What should I pack in my hospital bag in Ireland?

Most people aim to have the bag packed by 36 weeks. See 36 weeks pregnant, or find your week in our pregnancy week by week guide.

The hospital bag is one of those jobs that feels enormous until you actually do it. Aim to have it packed from around 36 weeks, or earlier if you've been told baby may arrive ahead of schedule. Two bags work better than one giant one: a small bag for labour and a bigger one for the postnatal stay. And make sure your birth partner knows where everything is, because you will not be in the mood to direct a search.

Most Irish maternity stays are 1 to 3 days. Longer if you have a section, so pack for that possibility rather than repacking from a ward.

What should I pack for labour?

• Your maternity notes, and your birth plan if you have one
• A long comfortable nightdress or an old t-shirt you don't mind ruining
• Warm socks (labour wards are strangely cold on the extremities)
• Lip balm, because gas and air dries your lips out
• Hair bobbins
• A water bottle with a sports cap so you can drink lying down
• Snacks for you and for your birth partner, who will otherwise eat yours
• Your phone and a long charging cable, since the socket is never near the bed
• Change or a card for the car park. It's worth checking your hospital's parking setup beforehand rather than finding out at 3am

What should I pack for myself after the birth?

• 2 or 3 comfortable nightdresses, front-opening if you're planning to breastfeed
• A dressing gown and slippers
• Maternity pads, several packs. You will use more than you think
• Big comfortable knickers, several sizes up, or disposable ones
• Nursing bras and breast pads if breastfeeding
• Toiletries and a towel
• Earplugs and an eye mask. Wards are never quiet or dark
• Going-home clothes that fitted you at about 6 months pregnant. Not your pre-pregnancy jeans, whatever optimism says

The postpartum toiletries, specifically

This is the bit first-timers ask about most, so here it is in full. Beyond your usual washbag: maternity pads and plenty of them (ordinary sanitary towels aren't up to the job in the first days), the big soft knickers to hold them, breast pads whether or not you plan to breastfeed (your supply doesn't read the plan), nipple cream if you do, lip balm (hospital air is Sahara-dry), a gentle unfragranced wash for down below, a small pack of your own soft toilet paper if you're precious about it, hair bobbins, dry shampoo and a flannel. A little bag of your own paracetamol is not needed: the hospital manages any pain relief, so ask the midwives rather than self-dosing. If you have a caesarean, add very high-waisted knickers that sit well above the incision.

What should I pack for the baby?

• 5 or 6 vests and 5 or 6 babygros, in newborn and 0-3 month sizes, because you don't know the size yet
• Nappies for a newborn, a full pack
• Cotton wool for the early nappy changes
• A hat and a cardigan
• 2 soft blankets
• Muslin cloths
• A going-home outfit, for the photo as much as anything
• And the one thing you cannot leave without: a properly fitted rear-facing car seat, fitted in the car in advance. The hospital car park is not the place to learn the buckles

What's the short version of the hospital bag list?

What do people overpack and what do they forget?

Overpacked: the entire nursery, ten adorable outfits the baby will never wear, a speaker, more books than a long-haul flight. You are there for a couple of days and the baby wears babygros.

Forgotten: the charging cable, the car park coin, the maternity pads and the birth partner's own snacks and change of top. Notice a theme. It's the boring stuff that gets left behind.

Does every Irish maternity hospital want the same things?

Every maternity hospital does things slightly differently. Some limit what birth partners can bring in, some provide certain items themselves, so check the hospital's website or your booking appointment notes before you finish packing. The HSE's pregnancy and birth guidance is a good general read on preparing for the birth itself. Our plain-language guide to pregnancy care in Ireland covers the appointment schedule and what the Maternity and Infant Care Scheme includes. And as always, anything clinical goes to your midwife, PHN or GP, not a blog.

What will the PHN ask when we get home?

How feeding is going and how many wet nappies you're seeing, mostly. The bag gets you through the hospital, but the first week at home is a different job entirely: feeds, nappies and not much sleep, roughly in that order, and when the PHN calls to the house it's remarkably handy to have an answer that isn't a shrug.

If you're still expecting, our free 5-week email course for expecting parents walks you through what those early weeks actually look like. And Lullagram is the baby tracker to have ready for day one, so the feeds and nappies log themselves into answers for the PHN. Made in Ireland, for exactly these questions. It is free to try on Android, iPhone and web.