Bringing a newborn home from the hospital is very exciting but can also be stressful which makes it hard to remember details. We hope this check list will help make the process easier.
Before you accept a newborn placement:
- Know what you are willing to do, where can you do visits? How often?
- Will you be able to attend doctor’s appointments?
- Can you handle special needs or a baby with more serious health issues?
- Who is your support?
- Make work arrangements to get at least the next day off work
- Ask about family leave
- Have your home ready
- Have car seat properly installed
- Email foster group and friends with what you need
- Fill up gas tank
- Stop, relax and make a list
- Put meals in the freezer
- Have a list of daycare providers who are familiar with foster care
- Tour EMQ Nursery and know services available
- Practice the language you are going to use when introducing the newest member of your family, how to respond to questions regarding why you aren’t breastfeeding, pregnancy, how long baby is staying, etc.
Questions for the County Social Worker when first accepting a placement:
- What can you tell me?
- Are there any special needs?
- Can I visit baby in hospital? (this also needs to be coordinated with Hospital Social Worker)
- How and when will I get the Placement Agreement?
Questions for Hospital Staff:
- Have they received the Social Worker approval for visit?
- Best time to visit baby?
- Name of Hospital Social Worker
- Has County Social Worker contacted Hospital Social Worker?
- When is discharge planned?
- What is the size and weight of infant?
- Was the baby full term?
- Can I meet the Doctor who has seen the child?
- What brand of formula is being used?
Before you go to the Hospital calm yourself and SLOW DOWN. Make sure you have showered, eaten and taken several deep breaths. Pack what you need, email or call a support person.
What to Bring to Hospital
- Bring a Support Person
- Car Seat (already installed)
- Photo ID and Placement Agreement
- Blanket
- Outfit for baby
- Camera
- Pen and paper for notes and questions
- Book or magazine incase there is a long wait
At Hospital:
- Where and when is next doctor’s appointment (should be on discharge papers)
- Make sure to go over bottle feeding, burping, genital and cord care
- Do an all over visual overview of the baby before discharge and have any bruises, marks (especially ones that can look like a bruise), rashes documented in paperwork.
- Make sure to get anything the birth parents might have left with baby, an outfit, stuffed animal, it might be very important someday
- Don’t be afraid to ask for things like baby brush, 2 ounce bottles, nasal aspirator, pacifier, shampoo, diapers, wipes, paperwork for new parents regarding infant care. You can even ask for a little formula
- Get the baby footprints, nametag from baby bed, ankle ID bracelet, and any other mementos for birth parents or life book
- Take photographs of baby, hospital, room, nurses, doctor, anything for your baby’s life book, yourself and birth parents but remember, do NOT post pictures on the internet, Facebook or Instagram
Don’t Forget…
- Call WIC to set up an appointment
- Remind your family (again and again) not to share photographs of baby
- To remember to give all of your family individual time
- Even if the Social Worker implies that there won’t be visits, be prepared that there might be
- You will be contacted with visit information
- Once you know your Social Worker make sure you have all of their information in your phone and/or posted at home
- Don’t throw away anything, you don’t know what will be important to birth parents or be useful information in the future.
- Find support from other foster parents, your experience will be different then a friend with their birth child.
You Probably Don’t Know…
- Dress baby in one layer more than you want to wear.
- Babies can have very long nails, in the hospital they don’t cut them but you might need to if the baby is scratching themself. You can CAREFULLY use baby clippers or scissors or sometimes they just peel off.
- Baby girls can have a little bloody discharge, pinkish mucus in their diaper. They can also develop small amounts of breast tissue.
- Newborns have a lot of skin reactions, they can have dots all over one minute that are gone the next. Call doctor if the marks are puss filled and red, other then that they are usually just a rash
- Babies can have very dry skin and when bathing “Less is Best” when it comes to soap
- For the first several days baby will eat very small amounts, don’t over feed and remember to burp
- Newborns have “runny noses” and sound congested
- It has been shown that preemies gain weight faster with massage!