Courtney and Esther have already written excellent posts about what to pack into your hospital bag, here and here. So you might wonder why I’m writing yet another post about the hospital bag? Well, having had a C-section delivery for my firstborn and waiting to get a second one in a couple days from now, I know that hospital stays after birth, and after C-sections especially, can be a little rough and not super comfortable for the new mama.

My goal this time around is to pack a couple of essentials to make my hospital stay a little cosier and feel as close to the comfort I would find at home in the early days with a newborn baby. I thought I would share my ideas with you as some of these items might come in handy for you too.

Here in France we stay at least 3 nights in the hospital after a natural birth and at least 4 nights after a C-section. So a little extra comfort for these first days away from home can go a long way. I intended this post to be all about the mama because we always focus on baby’s essentials and wellbeing but I think we need to feel good ourselves to care the best we can after our new little bundle of love!

So here goes my list of 10 items to make you feel a little brighter in your hospital room:

• My own pillow from home. I know this might not feel essential to many of you but for me a good sleep requires resting on my very own pillow and I know a couple persons who think the same so it might help get that much needed rest after labour or surgery. One friend also suggested taking my own bath towel from home for extra comfort.
• A cosy cashmere blanket, for extra comfy resting, breastfeeding or just snuggling with your baby.
• A water boiler and your favorite tea or coffee, especially needed for me this time around as I have low iron levels and can’t drink as much tea as I would like to these days so I’m eagerly waiting to have my several cups of tea a day again once my baby is here.
• A couple of favourite snacks to go with that afternoon tea.
• A physical picture of the family members that are staying at home, definitely not a must but I thought it would be lovely to get a glimpse of my husband and eldest son when going to sleep or waking up at night and not on a screen.
• A bluetooth speaker and your favourite playlist, could be used during labour or just during the hospital stay, any moment you feel you could need a little cheer, I plan on listening to soft jazz music to help me relax when needed.
• A couple of inspirational or fictional books, if your stay is as long as ours in France and you need a little distraction for the mind.  I’m bringing a copy of The First Forty Days, a book about nourishing the new mother, as well as The Sun and Her Flowers, a little book of poetry.
• Cozy slippers or socks, I’ll be taking my trusted pair of Glerups from home.
• Your favourite toiletries to pamper yourself a little and maybe even appear, or at least feel, a little less tired. I’m trusting on Bonpoint and their natural ingredients this time, and I just love their smell and the fact that a lot of the products are suitable for newborns as well.
• And last but not least, this might be my favourite item after my cup of tea: a nightlight for cozy lighting during the night, especially handy for breastfeeding mamas I think as the hospital light can be quite harsh.

And as a little extra in case of a C-section, as your newborn is often attended to by the nurses during the first night at least, I would also add earplugs to your list of essentials to get that much needed rest after surgery. Last time around they had a loud “party” until late at night in the room next to mine and even if I can totally understand the joy of welcoming a new baby, I desperately needed some rest and was happy to have packed those earplugs.

In case you’re wondering, my baby’s hospital bag is a Maison Margaret linen bag, really sturdy, yet refined and delicate and most of all, big enough to hold all of baby’s essentials and more! Trust me, I’ve packed tons of stuff in there! And my own bag for the first 24 hours is my well-loved and trusted Josefina bag, I have the large version, it’s the perfect size for the first necessities, and then my husband can bring anything else I might need during my stay at the hospital.

So now tell me! What are your Mama essentials for a comfy hospital stay? I would love to read all about it and know if I should pack anything else into my own hospital bag while it’s still time to do so…!