How To Prepare Your Home For A New Baby

The imminent arrival of your new baby is a wonderful thing; you’ll be feeling excited, anxious, and emotional to the extreme. You’ll have read up on all the advice online and listened to what was said in your antenatal classes, and you’re ready. Is your home ready though? There are definitely some things that will need to be done there if you want it to be perfect for bringing the little one back to when it’s time. Here are some ways to ensure that your home is ready to welcome you all back into it.

Where Is The Baby’s Room?

It is probably something you will have decided long before the due date, but no matter when the choice is made, it will be an important one. You should think carefully about where the little one’s room should be in relation to your own. After all, night feeds are going to be happening for a good many months, and you don’t want to have to trek too far to comfort a crying baby or a clean diaper. Which is why looking up the best diaper pail tips could help, as well as having a baby pretty close by. However, having a baby in the room next door might also be an issue because whichever parent isn’t on the schedule for that night’s feeding and comforting will be disturbed anyway.

Will They Even Have A Room?

Many parents choose to keep their new baby in their bedroom with them for the first six months to a year, so it could be that you don’t want to consider where your baby’s room is going to be just yet. If this is the case, then you will have time to extend the property if need be. That might mean going up into the loft and adding a new bedroom altogether complete with roof windows, for example. Alternatively, if you have no room and nowhere to extend then this might be the time to put your property on the market if you own it, or look for a new place to rent.

Do They Have The Basics?

Some furniture for a baby is not necessary – they don’t need a full wardrobe, for example. Some, however, is important. That could include a cot if they are going to sleep in their own room right away, or in the near future, a changing table, a chest of drawers, and a comfortable chair for night feeds and soothing stories, as well as just for lovely cuddles. Once these things are in the room, you might not want to add anything else, but if you do just be careful not to overcrowd the space. Your baby is going to be getting a lot of gifts that include clothes and toys, and you will need somewhere to keep them.

A Screen Door 

Some parents take off the door to their baby’s nursery entirely and replace it with a screen door instead. This idea won’t work for everyone, but if you want to be able to keep an eye on what is going on in the baby’s room with the door still closed, it could be an option. It’s a great idea if you have pets that you won’t want to allow into the nursery too as you can peer in and see your baby sleeping without needing to open the door which is exactly the moment a cat or dog will rush in and disturb the little one’s nap.

A Rocking Chair 

We’ve already mentioned that a comfortable chair for night feeds is a great idea and is one of the basic elements of your child’s new nursery. What is even better than a standard cushioned chair, however, is a rocking chair. A rocking chair is comfortable for the parent who has had to get up in the night but also, thanks to the rocking motion; it is a great way to soothe your baby back to sleep again.

Picking the right rocking chair might take a little time because they are popular items and that means that there is a lot of choices when it comes to style and design. However, once you have chosen the chair, it will be something that can stay with your family for many years to come, and a particularly robust one might even be passed on down the generations.

Baby Proof The House

Surely nothing needs to be baby proofed until said baby can move around independently or grab things to put in their mouth? That’s true; technically a newborn doesn’t need a baby-proofed house. However, the sooner you start (preferably before the birth), the easier it will be at a later date. Time sneaks up on us all rather quickly, and you might not realise how well your child is developing until they get into a cupboard they shouldn’t get into or pick up something that they shouldn’t be picking up.

Once you have baby-proofed your home, you will need to re-evaluate what you have done every few months. As a child grows so will the list of things that need baby proofing.

Get A Good Baby Monitor 

Without a baby monitor, you will never be able to truly rest. You’ll be on the alert for every single sound, wondering whether that was your baby or not. You might even creep upstairs and open the door onto the find that they are fast asleep or you might go up to check on them because you weren’t sure whether they were awake or not and accidentally wake them up too early.

That won’t happen with a baby monitor. You’ll be able to hear every sound perfectly, and you won’t have to go and check on any potential false alarms. What’s even better is a baby alarm with a camera on it so not only will you be able to hear your little one, you’ll be able to hear them too. The peace of mind a good, dependable baby monitor will bring new parents is worth paying out a little more for.

A Reference Book

If you can spend a little time searching online or in a brick and mortar bookshop for a reference book all about caring for a baby, it will be worth doing. Having a handy book like this to refer to when you need to will help allay your fears as a new parent and will be much more useful and less terrifying than the internet. Looking up symptoms and concerns online can cause more problems and make parents more worried; a good reference book will be more accurate and allow parents to think more clearly.

This book is something you can take with you everywhere you go as well so make sure it is small enough to fit into a changing bag. Unlike the internet which isn’t always available, your handy book will always be there when you need it.

Breast Or Bottle?

Most mothers (and fathers to some extent) will have an opinion from the start as to whether they are going to feed their baby with breast milk or formula. If you have chosen to go with breast, you will need to talk to your partner about how they might be able to share the feeding with you and invest in a good breast pump so that you can have a spare supply of milk just in case you need it. As well as this, you will need to buy some specialist cream so that you can soothe your nipples which will become extremely sore through feeding. If things get tough (which they might) having the number for a local breastfeeding support group can be a good thing too.

If you have opted for bottle feeding, then you will need to ensure you have bought enough formula and bottles to begin with, as well as a steriliser so that you know the bottles and teats are completely clean. There are some great options on the market, but a very simple device that is also easy to store is something that goes in the microwave. Add a little water to the bottom, and the steam that it produces will kill off any bacteria in the bottles. Finally, a bottle warmer can be a safer option for tired parents than heating a bottle in a pan of boiling water, so this can also be a great addition to your baby essentials.

A Good Camera 

Bringing your new baby home for the first time is something truly special and you don’t want to miss one moment of it. Taking photos on your smartphone is okay, but to really get some great shots you should buy a dedicated digital camera. You can get them for relatively little money these days, but the difference in the images that you can take is astonishing. Don’t forget to take it to the hospital with you either so that you can start as you mean to go on and take pictures as soon as possible.

Prepare Meals In Advance

When you are waiting for the baby to arrive, you might have a bit of time on your hands. Something that you can do to fill that time up is to batch cook some quick and easy meals so that, once your family is home after the birth, it’s easy to quickly defrost one and heat it up, saving you time and energy. You can cook meals such as Bolognese, curry, stew, pasta dishes, or even chunky soups.