My First Week Home With Newborn
Everything That Happened the First Five Days I Brought Baby Home From Hospital
Day 1 - Monday
Notes
We got discharged from the hospital around 1pm and made it home around 1:30pm after loading all our things into the car and setting up baby for the ride home. Remember that the staff and nurses are NOT allowed to help you putting the baby in the car seat, nor are they allowed to tell you if you have done it properly for liability reasons. Please make sure you are educated on how your car seat works and how a newborn is supposed to fit correctly inside it before you leave the hospital!
Once we got home, our very excited 22 month old daughter was ready to meet her new baby brother. We spent some time allowing her to explore and redirecting her desire to touch him and pick him up everywhere to appropriate places on the body, avoiding the face and head. Baby Kirin is still asleep during this ongoing harassment from his older sister so we called it quits after about an hour.
At the hospital, I realized Kirin is on a feeding schedule about every 2.5 - 3 hours MAX. You don’t want to go over this period of time and feed them consistently until your doctor states otherwise. He’s only two days old at this point so a minimum of 2 poops and 2 pees is what we are aiming for! Meconium (black tar-like) poop is still the norm and I found that rubbing some diaper cream as a barrier is helpful when wiping off the poop from the skin. Kirin was held for almost all his naps today except one where he napped in the crib.
We still aren’t too focused on any sleep training practices like eat/play/sleep. I am still recovering from my emergency c-section and kirin is still adjusting to being born so we are taking it slow! His sleeps are also a mix between contact and crib. If he has a big feed, he is more likely to go down in the crib on his own. If I have to change his diaper or clothes after then holding him for the next few hours is more likely, although I do try my best to set him down to get some rest.
Schedule
12:46am - 1:11am: breastfed (25m)
1:20am - 3:30am: slept (2h 10m)
2:18am: poop diaper
3:23am - 3:40am: breastfed (17m)
3:43am - 5:33am: slept (1h 50m)
5:33am - 5:51am: breastfed (18m)
5:58am - 7:28am: slept (1h 30m)
7:28am - pee diaper
7:36am - 8:45am: slept (1h 9m)
8:45am: mixed diaper
8:50am - 9:12am: breastfed (22m)
9:14am - 10:55am: slept (1h 41m)
10:57am - 11:23am: breastfed (26m)
11:25am - 1:49pm: slept (2h 24m)
1:59pm - 2:07pm: breastfed (8m)
2:07pm - 3:48pm: slept (1h 41m)
3:25pm: mixed diaper
3:34pm - 3:46pm: breastfed (12m)
3:48pm - 5:15pm: slept (1h 27m)
5:19pm - 5:49pm: breastfed (30m)
5:50pm - 7:43pm: slept (1h 53m)
7:43pm - 7:54pm: breastfed (11m)
8:00pm - 9:20pm: slept (1h 20m)
8:54pm: poop diaper
9:27pm - 9:57pm - breastfed (30m)
10:00pm - 12:20am: slept (2h 20m)
Day 2 - Tuesday
Notes
Spent this day a little bit more on google and amazon refreshing my brain on the newborn phase and buying a lot of small random items I had overlooked previously. Kirin was a bit more fussy last night, possibly because it was his first night home and sleeping in his crib or bassinet wasn’t his favorite.
My husband and I opted Kirin to get circumcised so taking care of his wound and getting better at diaper changes was what I focused on today. I hadn’t really changed his diaper at all since at the hospital I was hooked up to the IVs and recovering in general. Kirin doesn’t cry much at all unless it is a diaper change. He peed on me THREE times this day and one time on his face. I remember the tip the nurse gave to get a cold wet wipe and touch his belly with it right above the diaper to get the little bit of pee out before you open it to change. I learned my lesson this day to never forget this step. EVER.
Poops are slowly turning a dark green color and not as sticky. The more you feed, the faster the meconium will transition!
I held Kirin for almost all of his naps today which I absolutely loved and at the same time I wish I had put him down in his crib and here’s why. He would not settle in his crib this night. He needed the contact like he did all day which was difficult to say the least! Taking note to try my best to have him nap in his crib more tomorrow.
