A Trach Baby's Road Map Home

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Every hospital does things differently, we learned that for certain in our NICU time however, there are a few things that you must do to prepare to take your trach baby home. Here is my top 10 list of things to put on your to-do list to prepare yourself to care for your sweet lad or lass.

  1. Practice, practice practice - Do as much of your baby’s care that you can. Bath, moving them from place to place, cuddles, trach/g-tube cares and changes. Also make sure you get to do these with your partner. It will be important that once you are home, without the watchful eyes of a nurse and an RT, that the two of you have this down to a science.

  2. Set up a schedule - Talk with your nurses and get a schedule set up so that you may be present for as many trach cares as possible. We posted a sign in Jack’s room with the times for daily trach cares so that no matter who was on duty they would know when we would be there. Trach changes are done less often so be sure to schedule those as well.

  3. Get your family and friends involved - it is important that those closest to your baby know how to care for them. It will make them feel more comfortable and they will be able to lend a helping hand once you are home.

  4. Complete training - There will be a plethora of things you MUST complete before you are able to take your baby home, do not put off all the trainings to the last moment, get them done ASAP. You will also need to meet with your medical supply company to complete their training and get all of your supplies delivered.

  5. Know the plan - Meet with all of your babe’s care providers including the therapists charged with your little ones’ development. They have a plan and it will be important for you to know what that is. It will also allow you to know what steps to take to help your baby develop their fine motor, speech and oral skills.

  6. Find a village of your own - They say it takes a village and they are not lying. Having family and close friends is important but finding other parents who are in similar situations is so refreshing and helpful. Find a FaceBook group or a blogger ;) who you can follow along with. These will be great places to ask for advice and if it is a local group it will be a place you can acquire donated supplies OR unload your inevitable stock pile.

  7. Buy ALL the distilled water - You will feel like a doomsday prepper but stock up on ALL of the distilled water you can get your hand on. You will need this for multiple reasons and it will be important to have extra on hand, and like most things when you need it the most you will have to go to three different stores to get even one jug.

  8. Clean everything - Similar to bringing any baby home getting your house clean and organized will be super important. Your baby will be fragile and having the house as dust and germ free as possible before hand will make transition smoother.

  9. Meet your nurses - You will have at-home care with your trach baby which is a blessing, especially overnight! However, you will want to meet with as many of your nurses as possible prior to bringing them home with your baby. You will be spending a lot of time with these people and to make things a little less awkward meet them in advance.

  10. Set up your Baby World - You will want to designate a place in your home for your baby and their new care team. It will be important to have things organized and labeled so that everything is easy to find for you and your nurses. For more tips and tricks on how to do this stay tuned to next weeks blog!