Taking a newborn care class during your pregnancy can prepare you for the real thing. But feeding and diapering a baby doll isn't quite the same. During your hospital stay, make sure to ask the nurses for help with basic baby care. Don't hesitate to ask the nurse to show you how to do something more than once! Remember, practice makes perfect. Before discharge, make sure you — and your partner — are comfortable with these newborn care basics:
•Handling a newborn, including supporting your baby's neck
•Changing your baby's diaper
•Bathing your baby
•Dressing your baby
•Swaddling your baby
•Feeding and burping your baby
•Cleaning the umbilical cord
•Caring for a healing circumcision
•Using a bulb syringe to clear your baby's nasal passages
•Taking a newborns temperature
•Tips for soothing your baby