun things and make sure to have chapstick I something for your lips, because as you're doing that, labor breathing and hospitals tend to be very dry. You'll definitely want some chapstick for your lips and have things like breath, mints, gum, or cough drops. all that breathing, whether that's you breathing and you wanna have a mint or something at some point. You can also have that there for your partner or your birth team if their breath is starting to be pretty stale. You can have gum and mints and cough drops for stale breath because that is not fun when someone's breathing in your face and it's not the best. And then having shower shoes, something that you can wear just when you're in the shower. You may not even take a shower when you're there, but it's nice to have that because those bathroom floors are shared. And I have seen some things on those floors. So shower shoes for that. You'll also wanna have with you hair ties, headbands, hair clips, whatever you normally would do to keep your hair out of your face. Labor is hard work, and you will inevitably look kind of disheveled no matter what kind of birth you end up having. And so make sure to just have all of those things readily and easily available so that you can keep your hair out of your face and just feel more comfortable. Okay. Also, I recommend having nasal saline spray. the hospital air is very dry and the number of times I have a mom who is having a hard time breathing through her nose during labor. And sometimes they do have saline nasal spray available in the hospital, but it takes forever to get that, like it has to go through all these channels to just give you some nasal saline spray. So bring that with you. Very helpful and can just make that labor breathing so much easier when you can actually breathe. And then some other things that are more practical is bring any of your medications and prenatal vitamins that you were already regularly taking. They may give you like certain prescription medications there so you're not having to get into your own stash. But either way, have all of those things readily available. You don't know how long your labor and postpartum time will be that you're at the hospital. Plan, up to five to seven days even potentially, depending again, how long you labor and how long you're there. if you wear glasses or contacts and contact solution, bring all of those things really important and can, just easily be missed if you're, not thinking about that as a need. And then really important that you keep your insurance card and ID card. Readily and easily accessible. They're going to ask for those things more than likely when you're being admitted. And so it's just nice to be able to like, have that at the top of your bag or like in your purse, like ready to go or just give that to your husband to hold onto for when you get to the hospital for the check-in process. Also, carry with you, your birth preferences checklist. I have an entire episode about the birth preferences checklist, but bring a copy of that as well. That is such an incredible birth preparation tool, and it gets your birth team, the nurse, the OB that's on call, the midwife that's on call, whoever. On the same page as you to know, are you doing any of the newborn procedures? Which ones are you doing, which ones are you not doing? It's very helpful to just have all of that information readily a available for your birth team to just quickly get caught up to speed on what your birth preferences are. And then now things you'll need during labor. So wear a comfortable outfit. Many of the times I see moms wearing just a nursing bra and nothing at all, or they are wearing. A labor dress or something they bought that's really comfortable and has, easy access, like buttons or different things you can nurse. But those are a great option if you choose not to wear the hospital gown and really you can wear anything you want or nothing at all. I've even had moms labor and give birth with like full-blown sweaters on. So it is just whatever you're comfortable in, wear that and just know that even though it seems strange to be laboring with no bottoms on, when you are laboring, you are so in the zone. You don't even think about how weird it is that you are only wearing a bra. So don't think that that's weird. It's totally necessary and needed sometimes. So just prepare just a couple things that you might want to wear for labor to be comfortable, to be able to move into different positions quickly without, having things in your way. And just realize too that anything you wear can get really dirty, bloody, have meconium, have amniotic fluid, all of the things. So just whatever you're wearing, don't be married to it. It's okay if it gets ruined, destroyed dirty, whatever. I. And then some other kind of practical things to think about is having something like a sound machine or even a speaker sometimes like that can be one and the same, where you can play familiar. Sounds like if you have a sound machine that you go to sleep with or. Having your labor playlist, which inside the Christian mama birth prep library, there's a worship labor playlist in there if you're stumped on what songs to add. But that's a great thing too, to include so that you can just kind of get the environment set for you. Phone charger, having your phone chargers, having a computer or an iPad if you want to have some entertainment. Many of the times the hospitals will have a tv, but you know, if you want to have something in particular you want to watch that's totally fine. But then also realize, even though you're going there for several days, you will be shocked at how little quote unquote downtime you have. So just know that even if you bring your iPad or something like that to watch something, there's a good chance that you won't be watching a ton of TV while you're there. And then for your husband's packing list, make sure that he is bringing comfortable outfits. Again, you might be there for several days, so make sure that he's bringing things that are comfortable, that are layered. Same premise here. Make sure he's bringing, a sweater or a, some sort of jacket or something to layer socks, all the things slippers for him to be walking around on the hospital floors medications that he needs to bring, phone charger, all of just those essentials. Make sure he's bringing that. And then for baby, you'll want to bring minimal things for baby Swaddles are a huge one. Of course, they will have the receiving blankets and they can show you how to swaddle your baby. With that, I personally. Could never get that down pat. And so we always used like the Velcro kind. I'll put a link in the show notes to the kinds that we liked, with our kids. But that's really helpful for helping the baby calm down and reduce the chance that their startle reflex will keep them up and awake when they can be resting. And so bring swaddles if you know ahead of time that you want to use a different kind than the receiving blanket swaddle that they'll provide at the hospital. I also suggest bringing some newborn clothes all the way from size preemie to three months. Obviously, babies are born all different sizes, and so if you know you're gonna have a bigger baby bring, newborn to three to six month. If you know you're having a big baby, if you know you're having a small baby, bring some preemie outfits. The key here is having things that will cover their feet and hands. So onesies are a great option, like little footy pajamas and socks and mittens. Those are things that are really important. Babies also kind of tend to scratch