Your first week home with a newborn: a practical plan

Before you leave the birth setting

Ask who to contact for feeding questions, concerns about your baby and concerns about your own recovery. Save those numbers in your phone and write a copy somewhere visible. Confirm the next appointment and whether someone will visit or you need to attend a clinic.

Ask for a demonstration of anything you have not done before. ‘Could you watch me try that?’ is a useful question for a feed, a change or a care task. If you receive several instructions, ask which are specific to your baby and which are general information.

Sources: NHS

Make three small places ready

Choose a place for safe sleep, a place for changing and a comfortable place for feeding. Keep the useful supplies together. You do not need an entire finished nursery to make these jobs easier.

For sleep, use your baby's separate, clear cot or Moses basket (a small, portable baby bed) in the same room as you. For changing, get supplies ready before you begin. Keep adult drinks, chargers, bags and loose items out of your baby's sleep space and reach.

Sources: NHS Best Start in Life, NHS, NHS

Keep the next care step visible

Your maternity team will arrange newborn checks and follow-up. A physical examination is normally offered within 72 hours, with other checks and visits in the early days and weeks. Use our newborn-checks guide to prepare questions, but confirm your own appointments with the team. Your maternity team includes the midwives and other professionals caring for you during pregnancy, birth and the early days afterwards.

Keep the personal child health record, often called the red book, which records your baby’s health and development, with appointment letters and any discharge instructions. It helps to have one place to bring information together, even if you also keep a digital log.

Sources: NHS, NHS, NHS Healthier Together

Use visitors for a practical job

An invitation can be specific: ‘We would love a meal dropped off; we are keeping visits short.’ Another person could collect groceries, take out rubbish, walk a dog or wash dishes. You can accept help without hosting.

If you are recovering from birth, ask your clinician about your own recovery plan and what help you may need at home. If you are the support person, take ownership of a complete job rather than waiting to be reminded of each step.

Leave room for questions

Your midwife is there for questions about your newborn, including things that seem small. The cord stump, for example, should be kept clean and dry while it dries and separates. Ask your team to show you what to look for rather than relying on comparisons with someone else's baby.

Keep a brief question list with three columns: what we noticed, when, and who we will ask. Deal with urgent concerns immediately; the list is for remembering ordinary questions between visits, not for postponing care.

Sources: NHS