Key takeaways: Before discharge, confirm your baby’s screenings and treatments, have a feeding plan, schedule the first pediatric visit (usually within 48 to 72 hours), install the car seat, and know the warning signs for both you and your baby.
Going home is exciting and a little scary. This checklist helps make sure nothing important gets missed.
Your Baby’s Health
- [ ] Vitamin K, eye ointment, and hepatitis B vaccine given or discussed, and documented.
- [ ] Newborn blood screening collected (repeat needed if done before 24 hours).
- [ ] Hearing screen completed, with follow-up scheduled if needed.
- [ ] Pulse oximetry heart screen completed.
- [ ] Bilirubin checked, with a plan for follow-up.
- [ ] Weight and percent weight loss reviewed.
- [ ] Urine and stool passed.
- [ ] RSV protection discussed if it’s RSV season.
- [ ] Car seat test done if your baby was preterm or at risk.
Feeding
- [ ] Your baby is feeding well, at least 8 times in 24 hours.
- [ ] You know hunger and fullness cues.
- [ ] If breastfeeding, a nurse or lactation consultant has watched a feed. You have a lactation follow-up contact.
- [ ] If formula feeding, you know how to prepare formula safely.
- [ ] You know how many wet and dirty diapers to expect.
From the author
From First Breath to First Birthday is my month-by-month guide to your baby’s first year, written as a NICU and postpartum nurse. My book starts in the first hours after birth and walks you through every newborn check and the weeks that follow.
Follow-Up
- [ ] Pediatric appointment scheduled, usually at 3 to 5 days old and within 48 to 72 hours of discharge.
- [ ] Your own postpartum follow-up: contact within 3 weeks, comprehensive visit by 12 weeks. If you have high blood pressure, a blood pressure check within the first week or so.
Safety
- [ ] Rear-facing car seat installed correctly. Harness snug, chest clip at armpit level.
- [ ] Safe sleep plan: your baby on their back, in their own bassinet or crib, with nothing else in it.
- [ ] Working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms at home.
- [ ] Digital thermometer at home.
Paperwork
- [ ] Birth certificate application completed.
- [ ] Social Security number application (often done with the birth certificate).
- [ ] Plan to add your baby to insurance within your plan’s deadline (often 30 days for employer plans).
- [ ] Discharge papers for both you and your baby.
Know the Warning Signs
For your baby, call the doctor if: fever of 100.4°F or higher rectally, poor feeding, fewer wet diapers, increasing yellow color, unusual sleepiness, or trouble breathing. Call 911 for blue or gray color, breathing pauses, or unresponsiveness.
For you, call 911 for: chest pain, trouble breathing, seizures, or thoughts of harming yourself or your baby. Call your provider for: heavy bleeding, severe headache or vision changes, fever, or a red, swollen leg.
Questions to Ask Before You Leave
- When should I call about jaundice?
- Who do I call with feeding questions at night?
- When should my baby start vitamin D drops?
- What should my baby’s diapers look like by day 5?
The Bottom Line
A quick review before discharge helps you leave confident: screenings done, feeding plan set, follow-up scheduled, car seat ready, and warning signs known.
Want more support for your baby’s first year? My book, From First Breath to First Birthday, is available on Amazon.
Related Articles
- Your Baby’s First Pediatrician Visit at 3 to 5 Days: What to Bring and Ask
- Life After the NICU: Bringing Your Preemie Home
- Your Newborn’s First 24 Hours: What Happens in the Hospital, Hour by Hour
Sources
- Benitz WE; Committee on Fetus and Newborn. Hospital stay for healthy term newborn infants. Pediatrics. 2015;135(5):948-953.
- American Academy of Pediatrics, Bright Futures. Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care (Periodicity Schedule). https://www.aap.org/periodicityschedule
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 736: Optimizing postpartum care. Obstet Gynecol. 2018;131(5):e140-e150.
- Moon RY, Carlin RF, Hand I; Task Force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome; Committee on Fetus and Newborn. Sleep-related infant deaths: updated 2022 recommendations for reducing infant deaths in the sleep environment. Pediatrics. 2022;150(1):e2022057990.
This article is for general education and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice. Always talk with your baby’s health care provider or your own provider about your specific situation. If you think your baby or you may have a medical emergency, call 911.
