Hospital Bag Checklist: Packing It Together, Calmly

When to pack the bag

Many people like to have the bag packed a few weeks before the due date, so it's not a job for the last evening. Your midwife or hospital can tell you what timing they suggest for your situation. Whatever the date, it helps to pack in two stages: everything that can go in early goes in early, and a short “last minute” list covers the few things you use every day until you leave.

A hospital bag checklist to start from

Cross out what your hospital already provides and add what's missing for you.

For you

• Paperwork. Your pregnancy notes or any documents your hospital asked you to bring, ID, and your birth plan if you've written one.
• Clothes for labour. A loose top or nightdress you don't mind getting messy, a dressing gown, slippers and warm socks.
• Clothes for afterwards. A couple of comfortable nightdresses or pyjamas that open at the front if you plan to breastfeed, comfortable high-waisted underwear, and a loose outfit to go home in.
• Toiletries. Toothbrush and toothpaste, lip balm, hairbrush and hair ties, deodorant, a small towel, maternity pads, and glasses or contact lenses.
• Comfort. Your own pillow in a coloured pillowcase so it doesn't get mixed up, an eye mask, earplugs, and something to listen to.
• Food and drink. Snacks and a refillable water bottle, ideally one with a straw.
• Medicines. Any everyday medicines you already take — check with your midwife what to bring.

For the baby

• Clothes. A few sleepsuits and vests in newborn size (and perhaps one size up), a soft hat, socks or scratch mittens.
• Going home. An outfit for the journey home and a blanket.
• Nappies and wipes. A pack of newborn nappies and cotton wool or wipes, as your hospital suggests.
• Car seat. If you're driving home, the car seat fitted in the car before the day.

For the birth partner

• Clothes. A change of clothes, a warm layer, and something to sleep in if they can stay.
• Food and drink. Snacks, a drink and some coins or a card for the vending machine or café.
• Tech. Phone, a long charging cable and a power bank.
• Small things. Headphones, a book, and a list of the people to message once the baby arrives.

Last-minute list. Phone and charger, glasses, the toiletries you use every morning, your pillow and anything from the fridge.

Packing the bag together

A hospital bag is often packed by one person and carried by another. When the day comes, the person holding the bag may not be the one who packed it — so the list is worth sharing, not keeping in one head.

• Pack in labelled sections. A small bag or pouch for labour, one for afterwards and one for the baby makes it easy to hand the right thing over without unpacking everything.
• Both of you look through it once. A quick walk through the bag together means the partner knows where the snacks and the charger are.
• Keep the last-minute list visible. It's the part most likely to be left on the kitchen table.

If you're also planning a trip around the due date, our packing list for vacation explains how to keep a master packing list for the whole household.

Keep the checklist in Family Errands

In Family Errands the hospital bag list can live as a shared note, and the packing itself as an errand made from it.

1. Write a “Hospital bag” note

   Add a checklist with the items above that fit your plans. If your midwife or a friend sent you a list in a chat, copy it: in Notes the app offers to create a new note from the copied text, with each line as a separate checklist item.

2. Share the note with your partner

   Tap their avatar so both of you can see and edit the list. Everyone it's shared with can add an item the moment they think of it.

3. Create an errand when it's time to pack

   Open the note and create an errand: a new errand for today appears with the same checklist, while the note stays as it is — useful if you ever pack a bag like this again.

4. Tick items separately

   Share the errand with your partner too — an errand made from a note doesn't take over the note's people. Each checklist item can be ticked on its own, so one of you can pack the baby's clothes while the other sorts the toiletries, and both see what's still left.

5. Keep the last-minute list on your home screen

   Put the short last-minute items in their own errand and add the Selected errand widget with it, so either of you can tick them off on the way out of the door.

Sharing the errands around the bag

The bag isn't the only job in the last weeks. Fitting the car seat, buying newborn nappies or picking up something from the pharmacy can each be an errand. When one of you has a busy week and the other is free, hand the errand over to your partner: it becomes theirs and leaves your list, so it's clear who has it now.

Questions