Schedule
12:20am - 12:29am: breastfed (9m)
12:30am - 2:24am: slept (1h 54m)
2:24am - 2:36am: breastfed (12m)
2:40am - poop diaper
2:45am - 5:25am: slept (2h 40m)
5:26am - 5:45am: breastfed (19m)
5:45am - 7:55am: slept (2h 10m)
7:58am - 8:25am: breastfed (27m)
8:15am: mix diaper
8:44am - 9:56am: slept (1h 12m)
9:56am - 10:04am: breastfed (8m)
10:05am - 12:32am: slept (2h 27m)
12:35pm: mix diaper
12:40pm - 12:57pm: breastfed (17m)
1:06pm - 3:20pm: slept (2h 14m)
3:20pm: poop diaper
3:35pm - 4:03pm: breastfed (28m)
4:10pm - 5:35pm: slept (1h 25m)
5:45pm - 6:13pm: breastfed (28m)
6:16pm - 9:02pm: slept (2h 46m)
9:04pm - 9:21pm: breastfed (17m)
9:25pm: poop diaper
9:30pm - 11:15pm: slept (1h 45m)
11:30pm: poop diaper
11:40pm - 12:55am: slept (1hr 15m)
Day 3 - Wednesday
notes
First hospital check up today! We had a 10:30am appointment today to had to get our toddler situated with our nanny while we got ready to head out for the day. Because Kirin is still breastfed, we didn’t need to bring much. Extra diapers, wipes, vaseline, an extra set of clothes, and a burp cloth! It all fit into a small backpack and we were out the door by 10am. No need to overpack for doctor visits unless you expect a long wait time or you need to pump or bottle feed during that time.
Kirin measured at about 98% in height and 76% in weight! He’s only dropped about 3% of his birth weight so the NP gave the all clear to have him start sleeping longer stretches at night once he’s regained those 4 last ounces! This is great news, especially since he is so hard to wake up to feed at night. The rest of the day felt like it was pretty much the same. I do feel really lucky that Kirin is such a great “independent” sleeper already so I can get the rest I need to recover from my c-section.
His circumcision seems to be healing well although he is still crying pretty heavily during his diaper changes. The nurses at the hospital instructed my husband and I to use generous amount of vaseline and circle it around the incision, as well as around the diaper where any contact would be made. This insures that if there is any contact between the incision and the diaper, the skin wouldn’t stick to the diaper and dry resulting in you having to separate and pull the two apart (which I would imagine to be really painful for the baby!)
My milk has also started to come in pretty heavy and fast which is causing the baby to get overwhelmed so I tried feeding him some pumped breastmilk for the first time today. He seemed to take to it pretty well but I want to continue breastfeeding as much as possible so i’m going to try different things first.
schedule
12:56am - 1:14am: breastfed (18m)
1:18am - 3:45am: slept (2h 27m)
3:46am - 4:01am: breastfed (15m)
4:01am: pee diaper
4:05am - 6:30am: slept (2h 25m)
9:13am: mixed diaper
9:15am: 1oz bottle of breastmilk
9:20am: poop diaper
9:30am - 10:34am: slept (1h 4m)
10:45am: mix diaper
11:00am - 11:06am: breastfed (6m)
11:12am - 12:42pm: slept (1h 30m)
12:42pm - 1:00pm: breastfed (18m)
1:00pm - 3:23pm: slept (2h 23m)
3:24pm: pee diaper
3:24pm - 3:37pm: breastfed (13m)
3:40pm - 5:26pm: slept (1hr 47m)
4:00pm: poop diaper
5:26pm - 5:39pm: breastfed (13m)
5:41pm - 7:26pm: slept (1h 45m)
6:17pm: pee diaper
7:26pm - 7:41pm: breastfed (15m)
7:45pm - 10:14pm: slept (2h 29m)
10:14pm - 10:24pm: breastfed (10m)
10:25pm - 11:10pm: slept (45m)
11:16pm: mix diaper
11:20pm - 1:05am: slept (1h 45m)
Day 4 - Thursday
notes
Today had me really frustrated. I could NOT for the life of me figure out why Kirin kept peeing through his clothes and swaddle, but his diaper was dry. After about 4 outfit/swaddle/crib sheet changes… I asked my boy mom friends what I was doing wrong and the answer was so simple. I’m not pointing his penis down. His pee must have been coming up the diaper and down his side, leaving his diaper dry and his backside and bedding completely soaked. It honestly took me a few more diaper changes to get a better hang of this.
I also figured out today what kind of swaddle he likes! Seems like after some testing, he likes the halo swaddles best. I didn’t want to buy too many of one swaddle in the beginning and i’m glad I waited a bit. On the flip side, I am rushing to buy more swaddles because he’s peed through all the swaddles I had haha.
His poops today have also officially turned yellow! They look a bit seedy and wet still but that is normal and should continue with this consistency for a while. Breastmilk and formula poops will look and smell different!
I still haven’t given him a sponge bath or washed his hair at this point. I’m not sure what i’m waiting for exactly but i’m still trying to figure out the timing of two kids and a bath just doesn’t seem that high priority at the moment.
