Based on my experience of packing my own hospital bag, I found this checklist helpful in organising myself and making sure I did not miss any important items from the list. Tip #1 - Hospital bag There is no reason you need to specially buy a hospital bag but for some reason I felt the need to. Many people use suitcases or old duffel bags. These hospital bags turned out really nice and I used one to pack my own things and one for my baby.
Tip #2 -Zipped sleepsuits I found using the zipped sleepsuits much easier than the buttoned ones especially for nappy changes. Also, I bought those which at the sleeves you could fold over to use as mittens. I bought those which were 100% cotton as they were soft and good quality. I used H&M, Next and Asda George to buy these. Although all the cute newborn outfits were tempting to buy, I found my baby grew out of the clothes so quickly, and he was more comfortable in sleepsuits so I don't think it is worth spending so much money on designer clothes or outfits as they outgrow them very quickly especially during the newborn phase.
Tip #3 - Wrap over bodysuits/vests
I found these useful as they were very easy to take on and off. The normal style bodysuits are fine as well, I just used to put them on from the bottom, pulling them up to the top.
3-pack long-sleeved bodysuits - Turquoise/White striped - Kids | H&M GB (hm.com)
Tip #4 -Baby blanket
My Mum gifted me this John Lewis cellular cot bed blanket in white- it looks and feels luxurious and is 100% cotton. It is large so you can fold it over to make a few layers so useful for the winter as well. I bought another blanket from Mamas and Papas linked below which was useful for naps. To be honest I wouldn't encourage people to buy more than one blanket as there is a good chance somebody may also gift you one. Also, I would leave any fancy blankets for when baby has had a bath when they get home. Our baby kept leaking his nappy, so we had quite a few changes of bed sheets whilst in the hospital.
John Lewis Baby GOTS Organic Cotton Cellular Cotbed Blanket, 120 x 100cm, White
Blanket Knitted - Blue Stripe | Nursery Interiors – Mamas & Papas UK (mamasandpapas.com)
Tip #5 -Baby towel
I bought the Mothercare pack of 3 towels listed below as they were a reasonable price for 3 towels and were 100% cotton. Having at least 2 towels is helpful as usually you will find one will be in the wash. Honestly speaking the John Lewis bear towel is much softer than the mother care towels but this is reflected in the difference in price per towel.
Tip #6 - Baby coat/snowsuit/hat
We had our baby in the summer so did not need a coat immediately. Instead, I purchased an oversized cardigan which would last a few months as the baby was growing. When it started getting into winter we switched to a snowsuit. I would recommend getting one where the material is waterproof on the outside and those which have a soft lining on the inside of the coat. I would also recommend getting a snowsuit which has 2 zipped openings as this makes it easier when putting the baby in and out of the snowsuit.
Tip #7 - Top and tail bowl/Baby wipes If you plan to use just water and cotton pads to wipe the baby's bottom on nappy changes then this is useful to take. I chose to take a small clean plastic container as didn't want the bowl to take up too much space in my bag and started using this bowl when I bought my baby home.
After one month I switched to using water wipes which have been a useful find after trying the usual Pampers, Huggies etc. They have 99.9% purified water with a drop of fruit extract so do not cause any irritation and have a good amount of wetness to clean the bottom properly.
The Neat Nursery Co. Top 'n' Tail Cicular Wash Bowl, 957 Blue, 0.25 kg : Amazon.co.uk: Baby Products
Tip #8 - Nappies
We tried Pampers initially as thought they were the best quality, but the fit was never right-tried Size 0 and 1 but they kept leaking. We switched to Aldi's Mamia Premium nappies which were much cheaper, did not really leak and had a useful wetness indicator. Along the way we switched to Lidl's Lupilu premium nappies which go up to size 5. They did slightly better than the Aldi nappies with preventing any leaking and a good fit for our baby, so we carried these on all the way up to size 7. Also, you will need to buy nappy sacks-we would buy the Aldi Mamia nappy sacks as they did a good job and were a reasonable price.
Tip #9 - Cotton wool pads
To clean the eyes/face I would use cotton wool dipped in lukewarm water. For the nappy area I would use cotton wool pads (100% cotton) dipped in lukewarm water to wipe the bottom for the first few weeks of my baby being born then I switched to water wipes.
https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-cotton-wool-pads-large-oval-100/p/0496728
Tip #10 - Baby muslin cloth
I bought this pack of 6 muslin cloths which are 100% cotton and were useful to wipe away any vomit/milk especially useful to have one to hand when feeding.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/MuslinZ-Muslin-Squares-Cloths-70x70cm/dp/B07ZPBHR9S/ref=sr_1_5?crid=32DNHM1G950F3&keywords=muslin+cloth&qid=1664144927&s=baby&sprefix=muslin+cl%2Cbaby%2C652&sr=1-5