Your doctor will provide you with important information upon returning home with your newborn. Most of the topics include info about postpartum depression, breastfeeding, etc. However, advice on the "small things" is often overlooked.
First of all, expect to pee your pants...a lot. You will lose bladder control for a few days to several weeks after delivering your baby. Keep track of when you use the restroom so you can schedule your next visit, even if you don't feel the urge. Plan on wearing the heinous diapers...uh, er, "pads" they'll send home with you. Ask for extra disposable underwear before you go home too. They hold the "pads" well and limit laundry loads as you just throw them away. (While you're at it get extra witch hazel pads and numbing spray too).
You will most likely bleed for a few weeks after delivery too. This will be no big deal since you'll be peeing all over the place and needing pads anyways. It'll all be one big mess.
Also, you'll never forget the day your milk comes in. Engorgement is a very noteworthy experience. You may produce an overabundance of milk (usually about 3 days after delivery). It will probably flow from you like a faucet and saturate nursing pads very quickly. I would recommend wearing a baby diaper as a nursing pad as it will hold more and for a longer period of time. Don't pump! That will only encourage your body to produce more. Your breasts will feel like solid rock, but it will only last a day or so. Hang in there!
Your baby may want to eat as often as every hour or so. Don't set a schedule just yet. Feed your baby when he or she is hungry. Remember, your baby is tired from his/her delivery as well. Feeding and sleeping patterns may be erratic for a while as your baby recovers from delivery.
* Side note: Feed your baby immediately following delivery. This is referred to as "The Golden Hour." Be aware that at that time your baby will be the most alert. Your baby will grow tired after this hour and may not want to eat every 2-3 hours (what they suggest in the hospital). Don't be scared if your baby will not eat that often...this is normal! (My nurse urged me to feed my baby, but he wouldn't eat! I was very worried, until the head nurse told me that was normal).
If you deliver vaginally you will most likely have stitches to take care of. Use the squirt bottle to rinse every time you use the restroom. The stitches can be rather...pokey. You can use a mirror to check on them and make sure they look ok. They don't necessarily "dissolve" and you may end up pulling chunks of stitching out as you heal...lovely, huh? You can tear one end of a baby diaper open and fill it with crushed ice to place in your underwear to help with swelling and soreness.
Lastly, there is the matter of your first...ummm...bowel movement. Take the stool softeners prescribed by your doctor! When the time comes (after a few days) take it slow. Don't be too....aggressive. Relax and good things will happen.
Make sure to add your baby to the insurance as soon as possible. Immunizations (if you plan on getting them) are crazy expensive.
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