YouAsk Kim
Four friends of different ages walking arm in arm along a stone street at dusk, one carrying flowers

Together · 20 min

A handover sheet

One page for anyone who looks after your baby: the routine, what they like, and who to call.

20 minutesFrom the library, free to readFour steps
Save for laterTry it today

Leaving your baby with someone else for the first time, a grandparent, a friend, a sitter, a childcare setting, can be hard. A handover sheet means they have what they need in one place, and you can relax a little knowing nothing important is left out.

The steps

Four small steps,in your own time.

  1. At the top, write your name, phone number, and the numbers for your nurse or doctor and your local emergency number.

  2. Write a rough outline of the baby's day: when they usually feed, sleep, and wake, and what helps them settle.

  3. For feeding, sleep and any medicines, write only what your nurse, midwife or doctor has told you, in their words, and say who told you.

  4. Add what your baby likes: a song, a toy, a way of being held. Put the sheet on the fridge or in the baby's bag.

The reason

Why it helps

A single sheet means the person looking after your baby does not have to remember everything you said at the door. Writing down professional advice in their words keeps it accurate. It also helps the baby, because the routine stays familiar.

A gentle variation

If several people help, keep one master sheet and give each person a copy. If your baby has a health condition, ask your doctor or nurse what the sheet should include about it.

One hand resting over another on a wooden table

WE · TRIBE

Try itwith someone.

Go through the sheet with the person who will look after the baby before the first time, and let them ask questions.

Make it a plan in HIVELIVE, with WE

Try it today

This week, write a one-page handover sheet with your numbers and your baby's routine.

Add it to your day

More like this

More from VIVE Together,for real days.

All of VIVE Together
Friends at a rooftop dinner at dusk

Together · 3 min

A meal shared

Food eaten with another person feeds something that food eaten standing at the counter does not.

Two people on a sofa at dusk, a brass lamp lit behind them

Together · 3 min

A conversation

One real exchange a day, where you say how it is and someone hears it, does more for you than a hundred messages.

Two people on a sofa by a window, the city lit at dusk

Together · 10 min

Find your next shared yes

Choose something to enjoy together without guessing what the other person wants: each of you names three, and you look for the overlap.