Today – how to prepare your home for a baby
How to prepare your home for a baby
Are you wondering how to prepare your home for a baby?
Whether this is your first or third child, life as you know it is about to change. With your nesting urge in full swing, you’ve got some energy and motivation that you can put to good use by getting your home ready for the new addition. Pace yourself. And before you know it, you’ll be holding a baby in your arms in a home that’s clean, baby safe, and set up for the challenges ahead.
1. Set Up the Nursery
Of course, this is first on the list. Set up is as simple or complex as you want it to be. If your baby will be sharing your room, it might be assembling a bassinet and diaper changing station in the corner. For a nursery that’s solely devoted to your baby, assemble the crib, arrange clothes in the dresser, and stock the changing table with diapers and creams. If everything is assembled and set when the baby arrives, you won’t spend your first evening home as a family trying to put together baby furniture.
Getting the nursery ready also lets you know what you might be missing. Do you have diaper cream and a changing pad? What about a side table with a lamp for those late-night feedings? Walk yourself through the activities you’ll be doing in the nursery so you’re sure to have everything you need come baby time.
2. Wash and Fold
There’s something satisfying about washing and folding tiny baby clothes. All those little onesies and socks look so perfect when they’re organized. Wash any and all baby clothes before your baby wears them. They may have dust, dirt, dyes, and chemicals on them that can irritate your baby’s skin. Keep everything separated and organized with baskets, bins, and drawer dividers.
If allergies run in your family or if you just want to be on the safe side, use a gentle baby detergent. Harsh cleaning chemicals can be just as hard on baby skin as the dyes you’re looking to remove.
3. Prepare to Feed Your Baby
Sanitize your bottles, wash and fold burp rags, and buy a second cover for your feeding pillow. Many parents set up several feeding stations throughout the home—one in the bedroom, one in the nursery, and one in the living room. Think about where you’d like to be and what you’ll need when feeding your baby. In the nursery, you may need a side table and lamp to light your nighttime feedings but in the living room, it could be a nursing cover and pillow.
4. Prepare to Feed Yourself
It’s easy to forget about yourself when you’re focused on the needs of a baby. However, you need nutritious food too. Freezer meals and premade frozen dinners are a quick way to healthy dinners.
You can prepare several freezer meals in advance by batch cooking your chicken, cutting your vegetables, and using different seasonings for each freezer-safe bag. Another option is to make a double batch of your dinners and freeze half so you can warm them up after your baby arrives.
5. Checking for Safety is How to prepare your home for a baby
While your baby won’t be mobile for a while, you’ll save yourself time later on by baby proofing in advance. Install rubber or plastic guards over the corners of countertops and tables, outlet covers on electrical outlets, and cabinet locks on doors and drawers to hide away your pots, pan, chemicals, and cleaners. Such a critical part of how to prepare your home for a baby
Also, take a walk through the route you’ll take to your baby’s room for nighttime feedings. Is there any furniture like rugs or chairs that you could trip on or run into? It’s worth clearing the path you’ll be travelling to prevent any stumbles of falls.
6. Set Up the Guest Room
Are grandma and grandpa coming to help? You’ll feel better knowing your guests will be taken care of while you’re focused on the baby. Wash the sheets and make the bed. Set out any books or magazines they might enjoy. If their visit will be soon, you can also set out their towels and washcloths. Once this room is set, you won’t need to think about it again until your guests leave.
7. Pack Your Bags
This isn’t necessarily getting your house ready, but it is getting your household ready. Pack your hospital bags, both you and your partners. If you have any other kids, get their bags packed too. Even if you have slow labors, you never know when you might have to make a dash to hospital unexpectedly.
Be sure to include any comfort items your older child or children might need while you’re away. It can be disorienting for children to welcome a new baby to the family. Some children will be fine with it while others will feel insecure about this new stranger. They may enjoy helping you pack the bag. For young children, it can be fun for them to get a new toy or book that can’t be opened until the baby comes. Small activities or items that make them feel special will remind older children that there’s enough love to go around.
8. Declutter the Kitchen
New gadgets and equipment that you’ve never seen before will suddenly become your everyday norm once a baby comes through the front door. Go through and streamline your kitchen. If you haven’t used the pasta maker in a year, maybe you don’t need it. Bottle warmers and sanitizers, pacifiers, a bottle rack, and baby food makers might need to take the place of rarely used kitchen appliances.
9. Sleep
Your nights of seven consecutive hours of sleep are about to come to an end. Yet you still need the mental, emotional, and physical health that comes with a good night’s rest. A sleep supportive bedroom can help you rest no matter what time of day you’re catching a few winks. I think this is the most fun thing the checklist of how to prepare your home for a baby. You can prep for sleep by:
- Hanging blackout curtains
- Blocking out noise with a white noise machine or app
- Devoting your bedroom solely to sleep
- Removing electronic devices that emit bright blue light
Conclusion
There’s a large amount of uncertainty that comes with a new baby. Preparing your home can provide peace of mind, reduce anxiety, and put your nervous energy to good use. Taking a few minutes each day for preparation activities will also allow you to focus on what’s most important when you come home from the hospital—your baby.
I do hope you have enjoyed this post on how to prepare your home for a baby
Nisha Miller Lifestyle Editor | FamilyLivingToday.com
Further reading – You might also like my posts How to create the ultimate family bathroom on how to keep stress during pregnancy at bay