Preparing Your Home for Your Baby’s Arrival

Once you have given birth and come home, you will need all your time and energy to be devoted to caring for and bonding with your baby. That is why it’s extra important to have your home completely ready before the arrival of your baby. Scrambling to organise the house will be chaotic if you are looking after a newborn at the same time, so here are some tips that will help you decide what needs to be done beforehand, so that you are fully prepared for the homecoming.

The Baby Room 
It may seem obvious that this needs to be done before the baby comes, and there are many good reasons for that. The first is that if you are painting, carpeting or putting in new furniture, the rooms needs time to air out afterwards. Home decorating is a good idea, but not many people consider the toxins that are released into the air from a fresh coat of paint and a new carpet. The second reason the baby room needs to be ready right away is because your baby will need to be clothed, fed and changed almost constantly as soon as you arrive home. Make sure the room is well stocked with the basics such as baby clothes, onesies, lotions, wipes, creams, diapers and anything else you will need, as you won’t have time to go to the store for the first few weeks.

Comfortable Nursing Station 
Before the baby is born, you need to have a plan in place for where you will be doing most of the feeding, and then set up a little nursing station that will be comfortable for both you and the baby. A comfy chair, a few books or a CD player, a nursing pillow and some receiving blankets are things you will want to have ready.

Stock Your Shelves 
In the lead-up to the birth of your baby, chances are you will be so busy thinking about what the baby will need that you will forget about your own needs. Your freezer could become your lifesaver once the baby comes, as long as you make sure it’s stocked with tasty, home-cooked meals. Prepare some casseroles, soups, or anything else you can think of that can be frozen and re-heated quickly so that you can feed yourself during the first chaotic week of life with a baby. Stock the rest of your kitchen as well with all the staples as well as non-perishable foods. You may also want to make sure you have a stack of comfortable nursing tops and bras that you can change into when they inevitably get dirty.

Start Childproofing the House 
It may seem too early to do it, but you will be surprised how fast babies get to the crawling stage. You will be so busy taking care of the newborn that you might not remember to make your home safer for when the baby suddenly – sometimes unexpectedly – starts motoring around. At least take care of the basics of childproofing such as putting up barriers, dealing with wires and cords and putting in cabinet and drawer locks.

There is a lot to do before the baby arrives, and once you come home with your bundle of joy, you will be thanking yourself for the opportunity to have a stress-free first couple of weeks together.