What should I pack in my hospital bag for twins?

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What should I pack in my hospital bag for twins?

Dad, you may be called upon to pack Mom’s bag for the hospital if you’re caught unprepared early in the twin pregnancy.

I’m going to share some things that my wife found very helpful in her hospital bag when we were having our twins, plus some things that you, Dad, can pack to help survive the hospital stay as well.

Your Paperwork

Make sure you have all of your paperwork. This may include:

• The birth plan you’ve discussed with your doctor
• Hospital admission forms
• Health Insurance Card

Clothing for Mom

The hospital will have clothing for Mom, but it won’t be the most comfortable clothing. It’ll usually be a gown, the typical open-in-back hospital gown.

You want Mom to feel as comfortable as is possible as she recovers from the birth of the babies and possibly from her C-section.

Pack her robe that she likes to wear around the house. Add some nice cozy slippers because the hospital floors are notoriously cold and hard. That’ll help her as she moves around the room and she goes back and forth from bed to the restroom, or as she walks up and down the hallways as she recovers from delivery.

Bedding

Next is to think about what is on the hospital bed to help Mom be as comfortable as possible for both sleeping and breastfeeding.

Here’s where a twin pillow may be very handy to position the twins around Mom for breastfeeding simplicity.

We really enjoyed our Bobby pillows that we used with our twin girls. You may consider taking one or both of those to the hospital to support the twins during feeding time.

Mom may also enjoy having an eye mask for sleeping. Hospital rooms are never dark. People are constantly coming in and out. If she can have and eye mask, it can help her get moments of sleep that she needs between interruptions from the nurses or the babies.

Pump Supplies

If you’ve already purchased a breast pump, either a manual pump or a machine, bring that with you to the hospital so you can get the hang of it while there’s others around to help you. Maybe there’s a lactation consultant at the hospital or the nurses can help you get accustomed to the equipment that you have.

Record All the Moments

You want to record all of the events of your twin’s birth and those cute, adorable newborn infants. These images and video will be for posterity’s sake, for the grandparents, and for you to embarrass the twins at their weddings some time in the future.

While your smartphone may be good enough to take video and pictures of your twins, you may also consider having a standalone point and shoot camera that you can easily hand off to somebody to take pictures or video. But worse come to worse, your smartphone should be fine to use. Just make sure you bring your chargers and cables.

Camp Gear for Dad

Dad, if you’re gonna be spending some time at the hospital, particularly those first few days after the twins are born, make sure you bring something to help you sleep.

The couches in recovery rooms are notoriously hard. When I went to the hospital for my twins delivery, I made sure that I had a pillow, a sleeping bag, and an inflatable mattress (like we take camping) to make sure that I was as comfortable as possible while in the room with my wife and our girls.

Snacks

Take some food that you can snack on to keep your energy levels up. Mom will be receiving food from the hospital under doctor’s orders.

But Dad, you may want some extra food and snacks to take care of yourself. This way you’re not always having to run down to the cafeteria of the hospital and who knows what you’ll find there to eat.

For the Twins

The hospital have really cheap onesies that the twins will wear along with swaddling blankets. But you can’t take these items home with you.

Pack several receiving blankets for your twins, a couple pairs of onesies, and some super cute clothes for them to wear as they come home from the hospital.

Don’t forget your car seats. Your hospital will not let you come home with the babies unless they have car seats. That’s one of the primary checks to see if your twins are ready to leave – that they properly fit in the car seats.

Hopefully this has been helpful in giving you some ideas of what you need to pack in your hospital bag for twins, both Mom, Dad, and the twins themselves.

What would you add to your hospital bag?