When we think about what it will be like bringing baby home from the hospital we start to imagine all kinds of things.
Some will think things will be easy and that they will have everything under control. Some will imagine a complete chaos nightmare and others will worry about if they can actually do this.
No matter what you imagine when you think about bringing baby home from the hospital there are a few things that you will have to experience and there is just no getting around it.
Some of these things you may have heard of before but a few of these things you may not have. Either way, take the time to really digest this because your life is about to change and perhaps not in the way that you might imagine.
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10 Things You Need To Know About Bringing Baby Home From The Hospital
1. Sleep Deprivation Is A Real Thing
One of the first things that you will realize when you bring your baby home from the hospital is that sleep is over for you.
Yes there are always a few exceptions to the rule and if you are that exception I’m not the least bit jealous (yes I am).
You will not get a full 8 hours of sleep again for a very long time. Your nights will be filled with changing dirty diapers and feeding your new baby.
Here’s the thing, even though your eyelids will feel really heavy you will look at your baby and still love them so much.
Sleep deprivation will cause you to feel drained, tired like a walking zombie wondering if you already had your morning coffee or not.
The good news is that it doesn’t last forever, It gets better with time and you will find that your baby will eventually fall into more of a sleep pattern that you will get used to as time goes on.
2. Your Heart Will Now Live On The Outside Of Your Body
No matter how prepared you think you will be for the arrival of your new baby you can never be fully prepared for the whirlwind of emotions that are about to hit you.
You will never feel as protective as you do once your baby is born.
You can only describe it as wearing your heart exposed on the outside of your body for all to see.
I remember when I gave birth to my first child, the drive home from the hospital was horrible. It somehow felt so dangerous.
It was as though all the cars on the road were suddenly driving recklessly, at least that how it felt to me.
There just seemed to be danger everywhere I looked. I have never felt so vulnerable as I did in those moments.
Needless to say, I was glad when we got home.
Be prepared to feel exposed and super overprotective. These feelings will eventually subside and become more rational.
If you find the feeling is not going then you should contact your doctor for more information.
3. You Will Question Your Own Ability
Having a newborn makes you question if you are doing things right. After all, you’ve never had a baby before.
You will get lots of well-meaning advice from other people who think you should be doing things this way and not that way. Advice from people who may not even have children of their own.
It may make you feel overwhelmed and that you can’t do this but you can.
Your hormones are playing a bit part in what you are feeling right now and it isn’t necessarily correct.
Those same feelings of having your heart on the outside of your body are the same feelings that will make you protective over your baby and want to make sure that you are doing the right thing.
Go with your gut because your gut is usually right.
You will make mistakes along the way, everyone does but its more about what happens after you have made the mistake that counts.
Did you learn from the experience? If you did that’s it move on and never dwell on it.
I once boiled some water for my son to drink when it cooled down.
it wasn’t 100% cool yet but I decided to put it into its bottle and take it upstairs whilst carrying him.
On the way up I didn’t realize that the bottle was touching his leg and burning him. I felt horrible when I realized why he was crying and had to use all my courage just to move on from the experience.
I never made that mistake again. I learned my lesson and I moved on.
4. The Number Of Times A Newborn Can Poop
Man, this one I did not know about. Who knew babies could poop so much?!!
All my children have been through the crazy cycle of pooping then feeding then pooping again. It almost feels like it will never end but it does stop.
Things eventually settle down with your baby but it is quite scary when it first happens to you so try not to freak out.
Have lots of diapers on hand to make sure you don’t run out.
I like to bulk buy diapers in advance to make sure I’m never in a position when I can run out.
You can get lots of newborn diapers here and just hold on to them. You’ll be surprised how many you will get through in the first few weeks.
5. Bathing A Newborn Will Feel Like Handling A Tiny Diamond
Giving your baby a bath for the first time is one the second most scary things next to cutting your baby’s nails.
Your baby won’t be able to hold their own body yet so you will have to support their body and neck with one hand whilst using the other to actually bathe them.
It’s best to get yourself a baby bath to help as you can have much better control with one of these rather than trying to use a regular-sized bathtub.
You can use this step by step guide to bathing your baby if you are unsure.
6. Make Sure You Are Prepared As Well
It’s so important that you are prepared after bring your baby home from the hospital.
There a few things that you need to have at hand too when you are a new mom.
Here are a few essentials that will definitely need:
Postpartum pads – These will help conceal the postpartum bleeding that you are experiencing. Things get really messy here so be sure to get enough.
Disposable knickers – If you like your regular fancy underwear then it is highly recommended that you get disposable knickers like these ones for the first couple of weeks while you are bleeding very heavily.
Cooling pads – If you know how tender your lady bits are about to get down there these cooling pads will certainly become your best friend that’s for sure.
Perineal spray – I’m not going to say too much about this spray but just know that it will come in handy the next time you need to sit down after giving birth
Sitz bath soak– This is perfect for after childbirth but even more so if you have experienced perineal tearing.
A super helpful class to take is the online prenatal class by Hilary Erickson. The great thing about this course is that it goes beyond just pregnancy and labor but it also covers the first few days and weeks at home with your new baby too. It will help to give you the confidence to look after your baby in the way that you feel is best. Take a look at the class here.
7. That You Only Need Baby Sleepsuits
One thing that a lot of parents do when they have their first child is to run off and buy lots of cute outfits.
These may look really cute but they are a nightmare for practical reasons.
When your baby poops and has ablow out diaper (it happens) it will literally get everywhere. The last thing you will want to do in that moment is to start taking off a shirt, tie, jumper and a pair of trousers.
Ok so I may have exaggerated a little there but I think you get the essence of what I’m trying to say.
Sleepsuits like these ones are so much easier for you and for your baby too.
Your baby will only want to eat and sleep at this stage so don’t make them uncomfortable by trying to get them to wear all kinds of ridiculous outfits that are just not appropriate at this stage.
Get some sleepsuits to make life simple.
8. What The Heck Is Cradle Cap?!
No one, I mean no one told me about cradle cap.
When I first saw it in my son’s hair I was so worried about it. When I later discovered that it was a normal thing I couldn’t understand why people didn’t talk about it more.
It would have saved me a lot of worry and my son’s hair too.
Dealing with cradle cap very early on gives your baby a much better chance at keeping their hair.
You can read all about cradle cap here.
9. Don’t Be Pushed Into A Corner With Visitors
Having visitors is nice but there is a time and place for that.
Having a newborn baby is overwhelming enough, the last thing that you need is pushy visitors too.
You need time to rest and recover after birth so the last thing you need is to think about entertaining people at such a sensitive time.
Allow visitors on your own terms and only when you are ready.
10. Leaving The House Will Never Be The Same Again
If you are the type of person that is always on time for everything then you better be prepared for this.
Leaving the house will never be the same again after you have your first baby.
You think you have factored in every eventuality but in reality, you can’t with a newborn.
A newborn will poop just as you have closed the front door.
They will need feeding just as you get into the car.
You will forget the changing bag or extra milk for your baby if you are not breastfeeding.
You are not the first parent this has happened to and you certainly won’t be the last.
The best thing to do in such cases is to give yourself a break. Go easy on yourself because it is a period of adjustment that you just have to go through.
Final Thoughts On Bringing Baby Home
Bringing your baby home from the hospital can be full of surprises the best thing that you can do is to take one day at a time.
Every day will get a little easier and every day you will learn a little more.
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11 Things to be aware of in your first week at home with baby
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