Your Baby at Home

The first weeks at home are an adjustment period for all of you. In order to make the transition from hospital to your home go a little more smoothly, we have some hints.

REMEMBER:

• Enjoy your baby, you have had a very difficult few months.
• Get to know your baby’s awake, sleep, hunger and play cycles.
• Get to know when your baby is ready for interaction or needs “time out”.
• Try and get out of the house for a while.

You, as parents, are doing a great job, listen to your instincts. Support is available through your family doctor and community agencies, e.g. Public Health Nurse, Infant Programs. See our list of resources.

Do not forget yourselves – keep the lines of communication open. You have had a rough last few months!

Preterm personality:

• Your baby is not as mature as the full-term infant and may have a longer period of adjustment.
• Your baby may be more fussy and disorganized and may be more difficult to settle.
• It may be more difficult for you to read his/her cues of hunger, sleepiness or over stimulation.
• Your baby may take longer to feed, your baby may tire more easily and fall asleep before s/he is finished.

You may want to keep a chart of feeding, sleeping and fussy times as well as frequency of bowel movements. You will see a pattern develop which will help the family organize themselves around difficult times.