What to Expect with Baby's First Day Home

Why did the staff let me leave the hospital with this helpless little creature? Such were my thoughts the day I took my baby home. Newborns are so different than the cute, chubby babies I had babysat for long ago – and this baby was totally my responsibility! I was hit hard by reality – it was me who was the parent now. Yet, giving birth had not flipped some secret “confidence switch” into the ON position. Could I do this? How could I even pretend to be as capable as she was? It was time for a small panic attack.

If you are like me, the first problem is placing that tiny body into a car seat. We had bought the best baby travel system we could find. It had a car seat that detached from its base to become an infant carrier; it also attached onto a stroller base, giving a three-in-one bonus. The previously perfect infant seat seemed to have grown to huge proportions once our new baby was lost in it! Wasn’t she safer in my arms than alone in a car seat! Logic and my husband managed to convince me to let go. Newborns tend to scrunch down into one corner of their car seats no matter how you initially place them in the seat. This is a cute phase which lasts until baby gets some muscle tone and is more able to handle sitting. You should purchase some padded support for those first few weeks of amoeba life.

Once we were home, I struggled with needing to rest and wanting to be with our baby. Plus, she seemed constantly hungry. It was quite challenging to find a place in our home for nursing while we were both learning the process. Trying different nursing positions is key. Some people use ring slings, fabric carriers that allow you to carry the baby around with you. This can be a great way to position baby for nursing if you can find the right adjustment for you. I preferred to use my ring sling as a convenient hands-free carrier. After some trial and error over several feedings, I found the rocking chair to be my best option for nursing.

My baby needed changing every time she ate and often times in between her meals. Newborns have an output capacity that shames the most efficient factory. I had chosen to use Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers. The adjustable elastic really helped in the learning stage for me and my baby. Those early days of a “liquid only” diet produce some interesting diaper “issues.” The first few days proved to have most of the largest diapering challenges. Have a few outfits ready for quick changes! Cloth diapers were good but at first they only worked as well as my attempts to get them fastened. And if you do not fasten them in time…they will not work at all!

An amazing new chapter of your lives begins with the first day home. Adaptability is the key to the first months. Your abilities will be constantly tested. Frequently pretending to be as in control and capable of child care as my mother, I found myself calling on all my resources. One day I realized she had probably been pretending as well – that day I realized I was a parent too.

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