The Hospital Bag: The "Non-Essentials"

There are some really great lists online of what to pack in your hospital bag when you're having a baby.  But I've always been an over-packer, so here are some of the non-essentials I'll be bringing with me to the hospital.

A Zero Candle
There's so much to celebrate, and the birth of a new baby tops the list.  I adore this idea of having a birthday party on the actual birth day.  And since our baby won't be able to eat a cupcake, I'll just have to help her out with that.

Photo Credit: Spearmint Baby

Name Banner
I've been keeping our final name selection mostly under wraps.  It's a hormonal thing…and I'm okay with being mildly crazy.  So, the name banner is a sweet way to announce to all social media circles who may be waiting impatiently for that first photo shared.  Plus, it's just so darn cute!   Not so crafty?  The Purple Pug has some sweet options.

Photo Credit: The Purple Pug

Food for Dad
Included in a lot of hospital bag lists are snacks for Dad.  It's true that he does have the ability to head down to the cafeteria or have other visitors bring him something, making this item technically a non-essential.  However, I noticed that it was only when my husband left the room that the contractions would go up in severity.  Dude, not cool.

Soundtrack
Music is a big part of our lives, and for the birth of each of our children my husband has compiled a soundtrack for the baby's first day.  Some mommas use music as a method to calm themselves during labor.  For us, it was more about starting the baby's life full of things we love.  Our second child entered the world with Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA."  No joke.  My love for The Boss runs deep, and it was the 4th of July, after all.

Photo Cred: Born in the USA

Extra Room in Your Hospital Bag
A hospital isn't a luxurious hotel with awesome travel-size shampoos, but there are lots of things that might just happen to fall into your hospital bag.  An extra few diapers or pads for mama aren't going to be missed.

Celebrity Magazines
A vacation luxury in my world is sitting around reading OK or People.  And since having a baby is like sitting a pool drinking margaritas, I like to recreate the experience by picking up some lighter reading material.  Ha!  Actually, it's a good mind-numbing distraction that you can in entertain yourself with between contractions.  Double points if the magazine cover story is about a celebrity baby.

Photo Credit: People Magazine

A Code Word for Your Nurse
Most of us don't remember when our babies were brand new because we were in a zombie-like daze so we've forgotten how hard it can be to have visitors.  So if your well-meaning guests have outstayed their welcome, a way to alert the nurse to clear the room is a good idea. Let the nurse be the bad guy.

So get out your largest piece of luggage and fill her up!  You, of course, won't want to forget to all the important stuff like clothing for yourself and the baby…but a few non-essentials can keep you entertained and a little more sane on the big day.