Caring for a Preemie at Home: Practical Support for Those Early Weeks
Bringing your premature baby home is a moment filled with joy, relief, and often a real wave of nerves. After weeks — sometimes months — in the NICU, the shift into home life can feel both exciting and overwhelming. It’s completely normal to need time to find your rhythm.
Let’s have a gentle look into some practical support to help you navigate those early days and weeks at home.
Preparing for Your Baby’s Homecoming
Most babies are discharged from the NICU when they are feeding well, gaining weight steadily, and able to maintain their temperature. Before going home, you will likely receive training and guidance on feeding, safe sleep, car seat safety, and any medical equipment your baby may still need.
A few things you can prepare in advance:
Keep your home environment calm, warm, and quiet to ease the transition from NICU sensory input.
Create a safe sleep space with a firm, flat mattress and no loose bedding.
Organise any supplies such as expressed milk storage bags, vitamins, oxygen cylinders, feeding tube equipment, or pumping supplies.
Organise what you can to support yourself too! - batch cooking and freezing meals for instance, stocking up on snacks that you enjoy.
Identify who you can call for support — friends, family, peer support groups, GP, health visitor, community neonatal team, doula, lactation support, or infant feeding specialist.
Understanding Adjusted Age
Your baby’s adjusted age (also called corrected age) is based on their due date rather than their date of birth. This helps you track development more realistically and reduces worry about typical milestones.
For example, a baby born at 32 weeks who is now 12 weeks old may only be “adjusted” to 4 weeks old developmentally. Adjusted age is usually used until around age two.
Feeding Your Preemie at Home
Feeding is one of the biggest focuses when bringing your baby home. Some babies move to full breastfeeding or bottle feeding, while others may still need support like expressed breast milk top-ups, supplementing, or tube feeding.
Paced feeding helps babies feel calm and in control during bottle feeds.
Breastfeeding or Chestfeeding
Premature babies often need more time to build stamina at the breast. Helpful strategies can include:
Skin-to-skin contact (kangaroo care) to encourage rooting and improve milk supply.
Frequent, shorter feeds to prevent tiring.
Responsive feeding cues rather than sticking to a strict schedule.
Paced bottle-feeding if using expressed milk or formula.
If latch, coordination, or weight gain feel tricky, reaching out for feeding support early can make a big difference.
Tube Feeding at Home
If your baby goes home with an NG (nasogastric) tube, you’ll already have received hands-on training and clear guidance from your NICU team. Bliss (UK) – Tube Feeding at Home has parent-friendly guides and often links to safe demonstrations.
Once you’re home, try to keep feeding times as calm and predictable as possible, creating a soothing environment with soft lighting, gentle touch, and minimal noise. Give your baby time to settle, digest, and rest between feeds, as this helps them associate feeding with comfort rather than stress. Many parents find that their confidence grows quickly as they practise the steps they learned in hospital, learn their baby’s cues, and establish a rhythm that feels natural for their family.
Remember: you are the expert in your baby’s care, and it’s completely normal for the process to feel easier with each feed.
Safe Sleep for Premature Babies
Safe sleep principles are the same for preemies — but extra attention to environment and temperature can help:
Place your baby on their back to sleep, on a firm, flat surface.
Avoid wedges, nests, and positioners marketed for “preemies” unless medically advised.
Keep the room warm but not hot (16–20°C is recommended).
If your baby was on oxygen in the NICU, you’ll be shown how to position tubing safely.
Premature babies may appear more “floppy” or tired, but tummy sleeping should only happen when they are awake and supervised.
Supporting Your Baby’s Development
Your preemie may still crave the containment and closeness of NICU care. Simple, supportive practices can help them feel safe as they grow:
Skin-to-skin: regulates temperature, breathing, and bonding.
Gentle handling and slow transitions: support nervous system regulation.
Responding to cues: builds trust and supports emotional development.
Tummy time: start small and build gradually once your baby is ready.
If you have concerns about development, feeding, tone or behaviour, your neonatal outreach or health visitor team can guide you.
Looking After Your Own Wellbeing
Your NICU journey doesn’t end the day you go home. Many parents experience a wave of emotions — relief, joy, anxiety, grief, exhaustion, or even guilt. None of this means you’re not coping. You’ve carried so much already.
A few grounding reminders:
You are the expert on your baby, even if the NICU environment made it feel otherwise for a while.
Accept practical support with meals, tidying, or holding the baby while you rest.
Make space for your recovery, especially if you had a complicated birth.
Reach out if you notice persistent anxiety, flashbacks, or emotional overwhelm — postpartum and perinatal mental health support is available.
When to Seek Support
Postnatal doula support provides practical newborn care, emotional reassurance and space for parents to rest, recover and build confidence in the early postpartum weeks
It’s important to connect with your healthcare team if you notice:
Breathing difficulties
Feeding challenges or reduced appetite
Poor weight gain
Changes in colour, temperature, or alertness
Concerns about medical equipment
A gut feeling that something isn’t right
Trust yourself — you know your baby best.
FAQs: Caring for a Preemie at Home
Q1. When is it safe to bring a premature baby home?
Most preemies go home when they can maintain their temperature, feed well, gain weight steadily, and no longer need intensive monitoring. Your neonatal team will guide you through discharge readiness and any equipment you may need at home.
Q2. How do I care for a preemie at home after NICU discharge?
Keep your home environment calm, warm and quiet. Follow safe sleep guidance, feed responsively, use skin-to-skin contact, and stick to the care routines taught in the NICU. Many families find confidence grows naturally within the first few weeks.
Q3. What is adjusted age for a premature baby?
Adjusted age (or corrected age) is calculated from your baby’s due date, not their actual birth date. It’s helpful for tracking milestones, development and growth for the first two years.
Q4. Can my preemie sleep on their tummy?
No — premature babies should always be placed on their backs to sleep, on a firm, flat surface with no loose bedding. Tummy time is only for when your baby is awake and supervised.
Q5. Is it normal for preemies to be extra sleepy at home?
Yes, many premature babies tire easily and need more sleep to support growth. However, if your baby is very drowsy, difficult to wake for feeds, or feeding less, contact your neonatal team or GP as soon as possible.
Q6. How do I keep my premature baby warm at home?
Maintain a room temperature of 16–20°C, dress your baby in one more layer than you’re wearing, and use skin-to-skin contact to regulate temperature. Avoid overheating, especially during sleep.
Q7. Is it safe to take my preemie out in public?
In the early weeks, it’s best to avoid crowded indoor spaces while your baby’s immune system develops. Fresh air and short walks are usually safe. Follow any specific medical advice if your baby was on oxygen or born very early.
Q8. Who can support me after bringing my preemie home?
Helpful support may come from:
your neonatal outreach team
health visitor
GP
feeding or lactation specialist
perinatal mental health services
Reaching out early can make home life feel more manageable.
