Go to one of those newborn classes and learn how to change a diaper and swaddle at the minimum.
(If applicable) split the night into two shifts to maximize uninterrupted sleep.
Listen to your gut. You're ultimately responsible for your baby. If something doesn't feel right, then speak up and set boundaries with the other people in your life. Do it from the start, preferably. But if you get talked into something you later change your mind on, then say so and enforce those boundaries.
(If applicable) when you get back from the hospital, the mother will need a prescription filled. Bring her and the baby home, and then figure out all the prescription stuff that day for her. Read all of the doctor's orders and then later when she gets some rest, summarize them for her. (E.g. if she nurses, she may need to stop some prescriptions.)
>(If applicable) split the night into two shifts to maximize uninterrupted sleep.
My wife still tells people about how grateful she was for me proposing this. We each had a guaranteed 6 straight hours of sleep: I slept 9pm to 3am, and she slept 4am to 10am. We used the hour between to update me on any concerns there might've been, but usually to watch TV together on the couch.
Also, I tried to enforce a rule of no visitors staying longer than a few minutes, except our parents. People were free to drop off food or whatever, peek in for a look, but then they needed to leave. We couldn't entertain, and no matter what visitors claim, they did impose. Once he was 2 months old, one of us would occasionally take him to family's houses while the other stayed home to sleep.
My last advice is don't hesitate to contact the pediatrician with a question soon after getting home. Ideally, the first contact should be for an insignificant thing. Use the experience to learn the proper phone numbers or message systems, and get a sense of how long it takes for them to respond. Pediatricians are used to panicky parents with dumb questions, so don't worry about pissing them off.
this is probably very different for everyone, and is also culturally dependent.
i never felt that visitors were imposing, and i have even been couchsurfing with people who had infants. (they would not have offered to host, if that was a problem). it mostly comes down to the understanding that as a guest, you are not a priority. when we had guests, they would march right into the kitchen and make themselves useful, and otherwise hang around and chat without disturbing what else was going on.
I readed the same book. It's a great book and well structured, if you live in the USA specially because there is information about USA lifestyle like medical insurance or babysitting
The shift thing really did not work for my partner and me, with our first kid, so we didn't even attempt it for our second (who is now a month old).
What we tried: I would pump some milk before heading to bed @ ~10am, and he would stay with the baby and give her the expressed milk. At around 1-2am, we'd switch.
Why it didn't work:
* I am really bad at getting to sleep, especially if I know I have to get to sleep. So I wouldn't get to bed til 11/12, and then I'd have to wake up soon after. (Relatedly, I'm incapable of napping).
* The baby wasn't particularly happy with the bottle feeding and my partner was pretty stressed out by trying to keep her from crying and interrupting my sleep.
What we do now: I co-sleep with the baby in a floor mattress all night, so it's easier for me to drift in and out of sleep. My partner sleeps in a bed in a different room so that he can maximize his sleep hours and be functional during the day to help out with chores and cooking. So yeah, it's pretty much all me at night, but that's the reality of breastfeeding. My partner would breastfeed if he could, but alas, biology. (And yes, co-sleeping isn't approved by AAP, so you'll need to decide for yourself if you think its safe).
Anyway, everything depends on each mother/baby/father. Experiment, see what works/doesn't work for you!
All my children have slept next to the mother at first. Of course, IF mother is exceptionally hard sleeper and/or overweight, this MIGHT be somewhat dangerous. But in all other cases its imho SO much better for the both of them. Afaik most mothers are during that time SO light sleepers, that even when baby coughs, they check whats up and fall asleep again.
Go to one of those newborn classes and learn how to change a diaper and swaddle at the minimum.
(If applicable) split the night into two shifts to maximize uninterrupted sleep.
Listen to your gut. You're ultimately responsible for your baby. If something doesn't feel right, then speak up and set boundaries with the other people in your life. Do it from the start, preferably. But if you get talked into something you later change your mind on, then say so and enforce those boundaries.
(If applicable) when you get back from the hospital, the mother will need a prescription filled. Bring her and the baby home, and then figure out all the prescription stuff that day for her. Read all of the doctor's orders and then later when she gets some rest, summarize them for her. (E.g. if she nurses, she may need to stop some prescriptions.)