Packing for the hospital, and the heart

By week 34, your bag should be by the door. Not because you''ll need it tomorrow — but because labour is much calmer when packing isn''t a panic at 2 am.

Here''s our pared-down, no-Pinterest list.

For you — the labour bag

• ID, insurance card, hospital file, birth plan (1 page)
• Loose front-open kurtas or button-down nighties (3–4)
• Comfortable nursing bras (2–3) and bigger underwear (6 pairs, dark)
• Maternity pads — the long, thick kind (1 pack)
• Toothbrush, lip balm, hair ties, comb, face wipes
• A scarf or shawl — hospital ACs are merciless
• Slippers you can wash, socks
• Phone charger with a long cable (the plug is never near the bed)
• Snacks: dates, nuts, energy bars, an electrolyte sachet
• A small bottle of coconut oil — for everything

For baby

• 6 cotton onesies / mittens / caps (preferably washed once)
• Swaddle cloths — 4, in soft muslin
• Newborn nappies (1 small pack — hospitals usually provide initially)
• Coconut oil or a gentle baby oil
• A soft hooded towel
• The coming-home outfit (one size up — newborns are bigger than the dolls suggest)

Resist buying the entire Firstcry catalogue. Your baby will wear three outfits on repeat for the first month.

For your partner

• A change of clothes, toiletries, slippers
• Snacks and a water bottle (they will forget to eat)
• A power bank
• A printed list of who to call, and in what order
• Cash for parking, chai, and that one urgent pharmacy run

The hospital can almost always provide

Save the suitcase space:

• Sanitary pads (basic ones)
• Baby blankets
• Nappies for the first day
• A nursing pillow (most have one)

A birth plan, in one page

Keep it short, kind, and flexible. Things worth writing down:

• Pain relief preference (epidural / nitrous / nothing — and your "if needed" line)
• Who you want in the room
• Skin-to-skin immediately if possible
• Delayed cord clamping (1–3 min), if your doctor agrees
• Breastfeeding within the first hour, if possible
• No formula or pacifier without checking with you

End with: "We understand birth is unpredictable. We trust you to keep us safe." It sets the tone better than any clause.

The invisible bag

Pack one more bag, the one no one talks about:

• The forgiveness that this might not go to plan
• The permission to not feel "instant love" the first second
• The understanding that the first 48 hours are foggy, and that''s normal
• The phone number of one friend who has done this — text them when you''re ready