What Should NICU Parents Track Each Day?
If your baby is in the NICU, your mind is carrying a lot.
Feedings. Weight. Medications. Oxygen settings. Questions for doctors. Milestones. Setbacks. Wins.
And when you’re exhausted, emotional, and trying to absorb so much information, it can feel impossible to remember everything.
As a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner with more than 26 years of neonatal nursing experience, I’ve seen how helpful it can be for parents to keep a simple record of their baby’s NICU journey.
Keeping your own notes can help you stay organized, remember questions, recognize progress, and feel more involved in your baby’s care. You don’t need to recreate your baby’s medical record—focus on the information that is meaningful and useful to you.
1. Daily Weight
Weight and growth are important parts of your baby's progress in the NICU.
Track:
current weight
weight gain or loss
growth trends over time
Over time, tracking growth can help you see progress that may be difficult to notice from one day to the next.
2. Feedings
Feeding progress is an important part of the NICU journey for many babies.
Keep track of:
breast milk or formula amounts
tube feedings
bottle attempts
breastfeeding sessions
feeding tolerance
This helps you see patterns and progress.
3. Diaper Changes
It may seem simple, but output matters.
Track:
wet diapers
dirty diapers
stool changes
If this information is meaningful to you, noting feeding and diaper patterns can help you remember changes or questions you want to discuss with the care team.
4. Respiratory Support
If your baby needs breathing support, you may want to note major changes along the way, such as:
moving to a different type of respiratory support
transitioning to CPAP or nasal cannula
reaching room air
other respiratory milestones that are meaningful to your family
You don't need to record every oxygen level or ventilator setting—the NICU team monitors and documents those clinical details.
5. Medications
Your baby may receive medications or treatments that are unfamiliar to you. Rather than trying to maintain your own medication record, consider writing down:
the name of a medication or treatment you want to remember
why your baby is receiving it
questions you want to ask the care team
important changes the team discusses with you
6. Questions for the Care Team
This is one of the most important.
Write down questions as they come up because in the moment, it’s easy to forget.
Examples:
What is the plan for feeding?
How is weight gain going?
What needs to happen before discharge?
A running question list can be one of the most useful things you keep.
7. Milestones
These are the moments worth remembering.
First:
holding your baby
first skin-to-skin
first bottle
first outfit
first bath
reaching room air or another respiratory milestone
These moments matter.
8. Your Feelings
The NICU journey is emotional.
Track:
fears
wins
gratitude
hard days
Your story matters too.
Why Tracking Matters
Tracking helps NICU parents:
feel more organized
communicate better with the care team
remember important details
see progress over time
preserve memories
At Bright Sprout, I created the NICU Journey App to make this easier. Instead of keeping questions, updates, milestones, memories, and photos scattered in different places, families can keep their NICU journey together in one place.
Because the NICU journey is hard enough. You shouldn’t have to carry it all alone.
Explore the NICU Journey App
Keep your NICU journey organized in one place with the Bright Sprout NICU Journey App. Record feeding progress, growth, questions, milestones, important updates, and memories along the way. Designed by Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Jeri Power, MSN, APRN, NNP-BC.
A note about this resource: Bright Sprout provides educational and supportive information for NICU families. This content is not intended to replace medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment from your baby’s healthcare team. Every baby and NICU journey is different. If you have questions or concerns about your baby’s health or care, please talk with your NICU team.
