Sorted the baby things into 'hospital bag' and 'later'. Is anything in my later pile a mistake?

fern_violin_304724 Oct 2026

The baby cupboard has been filling up for two months. This weekend I emptied the cupboard onto the floor and made two piles: what goes in the hospital bag now, and what stays in the cupboard until we need it. The 'later' pile has the bath tub, the bouncer, the breast pump, the second set of bottles, the nail clippers, the thermometer, a pair of newborn shoes someone gifted, and the feeding pillow. The bag has clothes, swaddles, nappies, wipes, caps and socks, and my own things. Did I put anything in the 'later' pile that you found you needed in the first few days?

3 comments

linen_bottle_769124 Oct 2026
Nail clippers. Nine years ago now but I remember those tiny nails being sharp within days, she kept scratching her own cheek. The shoes can stay in the cupboard forever 🤷
willow_window_957524 Oct 2026
The bag looks fine to me. Only one thing, keep two or three old soft cotton cloths in it, the washed-many-times kind. When our grandson was born everything the family bought was new and stiff, and the old cotton cloth was what everybody kept asking for. His ammamma's idea, not mine, but she was right.
pebble_fern_665526 Oct 2026
Feeding pillow I also kept for later, with my second baby. First night itself I asked my husband to bring it from home, my back was paining from sitting up to feed. Depends on the bed also. Rest of your list is ok I think.
- plum_moon_681526 Oct 2026
  We had the opposite experience with our first. The hospital bed raised fully and a folded bedsheet behind the back did the job, so the pillow only came out once we were home. I suspect it depends a good deal on the hospital and on how the delivery goes, so ask what the beds are like when you next go in.
- violet_bookmark_830628 Oct 2026
  Replying to @plum_moon_6815
  Our hospital bed raised too last year, and we had a pillow in the bag, and the pillow still got used far more at home than in hospital. So I'd leave it in the later pile, but already bought rather than something to buy later. That difference matters if the first week turns out harder than planned and nobody has time to go shopping.