New Mom’s Guide to First Week Home with Baby

Congratulations on your new little one! This is such a happy time but it can get overwhelming. When you have your baby you will be in the hospital for at least a day. The nurses will be there to help support you and get you ready to go home so you can take care of your little one. Once they discharge you, you will be on your way home and away from the professional help. Your going to be completely exhausted, sore and a little scared. Trust me all new moms go through this. It’s the fear of thinking you’re not doing things right. So what do you do know? What are some things to expect? Well I am here to help with my New mom’s guide to first week home with baby…

Learning the Cry

Most the time when you bring something new home it comes with a manual to read. Unfortunately a baby is not that way, you need to learn the hard way and take it day by day. When it comes to an infants cry, there normally is a reason they are crying. There are many different reasons they could be crying such as they need their diaper changed, they are hungry or they are needing attention. A good way to learn what is wrong is listen to their cries or the cues they are giving. When they are hungry they tend to wine or have a high pitch scream. They may even try sucking their tongue or a finger. When they need their diaper changed they could be squirmy and have an uncomfortable cry. Every baby is different so you will need to observe your little one to see exactly what your baby does when they need a certain need met.

Feeding

When you first bring home baby you may not have a set feeding schedule. I know for me, my little one ate every couple of hours. It all depends on the child.Your baby will let you know when they are hungry. If you are bottle feeding make sure you are warming the bottle up enough so the baby does not get a tummy ache but don’t make it to hot. If you are breast feeding make sure you find a comfortable place and that you are not stressing out because the baby will be able to feel that. Either way that you choose to feed a baby do so in an area that is not full of distractions. Distractions will possibly interrupt feeding and your little one will not eat enough.

Bathing

When bathing your newborn you are going to want to do so in a sink or a baby bath that has just a little bit of water in it. Make sure you have everything yo will need for the bath within an arms reach you will not want to walk away from your baby to grab things. You will need a wash cloth, baby soap, a flexible cup to keep the soap out of the babies eyes and a towel. When filling the baby bath make sure the water is warm but not hot and you will want the water to be low enough that when you put your baby in that the water does not touch their umbilical cord. Make the bath short and sweat so your little one does not get cold. I recommend making sure the room is a little warmer than normal so when you get your baby out they do not have  a huge shock of being cold.

Umbilical Cord Stump

It is best to keep the stump area as dry as possible! Along with keeping the area dry you need to try to keep things from touching it. When putting a diaper on fold the diaper over so, it does not touch the area. It is best for the stump to dry up and fall off by itself. If the stump area gets dirty you can q-tip and warm water to gently wash the area and after make sure to dab dry.

Sleep

Be prepared for many sleepless nights! Take advantage of naps during the day to catch up on lost sleep along with using this time to get things done. Newborns will sleep most of the day and as they get older they will start to be awake more often. I remember when I brought my daughter home she was maybe awake for only a couple of hours all day for the first week or so. You can start figuring out a schedule that will work best for you guys for sleep and feeding but don’t rush it. Creating a sleep schedule will take time as everything is new to you and your baby.

Baby’s Soft Spots

Babies are very flexible and soft you have to think where they just came from. They were use to being in a tight little ball. With my experience dads feel like they will break the babies. I promise you as long as you are being gentle you will not hurt your new baby. With that being said there are spots on your baby’s head that will be soft for some time. These are areas that will allow your baby to grow and the spots will eventually close together and get hard.

Diapers

The first couple weeks maybe a challenging time with rashes. If you notice a rash in the diaper area there could be a chance of them having a reaction to the diapers, wipes or something you are using on their skin. You may need to switch things up to find what the cause of the rash is. Another thing to watch for is make sure your little one is going to the bathroom throughout the day. They should have at least five wet diapers a day. The poop maybe black and odd-looking for the first couple times this is normal. Their system is just trying to regulate itself.

Swaddling

Swaddling is important when you have a newborn. They are used to being in a tight ball in our stomach and now that they are out they have all this room and some babies do not like this. I recommend having the nurses at the hospital show you some ways to swaddle. They also make really cool swaddle blankets that just fits right around your little one. Swaddling is a great way to sooth your baby.

Asking for help

Being a new parent can be stressful, make sure you ask for help. Your family can be a great support system for you. When you start getting stressed or over whelmed let them help! Make sure you document things such as eating and sleeping routines, diapers changes and anything you have questions about so you can bring it up to the pediatrician during your next visit.

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