The basics of childcare were not something I thought about while pregnant. I remember coming home from the hospital with my first. We spent many hours in the hospital fiddling with the car seat and her home clothes. I was tired and sick, and yet terribly agitated.

I climbed three flights of stairs with stretched episiotomy sutures, wanting to bring my baby home. While she slept in her car seat in the middle of the living room, my husband and I discussed and finally argued what to do with her. Should we put her in her new crib? Maybe she should change her clothes.

Finally, she woke up and cried, giving us the opportunity to try out all of our new parenting skills. The good news is that taking care of your child’s basic needs is very easy. I’ve put together a group of instructions on the basics of newborn care from bathing to swaddling, feeding to holding.