The Safety Checklist For Bringing Home A Newborn

When you’re about to bring home your newborn baby for the first time, you would be right to have apprehensions. It’s not easy taking care of a newly born baby and making sure that no harm comes to him or her in your home. There are plenty of things that can go wrong, which is why so many parents feel worried at first. Yet, you have all the time in the world to develop your home, making it safer for a small child. This includes changing the kitchen, bedrooms, the stairway and of course, the atmosphere itself. But it’s not just safety in the home, but a number of other dangers that lurk outside. The weather, for example, is something you must prepare for. For you, it might be a cool day on which you wear a t-shirt, but for your baby, it might be very cold. Adapting to the circumstances and to the needs of the child can be done quickly if you have a safety checklist.

Outdoor precautionary measures

Sometimes the best safety is more layers. Buying your child some outdoor clothes is crucial to their health. New parents are advised to take a thermometer with them when they go outdoors with their newborns. This is so you can track the temperature changes of the baby, which will also give you a heads up of any conditions that are just developing. It’s also wise to take some kind of eye protection for the baby so that direct sunlight does not hit him or her in the eyes but also, reflective surfaces do not beam sharp sunlight into the eyes either. Always take a hat with you to keep his or her head warm. Making sure that you take some small bright toys with you is a great idea. They come in handy when you’re trying to calm your baby down. For example, you might have left the house while the weather was fine but while out shopping with your baby in the pram, rain and thunder started. Your baby can be distracted from the harsh loud noise of the thunder by some toys that are small enough for him or her to grasp.

Healthy and protected

Perhaps the most highly recommended item on your safety checklist is medical care. You should get ready to take your newborn baby in for shots. The doctor will give your baby a quick health check to see if they’re physically ready and then proceed with a number of shots. Vaccine shots against high priority diseases and conditions are high up on the list. However, the shots may also include but are not limited to, measles, influenza, HepB, MMR, HepA, IPV and some more. Some of these you will need to get before the baby leaves the hospital but others, you will need to schedule a visit with your doctor. It’s not as simple as just taking your baby in to get them all. Some of the shots require a physically stronger body and a more developed immune system. Therefore you’ll need to pace the shots and they will come in intervals of months sometimes weeks.

Sleeping soundly

Buying things so that the baby can sleep properly is critical to avoiding things like cot death. Doctors don’t really know what causes cot death but creating a safe and comfortable environment for the baby to sleep might greatly increase your chances of avoiding it. Take a look at this baby Registry Checklist for the things you need to buy and have before you have the baby and before you bring it home. You’ll note that it’s recommended to buy a soft and washable crib mattress. A bassinet for the baby to rest in during the day is also helpful to the child’s sleeping patterns and overall health. Changing tables will help you safely change the baby’s diapers and also clean the child with wipes etc. changing tables are also portable, so you can take them with you on trips. Rather than putting a towel over a dining table, it’s better for the baby to have his or her own space where they can be attended to by either parent.

A safety checklist is something you need to complete even before you give birth. Bringing the baby home is a wonderful day but you must also think about the future. Getting shots for your baby will protect him or her from diseases and conditions that impact the health of newborn babies and possibly save their life. Take a small baby thermometer with you at all times so you can check on your baby’s health at any time.

We appreciate every share we get because it helps this blog grow! Thank you in advance.