>(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.
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.
For my advice, I swear by the Mayo Clinic Guide to Your Baby's First Year (https://www.amazon.com/Mayo-Clinic-Guide-Babys-First/dp/1561...).
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.