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Home › Articles › Mental and Emotional Health › The First Day Home with Baby

The First Day Home with Baby

How to Make Things Less Stressful for Everyone

By Renee Roberson

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All the excitement and attentiveness surrounding the new baby can also lead to hurt feelings and confusion on the part of an older child already living in the home. Logan also recommends picking out a special toy for the sibling to give the new baby upon the return home. Parents should also consider a new gift for the older child so they don't feel left out.

"Ensuring that older siblings feel included in the new arrival is very important to minimizing the inevitable resentment," Branco says. "Toy slings make a wonderful gift, making older siblings feel included while modeling the importance of Baby's closeness to Mom."

Sansone recommends that parents involve any siblings in the return home from the very beginning. "Make the sibling know this is his or her baby too," she says. "Relatives and visitors should be sensitive to the siblings and ask them if it's OK to hold 'their' baby. It will be up to the parents to initiate this. If people are coming by with gifts or dinner they should bring a piece of candy or something little for the sibling."

Whether that first day home with your new baby turns out to be full of mayhem or a restful day, it's important to remember that over time things should return back to normal, while normal may be different than it was pre-baby. A mother and her new baby should get plenty of rest and be sure to accept help from anyone who offers, whether it be an offer to babysit an older child or bring by a casserole. And if what the new parents want the most is to rest quietly with their new addition without visitors, they shouldn't feel bad about putting off well-meaning friends and relatives for a day or so.


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