[Childcare] Looking back on the newborn period | 0y0m | C-07

The newborn period is the first four weeks after birth.
While I was busy with unfamiliar childcare, it passed by in the blink of an eye.

In this post, I will briefly summarize the topics of the "newborn period" week by week, and add some information that I hadn't written about before.

Week 1: Postponing the return to my parents' home due to neonatal jaundice

I spent the first six days after birth at the maternity clinic.
I plan to summarize "Childbirth (hospitalization/delivery)" on another occasion.

Although the birth ended without any major trouble, symptoms of "neonatal jaundice" appeared during my hospital stay, so I underwent phototherapy.

And because follow-up examinations became necessary, I postponed my return to my parents' home and began life at home.

The day after discharge, I checked the jaundice levels at the maternity clinic and was told, "
Phototherapy is not necessary. Just repeat the cycle of breastfeeding and excretion.
", which gave me some peace of mind.

Week 2: Memories are a blur due to the chaos

Thanks to the notes I left to record things later, I've managed to piece things together, but my memory of this past week is hazy.

At this time, Dad's paternity leave hadn't started yet, so we managed to get through it by having Mom's mother (Grandma) come to help and Dad working from home.

At the two-week checkup, I was told, "There is no need to worry about jaundice for now", and I was able to consult about and resolve various other things I was worried about.

The fact that I wrote down 10 items of concern in small letters on a memo pad and brought it with me... I think speaks to the magnitude of my anxiety.

By the way, this two-week checkup is optional (only for those who have things to consult about), and in the maternity clinic's classification, it is listed as "childcare consultation" (100% out-of-pocket), and the bill was about 6,000 yen.

Regarding this, some local governments have adopted the view that "exchanging opinions with experts about newborn care at this timing contributes significantly to the mother's postpartum recovery and the healthy growth of the newborn, and is an extremely important opportunity for a medical examination," and the cost of the two-week checkup has been added to the subsidy target since around 2024.

While prenatal checkups are subsidized, it feels a bit strange that as soon as the baby is born, it's 100% out-of-pocket and entirely self-funded.

I hope that the number of people who decide to skip it because it costs thousands of yen" will decrease.

Week 3: Finally returning to my parents' home

We packed a lot of baby goods into the car and returned to my wife's parents' home.

...That's just one line when written down, but installing the first child seat was not straightforward, and I regretted that I should have practiced when I had time before the birth.

Since we expected the child seat would not be used very frequently, we purchased the Nishimatsuya original "Turn Lege Next Canopy GY" (can be used from newborn to 4 years old), which cost 34,648 yen including tax.

As for the baby bed, it was difficult to fold and carry, so we used a Duskin rental for my parents' home.

The rental fee itself was set at a reasonable 3,500 yen per month, but because the item was heavy and large, the shipping cost was about 8,000 yen round trip.

Now, during the newborn period, especially when they are just born,
other than
・crying because they are hungry・drinking breast milk or formula
they were basically sleeping but...

Perhaps due to the phenomenon known as the "dreaded third week", or perhaps because the environment changed when we moved from our home to my parents' house, there were frequent times when they would be wide awake in the middle of the night and wouldn't sleep... as well.

Week 4: Passed the 1-month checkup

My stay at my parents' house was only about two weeks, so that passed by in a flash, and I returned home again with a lot of luggage.

My husband's paternity leave also started, so our life as a family of three began anew.

And the biggest event of this week was the 1-month checkup.

No abnormalities for either mom or baby.
The baby's weight gain was also on track.
Thank goodness.

And since the golden rule for the first month postpartum is for mom to rest... I had been avoiding even small shopping trips, so just stopping by a regular supermarket on the way back from the checkup was a huge refreshment for me.

Relieved by the results of the 1-month checkup, both dad and mom looked brighter, and we had the peace of mind to do things like "take a picture with the first toy we bought before the birth."

Summary

This time, I briefly looked back at the baby's newborn period, which passed by in the blink of an eye.

Anyway, it was a difficult four weeks where I felt a lot of anxiety no matter what I did, but we also made many precious family memories.

Guide to the Childcare Series
・Next article C-08 Number of feedings and amount of formula in the newborn period
・Previous article C-06 What was said at the 1-month checkup

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