Pregnant women receive tons of advice on things to bring TO the hospital.
But there are also several freebies you should bring HOME from the hospital after having a baby.
Most new moms don’t know that there are tons of great free items you can get at the hospital. Yup, for FREE.
And you should accept all of the free things you can find. 😉
The hospital gives out tons of freebies for new moms and babies including diapers and wipes, formula samples, pumping supplies, and postpartum recovery essentials. Ask your nurse what items are yours to take home and stock up on all of the great freebies before you head home with your baby.
Keep reading to learn 15 of the best freebies to take home when you leave the hospital.
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👶 Freebies For Baby 🤱 Freebies For Breastfeeding 💖 Freebies For Mom 🍪 Bonus Freebies: Snacks! 💭 Final Thoughts
Freebies For Baby
It is astounding how many things such a tiny person needs.
Thankfully, you can take home tons of great freebies from the hospital to save some money on your baby.
Plus most of these freebies end up making your life easier as well! Win-win!
1. Diapers and Wipes
You change a LOT of diapers during the newborn phase. I was shocked at just how many diapers we went through.
Every few hours I had to change a diaper, which meant we went through packs super quickly.
And of course, every time you change a diaper, you also use one or several wipes. Which means you also go through wipes incredibly quickly as well.
The great news is that the hospital will send home diapers and wipes with you when you leave the hospital. Our hospital sent us open with any opened packs of diapers and wipes.
If you want to be a little sneaky and get the most out of your expensive hospital bill, think about opening both packages of diapers in your room.
Or, if you are getting close to the end of a package, do a few extra diaper changes before you go so they need to open a new package. This means you’ll go home with nearly a full package instead of an empty one.
Check out a few of my favorite diaper and wipe items:
We usually buy diapers and wipes in bulk to save money and buy them less often. Normally we use Pampers and I love their fit and absorbency. But occasionally, we use Pampers Pure diapers and they are so soft! We also love our Diaper Genie because it makes the house smell much better, especially now that our baby’s poo is stinkier!
2. Nasal Aspirator
It’s inevitable that at some point, your baby will have a runny nose or a nose full of boogies. And they are waaaay too small to know that they need to blow their nose to get rid of all of this gunk.
During your baby shower or pre-baby preparations, you might already have a Nose Frida (which is the perfect nasal aspirator for runny noses because it removes so much mucus) or a different option for your nose sucker.
But either way, make sure you take the free nasal aspirator at the hospital.
First off, I personally think this style is the best for boogers that are a little stuck onto your babies nose. The Nose Frida is amazing for mucus but not as effective for boogers.
Second, it’s super handy to have a spare. I like to keep one in my diaper bag and one in the house so I always have one when I need it.
Pro-Tip: If you have a stubborn booger use a nasal spray or squirt in a little breastmilk to loosen things up so you can remove everything. If your baby cries, every time you try to clean out her nose, click here for great tips!
3. Comb
The hospital has a variety of miscellaneous personal care items that they will use with your baby.
And most of these you can take home with you when you leave the hospital with your new baby. One great item to take with you is the baby comb.
Whether your baby is born with a full head of hair or none at all, it’s good to have a comb when you need it.
These baby combs are more gentle for your baby and can be used to prevent cradle cap.
4. Pacifiers
Pacifiers are often used to soothe newborns, as well as to strengthen sucking reflexes (especially in babies that had a difficult birth).
The hospital will use one or more pacifiers while you are in the hospital and will send one or more home with you.
Pro-Tip: if you don’t want your baby to have a pacifier, make sure everyone on your health care team knows.
Even if you don’t plan on introducing a pacifier right away, take the free pacifiers home with you for later.
They’re great to have when you do decide to introduce them. If you never need them, you have them on hand for your next baby or can give them to a friend that needs some spares.
Pro-Tip: Sometimes (but not always) introducing a pacifier too early can make breastfeeding more difficult during the early days. Click here to learn how to use your hospital stay to start breastfeeding more successfully.
5. Onsies
While you’re in the hospital, they will provide clothes and blankets for your baby.
I was surprised and excited to learn that the hospital sends the onsies home with you! (Some hospitals send blankets home too!)
Although they are usually just plain white, we loved using them to layer under t-shirts and other outfits or wear with cute pants.
Because we focused on sticking to a very tight budget to save money with our baby, we were very appreciative for a few more free onsies to add to our stash!
I recommend taking them with you so you can save a little money too. Or you can use them as a few last minutes options when you haven’t done laundry in a while…
6. Hats
Throughout your hospital stay, the nurses will often put little hats on your baby to keep her head warm and to keep her extra cozy. And they will send these hats home with you too!
I’m not a huge hat person, so I didn’t know if I really needed to take these home with me. However, there were several occasions when I was so glad we took them with us!
Some nights were chilly and we added out hats while our baby slept. Other times there was a draft when we were outside and we wanted him covered.
Trust me, you never know when you’ll want an extra hat, so take these free ones with you when you leave the hospital after having your baby.
Freebies For Breastfeeding
No matter how you plan to feed your baby, the hospital has tons of great freebies to take home with you.
Even if you don’t think they will be helpful, you’ll likely find a use for them at some point and be glad you took them home!
7. Free Formula Samples
Trust me when I say that things rarely go according to plans as a new parent.
You might be fully on-board to exclusively breastfeed and have no plans to ever give your baby formula. But sometimes this is out of your hands and having a backup is always a good idea.
We had to give formula in the hospital to help our baby combat low blood sugar while we waited for my supply to come in.
We didn’t have any formula at home, so we were incredibly grateful that we got a few single-use options as well as a pack with a few different brands of formula. This bought us tons of time and saved money while we figured out what formula worked best for our baby.
