Afraid I wont know...

what to do when we get home from the hospital. How do people know? Do they tell you when to feed? How often? How much per feeding? When she can have a bath? is she sleeping too much? too little?? How do I find all this out? I feel like we wont know any of this and I dont want to mess up.

Re: Afraid I wont know...

its mothers instincts none of us know what to do we learn as time goes on

Re: Afraid I wont know...

the parenting board

and my mom/mil

Re: Afraid I wont know...

This reminds me of when I was pregnant with my first DD. A veteran mom friend told me we'd come in the door from the hospital, place the baby-- carrier and all--on the coffee table, look at each other and say, "Now what?" Sure enough, that's what we did!

I had ZERO experience with babies. Zero. And somehow, it all worked out. I agree with the pp who mentioned instinct. The baby cries--there's only so many things he/she needs at three days old, so try them all and see what works!

And as for the tub bath...not until the cord falls off.

Re: Afraid I wont know...

Posted by Eireann

This reminds me of when I was pregnant with my first DD. A veteran mom friend told me we'd come in the door from the hospital, place the baby-- carrier and all--on the coffee table, look at each other and say, "Now what?" Sure enough, that's what we did!

I had ZERO experience with babies. Zero. And somehow, it all worked out. I agree with the pp who mentioned instinct. The baby cries--there's only so many things he/she needs at three days old, so try them all and see what works!

And as for the tub bath...not until the cord falls off.

Re: Afraid I wont know...

Posted by LoveMyHubby605

the parenting board

and my mom/mil

Re: Afraid I wont know...

As I was visiting my friend when she gave birth a couple of months ago, a couple of hospital staff members visited her room and offered assistance with those types of questions...so I'm hoping the same will happen for us.

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What a great question. I was getting cocky and then realized how the &^%(&* should I know???

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Depending on where you deliver (I delivered DS at NS Manhasset) and they went over EVERYTHING. From how often to feed, when to burp, how to change (especially if it's a boy with a circ.) they even went over how to clean my nipples after a nursing session, and my va-jay after going to the bathroom... SUPER HELPFUL! And whenever you're in doubt, just ask a mom. Have a list of numbers easily available for DH/SO to call for you.

Re: Afraid I wont know...

The beginning is dictated by the baby!

1. You feed every 2 hours (start to feed... it may take an hour to feed... so you may only have 1 hr off from feeding).

2. You feed baby as much as he will eat.

3. Wipe down baby with little wet cloths in the beginning. Your ped will further guide you.

4. Baby sleeps when he wants to. In the beginning, it is sleep, eat, burp, poop, sleep, eat, burp, poop. Crying is usually due to hunger.

5. There is no schedule & no spoiling in the beginning.

Get a baby book. One of those "first year" ones. It helped a lot in the first month.

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I'm petrified

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the baby will let you know what to do! She will cry and I'm guessing it's pretty much process of elimination on what she wants food, change of diaper or sleep. Hold her, love her and I bet you'll be surprised how natural mothering comes

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I read Baby 411 before DS came. I felt very prepared after reading it!

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The nurses will go over everything with you before you leave the hospital. If you have a specific question you can ask them on the spot.

DH and I actually took a class at Huntington Hospital on how to care for your newborn. I forgot the name of the class but it was very helpful. I know a lot of people focus on lamaze classes but I think the infant class was much more important. They teach you how to hold, bath, change, swaddle and nurse your baby. They even have baby mannequins for you to practice on. At the end of the class they demonstrate on how to use, and clean a breast pump. They have all different models of pumps for you to play with too.

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You will have a lot of these concerns answered by the nurses and pediatrician.

Re: Afraid I wont know...

I remember walking out of the hospital and thinking, "are they seriously let us leave with this baby? We have no idea what we're doing!"

And we didn't know what we were doing but the nurses gave us his feeding and changing chart while he was there and based on that I could see he was eating every two hours (the wrote all the times he was brought to me to BF) and how often he was changed. That helped.

My ped gave me advice.

My family gave me advice.

I posted a ton of questions here and got answers and advice

I wrote everything down in a notebook (came in handy for DS2 because I had the same questions all over again!).


You figure it out...you really do. It's a survival thing...you're tired and the baby is crying so you go through the list:

* Diaper dirty?
* Clothing comfortable?
* Burp?
* Hungry?
* Just wants to be held?

At some point you will learn what the cries mean. You might not even realize it until the baby is crying in someone arms and you automatically know what to do

Re: Afraid I wont know...

One thing I've learned in the past 19 months...motherhood is a learn on the job kinda thing! It really will all come to you and mommy instincts will kick in. Newborns are SO unpredictable. Luckily, with age they become much more predictable...but then they are just crazy active little toddlers!

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OMG! I feel the same exact way. From what everyone has been telling me, he'll dictate what he wants and when he wants it. Figure if you just feed him a little while ago and he's crying, his diaper is probably dirty and then if he's crying again, maybe it's because he's hungry. But who knows! I have a feeling I'll be on the phone with my mom/MIL a LOT!

Re: Afraid I wont know...

you just figure it out

my DD was in the NICU for a month so i got a crash course. when i got home i followed that schedule until DD dictated differently (ie. i didnt wake her to eat even if it was a scheduled time). my PED also provided a ton of info at DDs first appt which was the day after we took her home. that def helped a lot!!

still even with the NICU training, i remember the day i got to bring her home, as happy and excited as i was, i kept thinking OMG they just let people bring their babies home?!?! it was hard to believe after round the clock care they just let people walk out and figure it out on their own!! i couldn't even comprehend bringing a baby home 2 days after birth. but you fall into a routine rather quickly, i cant even believe my DD is 7m old already!!

Message edited 12/29/2011 3:38:41 PM.

Re: Afraid I wont know...

i had a consultation yesterday with the pediatrician and i feel so much better knowing i like him/the partner/office and how he answered all my questions, i know he will be helpful later. maybe you will feel better when you find/meet with the pediatrician?

Re: Afraid I wont know...

I delivered at Winthrop and they offered a free baby care class which went over some basics like how to swaddle, how to put the baby in the carseat, how to change a diaper, etc. It was definitely very helpful.

My pediatrician,the women on the Parenting board, and BTDT friends were also an invaluable resource! Don't be afraid to ask questions, no matter how trivial they may seem.

Finally, like a few PP mentioned, the baby will dictate the rest. He/she will let you know when they are hungry, wet, content, etc. A lot of it will just come naturally, you'll see

Re: Afraid I wont know...

That is every new mom's fear, you are not alone The nurses, pediatrician and even your obgyn will go over some stuff before they discharge you. Friends with DC were a big, big help!! As the PP said, make use of the hospital classes that they offer. I found the bath one to be extremely helpful. It all comes naturally..you will be fine

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Best advice I can give is take a Baby Basic class. (Make sure to bring DH). I wrote everything down and went back to my notes alot once I got home. They went over so much in the class, and it really helped.

It won't be easy when you get home, but you kind of learn as you go. One piece of advice is to keep a little note pad near you and write down everytime you feed your DC with the time next to it. Also, write down every wet and dirty diaper you change. One of the first questions the Pedatrician will ask is how many wet and dirty diapers the baby has in a 24 hour time frame. It also helps to keep track on how much and how often the baby is eating.

Re: Afraid I wont know...

Re: Afraid I wont know...

You figure it out

The parenting board is a huge help. Friends, cousins, mom, MIL..anyone who has done it, granted they will all tell you a DIFFERENT way to do it