The excitement and joy of bringing a new life into the world is an incredible experience, and no matter whether this is your first baby or you have other children already, each birth is different and magical. It’s best to get entirely prepared (or as prepared as it is possible to be) before the birth so that you can make things as easy as possible for yourself. By the time you are holding your new baby in your arms, you’ll be ready for him or her and the new life that you’ll have. What about your home, though? Is that ready? Here are some ways to get prepared.
The Baby’s Room
Assuming your little one is going to have their own room (not all parents choose this option and prefer the little one to sleep in their room with them), you’ll need to think carefully about where in the house it is going to be. Night feeds are going to be happening for a good many months to come, so you need to be close enough to make that process a lot easier. However, putting the baby’s room immediately next to your own can cause problems too. If the parent who isn’t on feeding duty needs to be up early for an important meeting at work, for example, they’ll need to sleep, and being disturbed by a hungry baby won’t help them.
The Basics
Not everything you see in the stores or on TV is entirely necessary for your baby, and they can cost a lot of money. Until you know how you are going to parent, which often doesn’t become apparent until you’re doing it, you won’t know what tools and extras are really going to help you, so it’s the best right at the beginning to only install the basic items in your home. Once you know what you need, you can buy the rest.
Things that will definitely be useful include a changing table, although, again, this could be done on any table, or even the floor, a chair for night feeds, perhaps a chest of drawers, and somewhere for the baby to sleep.
Quit Smoking
Smoking when pregnant is dangerous for your baby, so the likelihood is that if you are the mother of the newborn and you were a smoker, you’ve already given up by the time your baby arrives. However, it’s just as important for anyone else living in the same home as a baby to quit smoking too. Second-hand smoke can cause many diseases, and since a baby’s lungs are so small and delicate, they can suffer badly. Even smoking outside isn’t good enough since molecules from the cigarettes will stick to your clothes, skin, and hair. The best thing anyone can do is to quit smoking when a newborn enters their lives. You don’t have to go cold turkey but can shop these vapes to help you get started and change your habits.
Baby Proofing
Baby proofing is the practice of going around the home and making sure that it is safe for a baby. You could cover sharp edges, install baby gates, lock cupboards, and so on. You may think that this won’t be necessary until your little one is much older and starts to move around independently, but the sooner you begin to baby proof your house, the easier things will be when your baby is moving about. Time goes quickly, and before you realize it, you might have a walker on your hands. If you’ve already baby-proofed the house, you don’t have to worry about anything.
Remember to re-think your baby proofing everything a few months once it begins to be necessary. Your child will learn new things all the time so they may be able to circumvent your precautions after a while.
Baby Monitor
You may think that a baby monitor is unnecessary. After all, parents managed perfectly well without them in the past! However, they managed because they had to, and you have the added bonus of being able to buy a baby monitor and use it in your home, giving you complete peace of mind. Without one, you won’t be able to rest; every sound will make you wonder whether that’s your baby crying or not. You might even go to check on them to make sure and accidentally wake them. Although it is an added expense, having a baby monitor is completely worth it.
If you have a little more in your budget, invest in a baby monitor with a camera on it too. You’ll be able to hear and see your little one, and know that they are completely safe, and you’ll be able to rest better too, which is essential when you have a newborn to care for.
A Good Camera
Again, a good digital camera is not something that is totally necessary, and yet it is something that you won’t regret buying at all. Taking photos on your smartphone is fine, and you can come up with some great ones these days because the cameras are so much better than they used to be, but if you really want to capture some important moments, a dedicated digital camera is best. You can easily store as many photos as you want, and since you’re only using it for baby related events, there is far less chance of it getting damaged.
Prepare Meals In Advance
During the later stages of pregnancy, you might not feel like doing much or going anywhere, and you will have stopped working by that time. So what can you do if you’re feeling bored? Making meals in advance in bulk and freezing them is a great way to spend the time, and your future self will thank you for it. Even though newborns just sleep and eat, that doesn’t mean they don’t take up all of your time, and you’ll be feeling super tired with all the night feeds too. So being able to simply grab something from the freezer and heat it up for your dinner is something you’ll love.
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