Again, if you never need them, that’s great! You can donate them to someone else. But if you do need them, you’ll be so grateful you already have them on hand ready for you.
Check out these helpful items:
8. Cleaning Bucket
This is the item that I felt the goofiest taking, but it is also the item I am the most grateful for.
If you choose to pump while you are in the hospital, you will wash all of your pump parts in a bucket in the sink. This is to keep things as sanitary as possible.
When you get home, washing in a separate bucket is even more important to prevent contamination.
Imagine the bits of raw meat and other food you wash down your kitchen drain. You certainly don’t want this getting onto all of your pump pieces!
Having this bucket is absolutely perfect to wash any pump parts, bottles, medicine droppers, teething toys, and more. Definitely take this handy little bucket home with you when you leave the hospital. (If you didn’t pump in the hospital, ask about it anyways! It’s that useful!)
9. Vials
While pumping in the hospital after I had my baby, I used a hospital-grade Mandela pump. All of the milk was collected in vials that attached to the pump. As we collected breastmilk in the hospital, we used a dropper to help feed it to my baby.
But these vials remain incredibly useful long after you leave the hospital. I have a Spectra pump that I adore. It is an incredible pump and I have spent hours using it while I worked to build up my low milk supply.
Every time that I pump, I pour the milk into these little vials. I can later move them to freezer bags or store in the fridge and heat them up in warm water if my baby needs them sooner.
The hospital offered me several of these vials, even the unopened ones from my room. I took them all, not knowing if I would ever need them. But I’m constantly happy that I took these from the hospital with me after my baby was born.
10. Extra Bump Parts
When we were leaving the hospital, they also offered us several extra pump parts.
I didn’t know if we would ever need them, but I figured, “Better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them.”
Some of the parts were compatible with our supplies and we’ve gotten a ton of use out of them. Others didn’t work for us and we recently purged them when doing some deep cleaning.
Take these extra pieces with you so you can see what you need and what you don’t. These are particularly helpful if the hospital pump is the same brand as your personal pump.
Pro-Tip: Most insurance companies cover the cost of one breast pump. Call your insurance company to ask about your options and get the best option available.
Freebies For Mom
I hate to say it, but recovering from childbirth can be messy and gross.
Fortunately, the hospital has tons of amazing freebies you can take home with you that you must take advantage of.
You’ll be glad you did and might even wish you had a bigger stockpile at home.
11. Mesh Pants
Although these sound weird and unattractive, these were one of my favorite postpartum items! You can wear them and add in an extra pad (if you’re extra careful and paranoid like I am).
They are comfortable and usually meant to fit perfectly for moms recovering from childbirth.
The best part is that when you’re ready to change them, you can just take them off and throw it all away.
You don’t need to worry about changing pads or touching anything. You just throw it all out. I loved this during those first few days after I had my baby.
You can be strategic to get even more of these to go home with.
At some point when your nurse stops by to check in on you, say that you’re running low (which you probably are) and ask for another handful of them.
They’ll re-stock your supply so you can use them for a while after you go home too.
12. Pads
The hospital also provides super heavy duty pads that you can use during your recovery.
These can be a bit bulky and not the most attractive. But hey, they’re free and they are very absorbent, which you will appreciate during the first few days at home.
I preferred to change fairly often to feel cleaner and more refreshed. So I appreciated as many extra supplies as possible.
Again, you can mention to your nurse that you’re running low and they’ll help you to restock so you have more to take home from the hospital with you.
13. Water Squirt Bottle
Although super unaffordable, this is a favorite for many postpartum women.
Because you can’t use toilet paper for a little while you’re healing, you can spray warm water to help wash up and soothe.
While you’re in the hospital, you’ll fall in love with this, and you definitely want to take it home with you. Continue using it until you’re fully healed to minimize pain and recover faster.
14. Skin Numbing Spray
Again, you are going to fall in love with this during you’re hospital stay and you won’t forget to back it and bring it home with you. Childbirth is hard and you’re going to be sore afterward.
But this spray feels so good!
After you use the restroom and wash up with your squirt bottle, spray this for extra pain relief. It’s amazing what a big difference this spray can make.
Keep using this until you’re fully healed as well.
15. Witch Hazel Pads
At the hospital, you’ll also get several witch hazel pads (they look like little wipes) to help with healing.
You place one or a few on top of your pad and it provides a cooling sensation and helps to heal. These are the best!
They provide tons of relief and I changed them out each time I went to the restroom.
I recommend using these for several days until all of your soreness is gone (and then a little bit longer to make sure you’re really feeling better). Because you’ll likely want to change them frequently, you want as many of these as you can get.
During your hospital stay, mention that you’re running low and ask your nurse to bring more for you so you have a few more to take home with you.
Check out some of my favorite postpartum items:
Bonus Freebies: Snacks!
While you’re in the hospital, you’ll have meals provided and will likely have access to snacks as well.
We had a “mini-cafeteria” a few steps from our room. They provided three meals a day, plus other chips and snacks throughout the day.
When you go through the food line, take as much food as you can and keep all of the extras.
Likewise, stop often for snacks and build a little stockpile to take home.
These will be super useful once you get home to keep in your nursing station for when you’re breastfeeding during cluster feeding days. Or even when you’re too busy taking care of your baby to eat an extra meal.
Final Thoughts:
These are the top 15 free items to keep an eye out for before you go home from the hospital after your baby is born.
Some hospitals have even more free things you can take, but they often don’t clearly mark what is for you and what you can’t take home with you.
I strongly recommend asking your nurse what you can take as you’re packing up to leave.
We would have missed out on a ton of free things, but we went through each area and asked the nurse to tell us what items were for us.
Because of her help, we got a few unexpected freebies that I now use on a daily basis and love having around!
💬 What were the best free things you took home from the hospital after your baby was born?
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