Congratulations on the upcoming arrival of your new baby. You must be ecstatic about the big day! Yet, do you know which kinds of clothes you should have in your hospital bag? If not, continue reading as we discuss the most vital clothes you must pack for the baby’s delivery. First I will discuss the details of the essential baby clothes for hospital bags. Then I will provide a brief baby hospital bag checklist to sum it all up at the bottom of this post.
What Kind Of Baby Clothes Must Be In Your Hospital Bag?
Most hospitals will provide basic clothes for your newborn while at the hospital. Most often this will be a plain white t-shirt (for easy access) and swaddle blanket. So technically, in most cases, you don’t have to bring any baby clothes for the hospital or birth center. Hats and socks are other baby clothing items that the hospital may provide. However, you may prefer to bring your own. Hospital provided ones are usually very plain, thin, and rather cheap quality. Therefore, lots of people want to bring a newborn baby hospital outfit for baby to wear while they are there as well as a baby coming-home outfit.
Essential Newborn Baby Clothing
Comfortable clothes are essential for baby’s arrival. They will be the most important item in the baby’s hospital bag.
Sleepsuits or Onesies
Onesies are often considered the most basic, top choice item when packing clothes for baby. Given that typical clothes will keep moving, exposing your child’s skin, securing them with onsies or sleep suits are very useful. They are also great choices because they don’t squeeze baby’s waistline and a comfortable baby is a happy baby. Sleepsuits (also known as sleepers, Sleep & Plays, romper jumpsuits, or sleeper pajamas with built in footies) will ensure your child is comfortable and warm when sleeping during the night. You can get some of the best baby sleepsuits and adorable onesies from leading online outlets like Pixels or nearby physical stores.
Sometimes it can be good to have a few different sizes. Some babies are born tiny barely fitting newborn clothes while others are born quite large and fit 3-6 month onesies!
Hats And Socks
Baby’s head is a large source for heat transfer to hats can help baby regulate temperature better. Ensure to pack some hats and socks for your newborn. It might be cold in the hospital, so you’ll need to keep your baby warm. If you have a baby girl, you may even want a soft bow baby headband- these are great for perfect baby photos!
Baby Coming-Home Outfits
That is it for the essential baby clothes but some people like to pack special baby coming-home outfits as well. They tend to go a little fancier for bringing baby home. You might want to consider some of the below items or you can just stick with a going-home outfit with a matching hat.
Shirts, Pants, Or Dresses
You may want to try some shirts and pants for the baby. When selecting these clothes, settle for loose, soft ones because you don’t want to hurt your baby’s soft skin with tight clothes.
Although these clothes are adorable, they can be hectic to put on and take off and may even be uncomfortable for the baby. To avoid such instances, consider choosing:
- Stretchy Leggings And Soft Jeans: These clothes are easy to put on and pull out and won’t press your newborn’s tummy. Babies are vulnerable to indigestion, and tight clothes can only worsen the matter. To ensure the clothes aren’t to blame for your child’s bad mood, dress them in stretchy, flexible clothes.
- Stretchy Dresses, Tops, Or Tunics: Stretchy dresses, tops, or tunics are easy to go over the head and pull down over the body. Avoid buttoned clothes, especially those with lots of buttons at the back, because they can be difficult to remove.
Vests
Vests are great because they can keep your baby from risk of feeling a cold or wet by soaking up the first layer of milk spillage or regular spit-ups. You can use a short-sleeved vest during warm weather and a long-sleeved one for cold weather.
Besides keeping your baby warm, some vests, such as kimono vests, ensure that diapers stay in place. Additionally, vests protect a baby’s skin from inevitable milk spills and spit-ups absorbed by the outer layer of clothing.
Jumpsuit Or Cardigans For Warmth
A newborn should always stay warm. Therefore, it’s essential to pack a jumpsuit or cardigan if you will be traveling home in cool weather. Consider dressing up your newborn with cardigans if you want to be flexible on whether to keep your baby’s sweater buttoned or unbuttoned. However, if you want your child to stay warm all the time, settle for jumpers, especially in the fall or winter.
Other Baby Necessities
Here are a few more essential items to go ahead in stick into baby’s diaper bag so you’ll always be ready.
Blankets And Swaddles
Although hospitals provide blankets to keep you and the baby warm, carrying one or two from home is a good idea. The extra blankets will act as substitutes once some become dirty. Besides, the hospital’s blankets might not be as comfortable as you’d want them for the newborn; thus, it’s best to bring your own.
You’ll also need some blankets to protect your baby against the cold when leaving the hospital. Bringing your blankets and swaddles is also useful as nurses will teach you to swaddle your baby correctly the first time. This will ensure you’ll be confident when swaddling your baby, even after going home.
Burp Cloths
These are small rectangular cloths that prevent your child’s frequent spit from making it to their clothes, thus preventing them from getting dirty quickly. It’s therefore important to pack some as you’ll need them eventually.
Dribble Bibs
It would help if you packed several of these. They’re triangular or rounded cloths placed around the baby’s neck to prevent their clothes from soaking up in spit-ups. Dribble bibs are often fastened with velcro or poppers for easy removal.
Diapers And Baby Wipes
Although these baby needs are already at the hospital, it’s a good option to pack a few diapers and baby wipes just in case you should need them. These essentials will surely come in handy and are useful should you plan to go elsewhere after checking out from the hospital.
Baby Hospital Bag Checklist
If you are wondering how many baby clothes to bring to hospital, it depends on your length of stay. VeryWellFamily points out that, “For an uncomplicated vaginal birth, you can expect to stay in the hospital for at least 24 hours; however, most people stay for about two days. If you’ve had a C-section, your stay will be three to four days in most cases. So most people bring 2-4 outfits in their hospital baby bag.
- 2-4 sleepsuits or onesies
- 2 socks
- 2 hats
- 1 going-home outfit
- 1 warm jumpsuit for going home if at all chilly
- 1 baby blanket for taking your little one home
- 1 burp cloth
- a few diapers and wipes
This list is a good starting point. New parents should also make sure the car seat is installed before bringing baby home from hospital.
Conclusion
When packing for your child’s delivery, their safety should be at the top of your mind. Thus, you’ll be needing essentials to keep your newborn warm and secure. With the information presented here, you now know what to pack as the due date approaches for your new bundle of joy. Remember to pack your baby’s needs in well advance, just in case they come early! Birth is such a miracle and blessing. Congratulations!
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Source: Parenting - familyfocusblog.com