their face on accident so that's why mittens are really great too. It keeps them protected from themselves essentially. And then you'll also want to bring diapers and wipes. If you're not planning to use the ones that are provided in the hospital, they will have diapers and wipes for you. So if you are totally fine with that, they'll have that provided for you. Same thing with formula. If you are planning to use Formula, you know that ahead of time, or say you're wanting to bring it just in case formula is needed and there's a particular brand you want to use, feel free to bring that. You can even bring expressed colostrum that early milk that your body produces ahead of giving birth. And so you can even start collecting your colostrum ahead of time and bring that with you to the hospital and they can save that in the fridge or freezer. For you to give to baby if it's needed. Most of the time, women are not needing the colostrum they've collected, they just tend to breastfeed their baby, and that's all they need. But if you want to bring the colostrum just as like a safety precaution of, just in case it's needed, you have a complicated labor or you're separated from your baby for a stretch of time, something like that. The colostrum can be saved in the hospital. As long as you give them a heads up and you'll want to give that to them as quickly as possible, so as soon as you get to the hospital, they are getting that in the fridge or freezer for you, and it can stay as fresh as possible. And then of course you'll want a special going home outfit. So this can be like we did with Ellie, a matching robe and onesie, a swaddle hat and dad shirt for, you know, when we were leaving the hospital with Ellie. So if you have something like that, make sure to pack all that. And also having, hats, if that's something that you definitely have a preference for, they will have hats for your baby. But if you have a particular hat you wanna bring, by all means bring that as well. Before we wrap up here, going over these hospital bag essentials, I wanna go over when to start packing this hospital bag. I would typically say between 34 and 36 weeks. This is just before you're considered. Full term is a great time to start packing it. If you're packing it way too early, there's. Probably things in there that you'll really need in that time. Maybe not, but you can start packing it earlier, of course. But I would say be by 34 to 36 weeks, really start getting these things together, making sure you've washed the clothes and all those things to put them in your bag. And then if you forget something, you can have somebody go run to the store or run to your home to grab essential things that you've forgotten, but don't stress about it. If you do forget something on this list and just know the hospital does provide many of the basics that you will absolutely need. So that's also available to you For the last minute items like your toiletries, your toothbrush, things like that, that you cannot pack ahead of time. Essentially, make a little list of those things and you can have somebody help you with those things if needed. If you've listened to my birth story, I share about this in episode one, where. My labor started pretty quickly and I didn't have a ton of time to really think about all of those last minute things. I needed to pack my toiletries mainly. And so in between contractions, I was having my sister Kellie help me frantically pack things, and so it would've been so much nicer if I had just left a sticky note or a notepad, something showing what were my last minute things so that I could with less stress. Get those last minute items in my hospital bag. And I also wanted to let you know if you decide to do virtual doula support with me, I provide my clients with a Comfort Measures Essentials handout, and this gives hyperlinks to all of my favorite things like the Starry Light Projector, labor combs, having a portable fan, birth ball, all of those things that I recommend. Just to get the environment right. If you're a client of mine, you know where to find all that. But that's a really, really great resource as well. Just getting into more nitty gritty of things to have in your labor environment. I. And just remember, this is about preparation, not perfection. So trust your instincts when you're going through this hospital packing list. If something just doesn't seem like that's something you would need, listen to that. And of course there will be other things on in your hospital bag besides the things that I listed. But these are just the essentials that come to mind that can be easily forgotten or just not thought about, not on your radar. I've even had families. Bring personal items, like a picture of them or something like that. Birth affirmations that their older kids helped them make. Things of that nature that just again, facilitate a sense of calm for their birthplace. Before we close, I wanna just take a moment to pray over you as you're preparing for your baby's arrival. So let's pray. Lord Jesus, I lift up this precious mama as she's preparing for the gift of bringing new life into the world. I pray that you would fill her heart with peace and excitement rather than anxiety and fear. Lord, give her confidence in the beautiful way you've designed her body to bring life into the world, calm any worries about the unknown, and replace them with trust and your perfect plan for her and her baby. I hope that each thing she packs is a reminder of your faithfulness and the miracle that's about to unfold. Lord, prepare her heart for the journey ahead, for the strength she'll need, the joy she'll experience, and the overwhelming love that's about to multiply in ways she cannot even imagine yet. Watch over her, her baby, and her whole family during this precious time. It's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. And there you have it, mama. Your complete hospital bag packing guide. I hope walking through this list together has given you that sense of preparedness and peace that you were looking for. And remember, this is not about perfection. You don't need to have every single item on this list, and if you do forget something, it will be okay. The most important thing you're bringing to that hospital is your strength, your love, your incredible body that's about to do something absolutely amazing, and most importantly, your faith in the God who has been carefully knitting your baby together in your womb. He's been preparing both of you for this moment long before you ever started packing that bag. And again, don't forget to grab the free hospital bag packing list inside the Christian Mama birth prep library at faithoverfearbirth.com, or check the link in the show notes. It will make packing so much easier, and then you can check things off as you go. There's something very satisfying about checking things off of a completed task list. I am definitely one of those people and it's really helpful when you're nesting. I am so excited for you in this incredible journey you're about to begin. God chose you to be this baby's mama, and he's equipping you with everything you need. Your body knows what to do because he has created it to do this beautiful work. I. If you found this episode helpful and feel more prepared and confident, please share this with another mom that you know might need to hear this too. And as always, I'm cheering you on every step of the way, but more importantly, your heavenly father is holding you in his hands. Until next time, keep choosing faith over fear. You've got this because he's got you.