Bringing Baby Home: The First Few Hours and Days

Chances are once your baby is born, your hospital will require you to bring the infant car seat into the hospital. While the staff won’t inspect the seat, they’re just checking to make sure you have one so you’re able to bring baby home safely.

If your infant car seat doesn’t come with a support pillow, consider purchasing one to pack with you. Somewhere around your sixth month, consider stopping into your local fire department to have them properly install any car seats your newborn will be riding in. Make sure you know how to safely put your newborn into the car seat and know how to work all of the latches and harnesses.

Mom of three Alanna Gallo had a very simple hospital essentials list. “My most helpful hospital bag items were my own pillow, chapstick, and snacks. So many snacks. You will be SO hungry. Oh, and high waisted leggings,” she told Mom.com.

She’s right, comfort is key. Pack the right clothes for your individual situation for the car ride home from the hospital. If you haven’t had a c-section, high-waisted leggings may be the best option. Otherwise, loose-fitting clothes that won’t disrupt stitches, are advised. Because mine was a planned c-section (and because it was the nineties) I wore a pair of loose-fitting overalls home from the hospital. Also make sure to pack something that’s weather-appropriate for your baby.

The hospital will provide you with essentially everything you’ll need for the baby. So assuming you’ve spent the last several months getting your home ready and nesting, you’ll likely already be prepared to welcome your new baby. As you pack up and get ready to leave the hospital, however, take a quick look around. There are a few things you’ll want to bring home with you:

• Diapers: Chances are there are a stash of teeny-tiny diapers in your hospital room, grab what you can
• Bulb syringe: A newborn will have a lot of extra fluid in their nose, the bulb syringe will come in handy
• Infant hairbrush: The silky-soft bristles will eventually help remove any cradle-cap your baby has
• Wipes: Be sure to take any wipes that the nurses leave for you, you’ll appreciate them when faced with meconium in the first few hours and days after birth

The hospital will likely send you home with a good bag of coupons, lotions, soaps, and creams for both you and baby, and formula samples. Disposable changing pads, onesies, swaddling blankets and adorable hats to keep your newborn warm and cozy round out the list of items you’ll need to make room for on the car ride home.

Mom of two Meghan Bo said that the hospital sent her home with all of the essentials for her and her baby. “Plans go out the window once it’s time to have the baby. I never once touched my hospital bag with both deliveries,” she told Mom.com. “With the exception of an outfit for both of us to go home in, I needed nothing. The hospital supplied everything and send me home with a trash bag full of stuff too.”

Tips to help you through the first few hours and days

For new parents, the first few hours and days of their newborn’s life can be anxious and uncertain. Are they sleeping enough/too much? Was that a gasp or a hiccup? They’re so fragile – how do I change their clothes? Here are a few tips that might inform and calm nerves.

Sleep
According to Dr. Sears, encouraging your baby to sleep through the night should be your goal from the very start. “The goal of nighttime parenting is to make getting baby to sleep through the night more attractive than waking up,” Sears advised on his website.

It’s likely that in the first few days and hours that your baby is home, they will be sleeping quite a bit during the day. It will be an adjustment period for everyone, and it will take some time, but there are a few things you can to work toward getting your baby on a better sleep schedule and keeping them happy and comfortable.

Feeding
Make sure middle-of-the-night feedings are strictly for feeding, try not to engage or play with your newborn too much, despite how tempting it is.

Burping your baby is an important step during feeding so aim to burp your baby every 2 ounces or when you switch breasts. This will help eliminate discomfort caused by swallowing air bubbles during feeding. There are several different methods for burping – find the method that works best for you.

Don’t be alarmed if your baby fequently gets the hiccups, it’s completely normal and will likely remedy itself quickly.

Soothing
Take advantage of your newborns wakeful periods and talk and sing to your baby – Create a bedtime routine regardless of how young your child is, it’s a good habit to get into and will help make the day to night transition easier

Handling
Be sure to handle your newborn gently, always using a hand to support the head and neck — this is important, because newborns lack the neck muscles to support their heads on their own.

When changing their clothes, carefully support their head as you manuever the clothing around their body. When placing clothes over your baby’s head, create an accordian fold so you can gently place baby’s head through the garment. Gather sleeves of shirts and seams of pants and gently place baby’s arms or legs through the gathered fabric, rather than pulling clothing on or off. Hold baby upright while supporting their head and neck to fasten buttons or zippers.

Before you’re discharged, take time to ask any questions pertaining to your health or your baby’s health. To set your mind at ease, your doctor and your baby’s doctor will make sure that both you and your newborn are in top health before discharging you both from the hospital. The nursing staff will:

• Check baby’s temperature
• Measure jaundice levels
• Administer vaccines and vitamin K supplement
• Make sure baby is eating well
• Administer a hearing screening

Once your baby comes home

• The best sleep position for a healthy newborn is on their back to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
• Keep an eye out for signs of discomfort like squirming, grunting or furrowed brow. Run through a comfort check to see if baby needs a diaper change, or is trying to go, whether they’re too hot or too cold, or in need of a feeding or burping.
• Know the signs and symptons of jaundice. Keep an eye out for yellowing of the skin or eyes. If your child was treated for jaundice in the hospital, follow the monitoring instructions given.
• Keep baby’s umbilical cord clean and dry. Clean away feces and urine with an alcohol swab at the base of the cord; wait until umbilical cord falls off to give baby their first bath at home.
• If your baby is circumcised, keep dressing from hospital on for 24 hours. Apply Vaseline to the end of the penis at diaper changes. Call your baby’s pediatrician if you have any questions or concerns.