Tell me about the first day home with first baby

[Mummytobe2014]

I am a first time mum and wondering what the first day home after giving birth will be like. Is it as scary as it seems, does maternal instinct take over, will i know what to do etc....
Please tell me your experiences of this first day
Xx

[malteser17]

Hiya. My DS is almost 1 and those first few days at home seem like such a long time ago now!

You should have a midwife visit the day after you leave hospital. She will check the baby and you, and if you're bf will check that it's going okay which is your opportunity to get help if you're struggling. Other than that your first couple of days will be feeding your baby, trying to get him or her to sleep and then sleeping yourself if and when you get a chance.

Assuming you have a DP, his/her responsibility will be to look after you in those first days and to look after the baby to give you a bit of respite.

If you are bf, my main piece of advice would be to look after yourself first. If your baby is crying for food but you need a wee, then have that wee as you could be sitting feeding for the next hour or so. If you need a cup of tea, make yourself a cup of tea and THEN feed your baby.

The other thing I found helpful was to get up every day, have a shower and get dressed. Even though I wasn't leaving the house I found sticking to some kind of routine made me feel a bit more human rather than just staying in my PJs all day.

Also, don't worry if your baby fed/slept in hospital but doesn't feed/sleep easily at home. It will take your LO a while to adjust to being in a new environment and to be honest my DS never really took to his Moses basket in the way that I had hoped.

Finally, make sure that if you have friends/family visiting that you limit the time they are there so you have time to adjust being a new Mum. And when they are there, make sure they look after you rather than the other way round - having someone make you a cup of tea and a sandwich is a godsend in those early days.

Hope this helps!

[Boogles91]

Malteser- thats some great advice :) thankyou for sharing that it helps, as i am wondering how im going to be lol i do have a wonderful husband and i kniw hes going to take care of us but im caring type aswell and probably going to want to take care of him and baby at the same time! I also carnt stand sitting on my arse resting, and im findin that part of my pregnancy veeeeery very boring lol im a get up and go person. Love to be on the move all the time and the. Sit down with a nice cuppa at the end of the day :) i. Not scared of anything that comes with labour and unlike most mums to be looking forward to the pain. Im half way there and cannot wait till that time comes and we get to meet our lil man :) for some reason i can just see myself giving birth on all fours :s lol

[atthestrokeoftwelve]

First day home with my first baby I spent in bed with him, teaching each other to breastfeed. Oh brought me food and tea in bed.

First day home with my second though OH was back at work ( only got the day of the birth off) I drove to Tescos with my baby and toddler and did the big weekly shop, then had lunch at Tecos cafe. I missed the midwife's visit who thought I must have gone back to hospital!
( Did let my OH cook dinner when he got back from work though.

[Hopelass]

Unfortunately my first day home we had visitors in hindsight not a good idea as the midwife turned up to check my stitches too but I was still on a high so it really didn't bother me like I thought it would, it was 3-4 days afterwards when it all hit me!

Take it easy and trust your instincts is the best advice I can give and enjoy every second, it goes far too fast!

[Mummytobe2014]

Thank you i am excited just anxious that i wont know what to do. I have a dp and he has two girls from a previous but he wasnt as hands on with them as babies as he and his ex split and he saw them at weekends when his ex agreed but i know he will be my rock anyway as he is a great dad! I kind of know what to expect from labour etc its just when we get home its just us and so wondered whether you just know what to do and how to do it.
Atthestroke thats impressive doing a food shop on yourfirst day home
Thank you maltesers that is great advice as i am sure its very easy to try and settle baby before yourself so will definately keep that in mind.
Did anyone feel daunted when they came home?

[Ineedanewone]

It's years since I had a newborn, but my advice would be to stock up your freezer with easy to reheat meals now whileyou have the time to batch cook as you will really appreciate them when you both have a newborn in the house.
If you can afford it, find a cleaner or ask favours of family/friends to do a bit when they come over, especially getting the washing on and sorting it afterwards.
Also as others have said prioritise your comfort before settling down to feed, eg go for a wee, and have a drink to hand and make yourself comfy ( V shaped pillow perhaps ) as most new babies take ages to feed
I used to find having changing stuff and spare baby clothes to hand downstairs a real time saver too.
most of all, remember, you are the perfect mum for your baby!

[CrispyCrochet]

Hi!! Firstly congratulations!

My DS is 11 weeks and that first day home feels like a vague memory. I didn't get discharged until around 5pm. So we got home. Sat on the couch with DS in his car seat and thought "what now?" Of course we'd had not much sleep for 72 hours so we decided to go up to bed around 7pm. There was lots of crying (from all 3 of us) and "what the f*ck do we do" line came up many times. So it was scary - but an amazing type of scary.

I agree with PP about making sure DP looks after you & you look after baby. I would stock up on bottled water so you can keep it next to you on the bed or couch & not have to worry about knocking over pint glasses of water.

[onepieceoflollipop]

I remember it all being a bit surreal, (she is 10 years old now!) we were a bit in shock I think.

she was asleep in her car seat, we had some chips, then she started crying (for most of the night tbh iirc).

Dh and I were both well into our 30s, but felt very young and inexperienced. On a positive note I had finally stopped feeling sick after a hyperemesis pregnancy!

[MrsCDNinUK]

Hold your baby, lots of skin to skin and BF (if you are). Skin to skin (with both you and DH) really helps keep your baby calm. You'll likely be so mesmerized that you will just stare and stare and your baby those first few days and can't believe that s/he's actually here and yours. It's really all you need to do, besides change him/her. Have meals ready and let DH take care of you too. Enjoy! It's a very special time! And try and get some rest.