So, I Had A Baby… And Here’s What I (Over)Packed For Hospital – What’s In My Bag?

If you follow me on Instagram (you should!) you may have seen that on March 11 we welcomed a new little bundle of love. My second son Finn was born, seven pounds of perfect. I never ‘announced’ my pregnancy on any social site, not even my personal Facebook page, so it did come as a bit of surprise to followers. I am what you would call a more private person and I am not one that is going to be posting millions of pictures of my children all over the internet, but I will include just a few snaps here.

Right, so I’m assuming we are all here for the beauty? Yes? I’m not known for packing light at the best of times and a hospital stay was obviously no exception lols. As my delivery was a planned c-section I was aware that my hospital stay could likely be 5-7 nights (it wasn’t – I discharged after 3) so I pretty much packed everything but the kitchen sink. You just never know what you may need and this was far easier than trying to explain to Mr BB exactly which face cream or mascara I needed him to retrieve from home for me.

Okay, so here is my cosmetic case. I bought the Diane von Furstenberg cosmetic case from ShopBop a while back now during one of their 25% friends and family sales and they don’t seem to carry this design anymore but if you are able to find one, I could not recommend more. Actually, there is a similar one on the DVF site. It is stylish, waterproof, plenty of compartments and almost looks like a handbag. And animal print. I do love me an animal print.

I knew that I probably was not going to be down for long leisurely balm or oil cleansers (I also did not want to have to pack the accompanying face cloths) so I opted for a pack of Natio Delicate Cleansing Wipes (oh horror! but if there was ever a time face wipes would be acceptable surely giving birth is one of them) and the Omorovicza Cleansing Foam (review) as I can just rinse it off either in the shower or at the basin. These two happened to be good choices, I used the cleanser both morning and night and used the wipes before hand if I had a little makeup on. The Clinique Moisture Surge Face Spray had to come with, I adore this hydrating mist (review). Last year before Christmas I put away a repurchase of the Vital Essence Serum and also a new purchase of the Magnolia Jasmine & Lily Healing Emulsion (I’d previously had a sample tube of this and I loved it) both from Chantecaille as a little treat for my hospital bag. My skin loves these Chantecaille products and I find them gentle, effective and essentially they just give me my best skin. And when you’re stuck in hospital – likely sleep deprived – you kind of want some skincare that makes you look and feel a bit more human. I popped in a deluxe/travel size of the Chantecaille Jasmine & Lily Healing Mask which I adore and would name in my top 5 products of all time (review) to use as a night cream (review) and a travel/sample size of the Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream.

What I did not get around to using was the Ila Beyond Organic Shampoo and Conditioner* – I had washed my hair the night prior to going to hospital and really did not feel the need to wash again before I got home (I was there only 3 nights). I packed a little sample size Darphin Oil – the Jasmine Aromatic Care in case I needed an little oil boost but I didn’t use it. Both of these products I am really interested in trying (I’m just reminding myself here!) so I will have to put them in my bathroom so I don’t forget…. My hospital bag still is only half unpacked four weeks later – oops. I didn’t use the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream in hospital but I have since coming home. I like it, but I don’t love it. It’s described on the tube as ‘intense hydration for dry parched skin’ but I just don’t find it that hydrating. I mean, it is hydrating… but it’s certainly not what I would describe as ‘intense’. In saying that, I do quite like it. Layered with other hydrating products or perhaps as a day-time moisturiser I will definitely get use out of it.

Yes, I’m that girl that packed makeup for a hospital stay. I would say it is fairly minimal, but I guess that’s subjective. My guess is if you’re here, reading a beauty blog, you will agree with me that it’s minimal. My bag housed the Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted Moisturiser to even out my skin and provide very sheer coverage, the Estee Lauder Perfectionist Concealer – which is amazing for drier skin and bonus it has a little serum corrector in the end, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette which I use all three shades Dim for setting, Incandescent for a subtle highlight and Radiant for a bit of bronze. The Delilah blush in Lullaby perked my cheeks up and gave me a bit of colour which I needed! How on earth could I go anywhere without brows and lashes? So I tossed in Benefit Gimme Brow and also Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Mascara. A daily staple for me is the By Terry Baume de Rose which I have the original and also a tinted version, so I went with the Rosy Babe tinted version to add a subtle (very subtle) tint to my lips. I was also such a minimalist that I brought only one makeup brush! Not pictured is the Wayne Goss Holiday Brush which is the ultimate multi-tasker.

Along with the usual hairbands, toothbrush/paste, cotton pads and tips, deodorant and hand cream I was ready to go! I did however forget the body wash so had to live with a bar of soap that I got Mr BB to bring up (I will always forget something!). In hindsight, I could have packed lighter. In the four weeks since having Finn, I have had more makeup-free days than ever before so I probably could have lived without the makeup in hospital also and along with the skin and hair care that I didn’t use, I probably didn’t need the mist and one of the moisturisers. But for me, this was pared down to the absolute minimum and had I had to stay in 5 or more nights it’s quite possible I may have gotten through more of it. If you had of seen my actual clothing case… wow, talk about overpacking.

I apologise for the longer than anticipated blogging break, I’m ready to jump back in now I think, but posts may be a little slower than what they were.

Hospitals or Holidays do you over pack? I always will!