If you’re getting ready to welcome a new baby into your home, you probably feeling equal parts nervous and excited. An excellent way to dial down the anxiety is to prepare your home well in advance, so you’re not worried about this when you’re also trying to adjust to being a new parent. We started doing it around the 20 week mark, after the initial shock had worn off.
Follow these steps to get your property all set up for a newborn in the coming months.
Look at Your Home from a Safety Perspective
First, look around your entire home with your little one in mind. How safe is every aspect of the property? It will be months before your bub can move around independently, but this period can go very quickly, and you can have a crawling child on your hands in no time who gets into all sorts of things they shouldn’t.
As such, now is the best time to prepare. Search for things you need to remove, lock away, or change to avoid potential hazards, so you don’t have to do this babyproofing later on. For example, examine all the appliances in your home to see if they’re not only operating correctly (a good job to get done of itself) but also if they’re safe and secure.
Are your home ceiling fan products all installed correctly and unlikely to fall or misfunction? Are they new enough that you can rely on them, or is it time to buy new products? What about televisions, and heavy bookcases? Is there anything that could fall or that your little one could accidentally pull onto themselves? Do you need to install child locks onto ovens, washing machines, or computer modems, or a child gate or other protection near stairs and balconies? What about a smoke and carbon monoxide detector, along with a certified car seat?
Think about other things such as guns and ammunition, chemicals, medication, and heavy objects like vases, statues, and low shelves, too. Consider your home from the lower perspective of a child, to see what might interest them and become a risk to their safety.
Declutter Inside and Out
Another job to do before you have a little one at home is decluttering. Once you have a newborn, you’ll amass items even more quickly than before, and you can soon feel like you’re bursting out of your property with too many goods. Avoid this situation by taking the time to declutter now. Doing this task will help you avoid stress and overwhelm later on.
Take the time to sort through paperwork clutter, too. File papers, shred documents you don’t need to retain and finish as many admin jobs as possible. For instance, make a will, obtain insurance, and complete your tax returns.
Do a Thorough Clean
Now is also the perfect time to do a deep, thorough clean of your entire home. You may not have the energy or physical capabilities to do this by yourself when you’re pregnant, so don’t be afraid to enlist the assistance of your partner, family members, friends, and older children in your household.
Once a deep clean of all areas, inside and out, has been achieved, you’ll feel better knowing you can bring your little one home to a spotless abode. It will also be simpler for you to maintain cleanliness from then on too.
Prep the Nursery
One of the big things on your list is going to be preparing a nursery. As you plan out the space, think not only about your baby’s need to rest and otherwise use the area, but also your requirements. For example, you’ll be feeding and nursing your child here, often at all times of the day and night, so think about ways to make it as comfortable and practical as possible.
It helps to add a rocking chair and footstool for you to use, plus a changing table at the right height, so you don’t hurt your back from constantly bending over. Put in a lamp with soft lighting that you can use to see by in the pitch black of the night without disturbing your baby, and select a soothing color palette and décor for all parties.
Invest in a safe crib that follows all the current standards. A quality, hypoallergenic mattress and soft bedding made from breathable, non-toxic materials are also essential elements.
Bringing a new baby home for the first time is a special period for a family. Follow the steps above in the lead up to the birth to make this homecoming as seamless and stress-free as possible. It is a great guide on how to prepare your home for a newborn. Pregnancy is a scary time, but there are lots of useful sites, products and blogs out there!
