How to help a family with a new baby

1. Call or send a note to let them know you are thinking of them.

2. Bring food. Offer the family a couple of choices and ask when they can use it.

3. Especially in the first few days after arriving home, ask what you can pick up for the store from them. There will almost certainly be something from the pharmacy, the grocery store, or last-minute baby or feeding supplies that are needed, but it’s not so easy to get out with a newborn.

4. If you have baby gear/clothing/supplies you are finished with or won’t need for a while, let them know what you have and whether you are willing to give or lend it.

5. If there are older children, invite the older child out or over to your house for a while to give the parents some quieter time at home. If you live near a shop the family frequents, offer to let them drop off the older child while they shop.

6. Find out whether visitors would be welcome or a nuisance. If welcome, visit. Some company can brighten the day of a parent stuck in the house most of the time.

7. If you are family, or close friends, do whatever you can around the house. Laundry, dishes, cooking, picking up, or other household tasks.



Other ideas? What was most helpful to you when you came home with your new baby?