I wish I had known this before bringing my newborn home near Amarillo, Texas.
Please keep in mind that this is based on my experience. Every pregnancy, labor, delivery, and newborn is different.
A little about myself, I am a go-with-the-flow type, so I wasn't dead set on nursing my firstborn. Nevertheless, I planned to try it, and if it worked, it worked. If not, we'd use formal. Guess what? Maria latched like she was born to nurse. I am extremely fortunate I had no issues breastfeeding her throughout our nursing journey.
Returning to the first day we brought our baby girl home, it was time to change her diaper. No one told me there would be blood-looking red discharge in her diaper. I freaked out and called the hospital and was like why is my child bleeding from her private area (vagina)? That is when I was informed that nursing babies get some of the hormones from mama, which causes newborns to have a mini period, and they might also produce what looks like milk leaking from their nipples. Talk about a sigh of relief. What was happening to my daughter was completely normal. At the moment, all I could think about was how I was supposed to know about this. However, I understand there is only so much information the nurses and doctors can give in three days.
So today, I am asking you all to help each other by commenting below on helpful information you wish you had known before bringing home your newborn.