The Best Hospital Bag Checklist- Tips from a Newborn Photographer in Pittsburgh
Wondering what a doula and newborn photographer brings to their own birth? Check out our guide below!
-Insurance/ID card/Wallet
-Hot water bottle/heat pack
-Phone charger
-Installed car seat
-Birth affirmation cards
-Chapstick and a comb (to squeeze into your hand as a distraction/accupressure pain relief)
-dry shampoo & face wipes for postpartum, hairbrush
-Pillows and blankets from home to make it feel less like a hospital
-A Sleep mask to limit distractions
-Prescription medications, Tums, arnica gel or your favorite topical pain relief lotion, tens unit, deep blue lotion, massage gun if you’d like!
-Galaxy light, fairy lights, or battery candles to set the mood
-A robe or sleep dress that opens in the front for skin to skin and feeding
-A going home outfit (one larger, and one smaller)
-A water bottle that has a straw that you can drink from any angle, that keeps drinks cold for a long time!
-Cooler with Snacks for partner and self! (Drinks with extra calories and electrolytes like coconut water/smoothie stuff, liquid IV packets, easy to eat snacks like dates! Fresh fruit, champagne or a celebratory drink if you want!)
-Any colostrum you may have harvested, in syringes in your cooler.
-Camera w batteries, polaroid camera, or iphone!
-Hairbrush and hair ties (bonus points of you can braid your hair out of the way for labor!)
-Handheld fan or stroller fan (for when you get hot during transition)
-Airplane pillow (for dad to pass out on an uncomfortable chair a bit easier + way more convenient than dragging along a Boppy!)
-Bonus- Ziplock for a piece of the placenta to make a tincture (pop a thumb size raw piece of placenta in a 3 oz bottle of 100 proof vodka and let it strengthen for three months, it becomes a powerful tincture to support your body during your cycle and you can even save it to balance your hormones during menopause, keep in cooler on ice)
-Bonus- Any tinctures you like to bring essential oils (I like Calm The F Down by Amethyst Apothecary, and Placenta Ease to prevent retained placenta!)
Note: In Pittsburgh Hospitals like Magee Women’s they have birth balls and peanut balls, blankets, onesies, diapers, a pump if you need to use it, washclothes and towels, and general comfort items!