Bringing Home Baby: Preparing for Bringing Baby Home from Hospital

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Leaving the hospital with your newborn feels surreal. I can still remember how strange it felt when we were discharged after Kimmie’s birth. Were they really letting us take home this tiny little infant? Were they really entrusting this little creature to our care?

The fact that we’d just moved a month before Kimmie’s birth made the experience all the more surreal. Here we were, bringing Baby home to a house still filled with unpacked boxes, driving roads that still didn’t feel like “the road home.” Bringing home Baby was the last step into our new reality: we were now parents, and there was no going back.

After so many months of preparing to become a parent, anticipating bringing Baby home from hospital is almost anticlimatic. But no matter how hectic things are at the end of your pregnancy, you can’t lose sight of this:

Baby’s first ride home from the hospital matters. Preparing properly means less stress for you, and more comfort for your baby. Here’s how to get ready for Baby’s first night home from hospital.

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Prep your Home Space

No, you don’t need to have all the outlets plugged yet (Baby won’t be that mobile for months yet!). But DO make sure you have the basics of where Baby will sleep, where Baby will get diaper changes, and where (and how!) you’ll feed Baby ready to go at least a month before your due date.

We closed on our new house in the middle of my third trimester with Kimmie, and moved a month before she was born. By the time Kimmie arrived (on her due date!), 90% of our home was still boxes of unpacked stuff. But her sleeping space and changing space were set up in the master bedroom, along with a rocker for middle-of-night feeds. And the changing space was well-stocked with spare diapers, clean outfits, wipes, and a diaper pail.

And even though I fully intended to breastfeed Kimmie 100% of the time, we had some baby bottles and formula (all free samples) on hand just in case. I was SO glad we’d accepted the freebies when we brought home a baby who needed formula supplementation!

Get the Car Seat Ready Before Baby Arrives

Sorting out the car seat before heading to the hospital makes all the difference. Newborns need capsules positioned rearward in the back seat. If your car allows it, the middle seat is a good option, but the passenger side works, too.

Not all seats fit every car similarly, so consulting the manual is essential. You SHOULD have a brand-new carseat with a brand-new manual, but if you somehow misplaced the manual, you should be able to locate a PDF version online. Some models click into a base, while others require a seatbelt each time.

Once installed, test it by giving it a firm tug and try rocking it side-to-side and back and forth. It shouldn’t move more than an inch in any direction; if it does, you need to tighten your installation straps. (I used to sit or kneel on bases while installing them in order to get them tight enough.) If adjustments feel confusing, many baby stores, hospitals, and community centers offer help with installation. Getting it right ahead of time saves a lot of stress later.

Clean Your Car

A clutter-free car makes a huge difference when prepping for Baby’s first ride home. In the weeks leading up to your due date, clear out unnecessary items from the back seat, footwells, and trunk. Babies come with enough of their own stuff that you don’t need extra junk kicking around.

Vacuum the seats and floor to remove dust and debris, especially if you have pets or transport passengers often. Wipe down surfaces, including door handles, dashboard, and seatbelt buckles, to ensure a fresh and tidy space. Consider using a mild cleaner to remove any lingering odors if your car has leather or fabric seats.

Pay special attention to the back seat area where the car seat will be installed. Ensure there’s enough room for a proper fit and that no objects could interfere with the seat’s placement.

Once everything is clean and organized, your car will be ready for a smooth, stress-free ride home with your newborn.

Consider your Hospital Exit Strategy

A lot of this will depend on the specifics of your own situation and where you give birth, but at least having a sense of the logistics of your local hospital will help. If you’re in a large city, parking (and even getting to the hospital!) will look very different than if you’re at a small country hospital.

At the very least, if you’re a solo parent, you’ll want to try to enlist a friend to come help when it’s time to go home. That way one of you can stay with Baby while the other gets the car. Most hospitals in the U.S. will have your ride home pull up to the entrance while Mom and baby wait with your accumulated gear.

And if your hospital has a paid parking garage, keep track of that ticket! You’d be surprised how easy it is to misplace it in the excitement of heading home with your new little one.

Finally, think ahead of time about the best route home, and consider contingencies for different times of day. While hospital discharges are often in the morning, we weren’t ready to leave with Kimmie until the evening rush hour on our discharge day. This didn’t affect our three-mile trip home – there was really only one route to take – but it could affect yours.

Pack your Diaper Bag and Leave It In The Car

Finally, as another example of do-as-I-say-not-as-I-did, it’s worth getting that diaper bag packed (then leave it in your car) ahead of time. This will save you from being a half-hour late for your first post-discharge well-baby check at the pediatrician’s (as we were), because you were scrambling to assemble a diaper bag.

Even if you don’t have your day-to-day diaper bag ready to go quite yet, you’ll want to keep some backup items in the car anyway during Baby’s first few months. These include:

Spare diapers and wipes. (As Baby grows, you’ll want to remember to use up those tiny newborn ones and swap them out for larger sizes).
A spare outfit (or two!) for Baby (in those early weeks, we’d recommend a spare outfit for Mom and Dad as well. I had more than one shirt get decorated with spit-up or leaky mammaries while out and about, and Dear Husband once had to go straight from a well-baby visit to a meeting with colleagues, with baby pee all over his pants).
Burp cloths – because infants will spit up, on you and themselves. Having several on hand is just a good idea.
Several receiving blankets. Whether you need a quick swaddle, a sunshade, or a makeshift changing pad, you’ll find countless uses for receiving blankets in those early weeks.
A few healthy grownup snacks, like high-protein granola bars. Because breastfeeding is hard work and consumes energy, and you’ll be exhausted enough without getting hangry while being stuck in traffic!
Extra plastic bags – I kept several of the plastic produce bags from the store handy for dirty diapers/wipes, and a couple of gallon ziplocs for items bound for the laundry room.

Keeping these items in a separate, easy-to-access bag in your car is something that Future Self will thank you for.

Final Thoughts

Bringing your baby home for the first time is a moment you’ll never forget. It starts a new chapter filled with excitement, love, and a few nerves. But with some advance prep, that first ride home and your first 24 hours at home as a family can be less stressful. A little effort before the big day means fewer last-minute worries and a more comfortable transition from hospital to home.

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