Having a baby in a pandemic: What I brought in my hospital bag(s)

As many of you know, I recently had my first daughter - little miss Campbell and am wildly in love! I’m taking some time off, mainly to stare at her and ask everyone I know, “isn’t she perfect??” but thought that this list MIGHT be helpful to those of you who are also giving birth during a pandemic. 

The big difference right now is that once you go into most hospitals to have your little one, you cannot leave. Which means no visitors, no running out to grab a takeout, or no forgetting that you were supposed to bring the car seat up with you. You also need to wear a mask! It must have been something else for the nurses to admit me while I was wearing this. 

While it’s fresh in my mind, I thought I would share a few items that I brought with me to the hospital that I was SO happy to have.

1. My bag: I loved having my Lo & Sons - Catalina Deluxe Tote. I love this weekend tote for many reasons - it’s great looking and amazing for traveling. It’s also great for a two day trip to the hospital! Things I love about it: the extra compartment on the bottom for shoes, how roomy it is without being an aggro suitcase, and the luggage sleeve that makes it easy to pair with an Away bag. I also love the color I have Forest Green, my mom has the Dove Grey and my sister Serena has the Midnight Ash. PS. Looks like it’s on sale… 40% off! 

2. My own towel and pillow: Another great rec from Gugu Guru (they sent me an amazing packing list for the hospital). Not to be a snob, but the pillows at the hospital are, let’s say, sub-par, for someone who just pushed a baby out and needs a little rest. As for the towels, well, they fall into the same category. I get it, hospitals have other things to worry about. But I was so happy I brought my own! (If you want to try out Gugu Guru, use my code “Pardy20” for 20% off! You won’t regret the guidance! 

3. My toiletry bag: Let’s talk about what I jammed in my toiletry bag. I think there’s something so simply pleasing about a fresh dopp kit, so I snagged this Roberta Roller Rabbit Hearts Makeup Bag from Whitney + Winston. That first shower felt SO good. I was really happy to have my own shampoo + conditioner (Olaplex, duh), body lotion (I brought my Goe Oil because it’s small and easy to pack), Pai cleanser and oil, and all of the other normal things like a toothbrush etc. What I WISH I had brought was an eye mask for my puffy eyes. Something cooling would have been clutch.

4. My “going home” outfit: I knew I wanted to look like a “cool mom” leaving the hospital, so a while back I got myself a pair of Veja Sneakers that I wouldn’t let myself wear until I was a mom. I kept them in my hospital bag and was so excited to put them on when we left! I also got a pair of camo joggers (hello stretchy waistband!!) from Anthro and a billowy white t-shirt from Hatch. 

5. SNACKS!: Pro tip - the hospital food was okay. Honestly, after giving birth, I was ready to eat basically anything. But it was really nice to have some things that I KNEW I was going to have to look forward to. Since we stayed for two nights and couldn’t leave our little room, we stocked up - salt and vin chips, apples, nuts, crackers, beef jerky (for alex), dried mango, (candy!) etc. But most importantly: the beer. I had been CRAVING a heavy IPA my entire pregnancy, and I could only have the best of the best. So my friend Hannah gave us the best present of all: a 4 pack from Hill Farmstead, hand-delivered from Vermont. Let me tell you, it tasted so good and I felt drunk after about 3 sips and had Alex finish the rest. 

6. Breastfeeding Essentials: Not sure I’d still be breastfeeding if I hadn’t brought this Earth Mama Organic Nipple Butter with me. An absolute must and it smells so good!! I now have a little tub stationed in every room of our apartment! 

7. Post-baby hospital attire: Hospital johnnies are cute and all, but they are similar to the towels - quite rough! I loved having a nice, soft robe to lounge in, making it very easy to try out breastfeeding and a bit softer on the skin. 

8. Campbell’s Bag: I figured it was time to test out the diaper bag I had been coveting since putting together Campbell’s registry! I love this Dagne Dover - Large Wade Diaper Tote in Dark Moss bag with all of its features like on-the-go changing matt and matching pouches, but it was also the perfect size for a few baby hospital essentials for my little friend.

9. Baby Nail Essentials: Not to brag, but Campbell came out with beautiful nail beds and long nails (I like to joke that one of my best features are my nail beds…but I’m not joking, they’re amazing). It’s too scary/really not advised to cut babies nails when they're this tiny, so this FridaBaby - Nail File was key so that she wouldn’t scratch herself. I got the file in the FridaBaby Baby Basics Kit which comes with important things like a snotsucker… I can't wait to try that out!! 

10. Campbell’s Going Home Outfit + Baby Blanket: I didn’t know what we were having, so it was so fun for me to knit this gender neutral and v timeless “coming home outfit” from petite knit. Fun fact: I had never knit pants before! So that was fun. I also packed the adorable baby blanket my mom knit - check out the pattern here! 

11. The Car Seat: As I mentioned, make sure you bring this up with you when you check into the hospital. The Nuna Pipa Car Seat was another suggestion from Gugu Guru and I love it so far. Super light and easy to install. Plus, it’s apparently great for city living as you can easily put it in an uber…not that we’re hopping in one of those anytime soon! It also has an adapter to hook into our UppaBaby Vista while she’s teeny tiny! 

Good luck to ANY Mommas out there who are pregnant in this pandemic and are getting ready to give birth. You’ve got this!!!! What are you planning to bring to the hospital? Share in the comments!