Schedule
1:09m - 1:22am: breastfed (13m)
1:25am - 4:00am: slept (2h 35m)
4:00am: pee diaper
4:02am - 4:13am: breastfed (11m)
4:15am - 7:00am: slept (2h 45m)
7:00am: pee diaper
7:04am - 7:14am: breastfed (10m)
7:15am - 10:06am: slept (2h 52m)
10:06am - 10:18am: breastfed (12m)
10:40am: mix diaper
10:50am: poo diaper
10:59am - 11:02am: breastfed (4m)
11:04am - 12:00pm: slept (56m)
12:00pm: pee diaper
12:16pm - 12:24pm: breastfed (8m)
1:26pm: pee diaper
1:26pm - 1:37pm: breastfed (11m)
1:37pm - 4:38pm: slept (3h)
4:41pm: pee diaper
4:42pm - 4:53pm: breastfed (11m)
5:04pm - 5:07pm: breastfed (3m)
5:07pm: poop diaper
5:15pm - 7:31pm: slept (2h 17m)
7:31pm - 7:49pm: breastfed (18m)
7:53pm - 10:02pm: slept (2h 8m)
10:08pm - 10:15pm: breastfed (7m)
10:20pm: pee diaper
10:30pm - 12:40am: slept (2h 10m)
Day 5 - Friday
Notes
Today felt mostly the same as the last few days with less hiccups! Still had to change his clothes/swaddles/sheets but far less than yesterday. Kirin has been an awesome sleeper so far and i’m trying to learn how to wake him enough to finish his feeds so that he continues to sleep longer. It’s very clear to me that he wishes to sleep longer than the 2.5 hours I let him (3 hours between feeds) but I try to load him up as frequently as possible so that when he is ready, he’ll have longer stretches at night.
I still do my best to have him sleep in his crib as much as possible. I learned after having my first that the expectation and standard is set from the very beginning! Although I do love a contact nap here and there, I am definitely not doing so every single nap like I did the first time around. This makes it much harder for babies to sleep on their own at night since they know the comfort of being held so well. Of course, this is all just my individual opinion! I do plan on having a lot more contact naps in the future once im healed from my surgery so I can continue my toddler’s schedule throughout the day as well as running errands.
I also decided today to size up his diaper to size 1 to see if that would help with the leaking. The newborn diapers from coterie say it’s good up until 10 lbs but my baby was born at 8lbs 10oz and 21.5in tall so maybe his height makes it a bit more difficult. Hopefully that will help solve the issue!
I also changed his breastfeeding position from side lying to more of an upright position and slightly reclined. Because my letdown is so strong, the lactation nurse suggested this to give him more control while feeding and digest it better to prevent gas. This was incredibly successful for me! I always thought burping a baby was something difficult but once I changed his position to upright, he burps MUCH easier now!
schedule
12:43am - 12:56am: breastfed (13m)
12:56am: pee diaper
1:00am - 4:00am: slept (3h)
4:03am - 4:13am: breastfed (10m)
4:15am - 7:00am: slept (2h 45m)
7:09am - 7:20am: breastfed (11m)
7:30am - 9:00am: slept (1h 30m)
9:03am: pee diaper
9:03am - 9:12am: breastfed (9m)
9:24am: poo diaper
9:30am - 11:30am: slept (2h)
11:30am: mix diaper
11:30am - 11:50am: breastfed (20m)
12:00pm: poo diaper
12:10pm - 2:20pm: slept (2h 10m)
2:25pm: pee diaper
2:33pm - 2:45pm: breastfed (12m)
3:10pm: poo diaper
3:19pm - 5:35pm: slept (2h 16m)
5:36pm: mix diaper
5:40pm - 6:00pm: breastfed (20m)
6:05pm - 8:02pm: slept (1h 57m)
8:02pm - 8:14pm: breastfed (12m)
8:15pm - 11:00pm: slept (2h 45m)
11:00pm: mix diaper
11:04pm - 11:15pm: breastfed (11m)
11:20pm - 1:20am: slept (2h)
recap
Overall, the first week home has been a doozy and most definitely still adjusting to the new life of being a family of four. Still mind blowing to me. I hope this helps some of you with your experience with your little one at home now, or if you’re expecting and want to know what it was like the first week home! Please remember this was only my personal experience and every baby, every mother, every family will be different. I know the first few days, weeks, months, will be overwhelming and stressful… but enjoy these moments as much as you can! You won’t ever get these first days back and you’ll want to look back at these times fondly. Good luck everyone! We’re all in this together.