First days with a newborn at home: organising daily care

Keep the follow-up plan close

Keep discharge instructions, the next appointments and your care team's contact details together. Follow the individual advice given to you and your baby, especially after premature birth or when there are feeding or health concerns.

• Prepare nappies, clean clothes and changing supplies within reach before each change. Never leave your baby alone on a raised surface.
• Ask someone to help with meals, laundry or shopping rather than trying to do everything while recovering.

• WHO: care after birth (EN)

Prepare a safer place for every sleep

Newborn sleep is irregular. Focus on a safer sleeping space rather than fixed nap times.

• Put your baby on their back on a firm, flat mattress in their own cot or Moses basket, in your room for at least the first six months.
• Keep pillows, duvets, loose blankets, bumpers, nests and soft toys out of the sleeping space.
• Never sleep with your baby on a sofa or armchair. If you feel drowsy while holding them, put them in their own sleeping space.

• NHS: safer sleep (EN)

Respond to feeds, not an app countdown

Look for early hunger cues, such as turning towards the breast or bottle and bringing hands to the mouth. Follow your care team's advice on feeding and whether your baby needs waking for feeds. Do not delay a feed to match an app estimate. Ask for feeding support early if attachment is painful or you are unsure how feeding is going.

• NHS: the first days of breastfeeding (EN)
• NHS: bottle feeding (EN)

Notice nappies as well as feeds

Record whether a nappy was wet, dirty or both. What to expect changes with the baby's age in days and feeding, so ask your midwife or paediatrician what to look for. A count alone cannot confirm that feeding is adequate.

• Change wet or dirty nappies promptly and wash your hands before and afterwards.
• If your baby feeds poorly or nappies are noticeably drier than usual, seek medical advice promptly.

• NHS: changing a nappy (EN)

Share specific tasks and protect rest

Agree who will change nappies, bring food and water, and take over when the other caregiver needs rest. Someone supporting a breastfeeding mother can help without replacing a feed. Keep visits manageable. If sadness or anxiety worries you, talk to your care team; support for mum matters too.

Use SweetWonder for a simple handover

Record actual feeds, sleep and nappy changes, adding a short note when useful. Invite a caregiver to the shared baby's diary using their own account. When connected, allow syncing to finish and confirm the latest entries together. The diary helps with remembering; it does not monitor your baby or replace medical follow-up.