By week 36 the big purchases should be sorted. This final phase is about the smaller items that round out your setup, plus the most important bag you will pack: your hospital bag. For early toys, less is more. Newborns can only see 20-30cm clearly and are drawn to high-contrast black-and-white patterns. Their world is touch, sound, and close-up faces.
Pack your hospital bag by week 36, babies do not always wait for their due date. The single most forgotten item is a long phone-charger cable. The single most underrated item is snacks for the partner. And buy two Jellycat comforters now while you remember, future you will be grateful when one ends up behind a radiator at 2am.
Documents (birth plan, maternity notes, photo ID, parking details); a going-home outfit in maternity size, dressing gown, grippy slippers, flip flops for the shower, hair ties and lip balm; toiletries plus heavy-duty maternity pads and breast pads; nursing bra and nipple cream if breastfeeding, or bottles and formula if bottle feeding; a water bottle with a straw, energy snacks, a long phone-charger cable and headphones; big comfortable pants and button-front pyjamas for afterwards.
Two to three sleepsuits and vests, a hat, scratch mittens and a going-home cardigan or snowsuit depending on the season; a pack of around 24 newborn nappies for the stay, cotton wool or water wipes, two or three muslins and a blanket for the journey home; and the car seat, fitted and checked beforehand, the hospital will not let you leave without one.
A change of clothes, toothbrush, phone charger, plenty of snacks and something for the early hours; cash or card for parking and vending machines, a list of people to notify, and a charged camera or phone; and for support, massage oil or a tennis ball for back-labour, a water spray and a portable fan.