A guide for parents
What clothes to pack in your hospital bag
What they'll actually wear, why the size you've packed might not fit, and the one thing worth doing that no list mentions.
What's in here
- The list, and how many of each
- The size problem nobody warns you about
- What to look for when you're terrified of breaking them
- The coming home outfit
- What happens to all of it afterwards
Every hospital bag list tells you to pack three vests, three sleepsuits and a hat. Which is right, and it misses the thing that actually goes wrong.
You don't know how big your baby is going to be.
The list, and how many of each
| What | How many | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Vests or bodysuits | 3 | The layer under everything, and the one that gets ruined first |
| Sleepsuits | 3 | What they'll live in. Easier than anything with separate parts. |
| Hat | 1-2 | Hospital may give you one. Nice to have your own. |
| Scratch mittens | 1-2 pairs | Their nails are surprisingly sharp |
| Socks or booties | 2 pairs | Unless the sleepsuits have feet, which most do |
| Cardigan | 1 | Wards are warm. The car isn't. |
| Blanket | 1 thin one | Cellular, for skin to skin and the journey |
| Snowsuit or pramsuit | Only if it's cold | And it comes off in the car seat |
This is roughly the NHS list. Three of each is the standard advice and it's about right for a normal stay, though you'll want more at home.
The size problem nobody warns you about
Here's the thing. Babies are born anywhere from about 5lb to 10lb, and that spans three different clothing sizes.
Nearly everyone packs newborn and only newborn, and it goes wrong in both directions. A small baby swims in it, with the poppers doing up somewhere near their knees. A big baby, or one who arrives a bit late, may not fit into it at all.
So pack two sizes, three if you've got room. One set of tiny baby, one of newborn, one of 0-3 months. You'll use one of them and the others go home with the tags on.
If you've been told your baby is measuring small or large, that shifts which two to bring rather than removing the problem. Induced and early babies are often in prem or tiny baby sizes, which most people have never bought.
What to look for when you're terrified of breaking them
Nobody warns you how terrifying it is to dress a newborn the first time. They're floppy, they're impossibly small, and their arms bend in ways that make you feel like you're going to break them.
Which is why the fastenings matter so much more than they seem to when you're stood in a shop in your third trimester.
Can you get to the nappy without taking the whole thing off?
This is the one that really matters, because you'll be doing it about eight times a day. With poppers you just undo the bottom half and you're in. With a zip that only goes one way, you're opening the entire thing and your baby is lying there with a bare chest at three in the morning.
Vests with the funny overlapping shoulders
They're called envelope necks and they are not just a design thing. It means you can pull the vest down and off instead of over their head. Which you will appreciate enormously the first time a nappy leak has gone all the way up their back.
Nothing that goes over their head
Front-opening everything for the first few weeks, whatever the fastening. Their neck doesn't hold itself up yet and you'll end up doing this one-handed at some point.
The coming home outfit
This is the one that gets photographed, and the one most likely not to fit.
Pack two options in different sizes. The one you had your heart set on may be enormous on them, and finding that out in a hospital room with a car seat waiting is not the moment for it.
The thing no list mentions
Put the going-home outfit in its own bag, labelled, near the top. Your partner will be sent to find it at some point while you're occupied, and they will not know which of the seven identical white sleepsuits was the special one.
Otherwise, think about the car rather than the ward. Hospitals are warm and the car park in February is not. And nothing padded goes on underneath a car seat harness, so warmth comes from a blanket over the top rather than a snowsuit underneath. More on that here.
What happens to all of it afterwards
Here's what nobody says about newborn clothes.
A lot of them are never worn at all. The size that didn't fit goes home with the tags still on. And the size that did fit gets two to four weeks before they've grown out of it.
So you end up, within about a month, with a pile of barely-touched clothes and a baby who needs the next size. Which is the whole children's clothing problem, arriving faster than anyone expects it to.
Buy fewer than the lists say is genuinely the best advice going. You'll be given plenty, and almost all of it will be newborn.
He was 9lb 2oz and the newborn stuff never went near him. I'd packed four sleepsuits in a size he'd already outgrown before he arrived. Take two sizes, honestly.
🌱 And the ones that never got worn
The unworn newborn sleepsuits are the purest version of the problem. Bought, packed, and outgrown before they were ever put on.
Swapaboo is a clothes swap for exactly that. You photograph what they've grown out of, or never got into, we check and value each piece, and it becomes credits you spend on the next size up from another family.
The clothes cost nothing. You pay to have them moved, and how much depends on whether you collect them or have them sent.
We're opening a few families at a time and it's invitation only just now.
Common questions
What clothes should I pack in my hospital bag for the baby?
Three vests or bodysuits, three sleepsuits, a hat, scratch mittens, socks unless the sleepsuits have feet, a cardigan and a thin blanket. Add a snowsuit only if the weather is cold. Most importantly, pack two sizes rather than one, since birth weights span several clothing sizes.
What size clothes should I pack for a newborn?
Two sizes at least. Babies are commonly born anywhere between about 5lb and 10lb, which covers tiny baby, newborn and 0-3 months. Packing only newborn is the most common mistake, and it goes wrong in both directions. If your baby has been measuring small or large, that changes which two sizes to bring rather than removing the need for two.
How many sleepsuits do I need in my hospital bag?
Three is the standard advice and is usually enough for a typical stay. Take more if you are expecting a longer stay or a caesarean. You will need considerably more at home, since newborns get through several changes a day.
What should a baby wear home from hospital?
A vest, a sleepsuit and a hat, with a cardigan if it is cold. Pack two options in different sizes, since the outfit you chose may not fit. Nothing padded should go under a car seat harness, so use a blanket over the top rather than a snowsuit underneath.
Are zip sleepsuits better than poppers for a newborn?
It depends on which job matters more to you. A zip is faster for a full change, while poppers let you open only the bottom half for a nappy change, which is something you do several times a day. A standard one-way zip means undressing the whole baby to change a nappy. Two-way zips do both jobs but are less common. The useful test is whether you can reach the nappy without a complete undress.
Do hospitals provide baby clothes?
Generally not, though most will provide a hat and a basic blanket, and staff will usually help if you have forgotten something. It is worth bringing your own, but nobody will mind if you are short of an item.