How to Prepare Your Home for Your Baby’s Arrival

It’s always a life-changing moment when a family welcomes a new member. However, your baby’s arrival is also, without doubt, a chaotic period you don’t want to meet unprepared. While your little one won’t be crawling all over the house just yet, your daily schedule is about to turn upside down for sure. Accommodating your surroundings to the new arrival well ahead of time is thus important if you want to enjoy the first weeks and months of your baby’s life in a more relaxed manner. Here’s what you need to do to make sure your home is ready to receive your little one.

Declutter and clean your home

You will need a lot of space for all the furniture and baby necessities that are about to take over your house. So, start by decluttering your space and storing away things that may be dangerous with a baby in the house or might simply get in the way. Make space for a bottle rack on your counter by putting some rarely-used appliances away for the time being. Introduce additional storage solutions so you have ample room for baby supplies. Moreover, you want to bring your baby home to a safe and healthy environment. So, take this opportunity to give your house a good cleaning and a safety exam. Banish potentially harmful chemicals, check detectors, and so on.

Pick a nursery

While the nursery may not see as much use as you would think for the first few months of your baby’s life since they will mostly be sleeping in your room anyway, designating a space for it and preparing it while you’re still early into your pregnancy is a good idea. You don’t have to get down to minute details, but if there is any renovation work that needs to be done, tackle it now instead of leaving it for later.

Tackle the lighting

If you don’t already have soft, ambient lights in your rooms, your baby’s arrival may be the perfect cue to install them. You don’t want to wake everyone up with glaring overhead lights when you get up to feed your little one in the middle of the night, but you don’t want to be stumbling in the dark either. You can go for additional, ambient lighting fixtures or install dimmer switches. Both of them are perfect solutions for relaxing night feeding sessions.

Get all the baby essentials

As we said earlier, it’s up to you whether you will fully furnish your nursery at this point in time. However, there are certain baby essentials you will need from day one, and getting them before the little one arrives is highly recommended.

• You will need a place where you can safely put down your baby, so get a sturdy crib or bassinet.
• You will probably not go out as much with your newborn but getting a wrap so that you can carry them safely when you do so is a good idea.
• Health supplies like an infant thermometer and a bulb syringe are also indispensable. You can get a baby healthcare kit that will include all the essentials.
• Get several burping cloths and towels so you always have one at hand even if the laundry is still waiting to be done.
• Your baby will need weather-appropriate clothes. Browse trusted brands like 3 Little Crowns for baby clothes like hats, rompers, and bodysuits. Look for baby-friendly, organic materials.
• Stock up on diapers and other changing station essentials: a changing pad, wet wipes, rash cream, storage organizers, a diaper pail or trash can… You might also want to double up on some of these and create an additional changing station so that you don’t have to climb the stairs 50 times a day.
• Remember to prepare some baby formula and feeders in case you end up needing them.

Think about yourself, too

Finally, while preparing your environment for the arrival of your little one, don’t forget about yourself either. As soon as your baby arrives, your daily schedule will turn upside down and you might find that you hardly even find time to eat, let alone prepare healthy meals. However, keeping your meals healthy and nutritious is paramount when you’re breastfeeding your little one. It’s a good idea to start cooking batches and freezing meals so you will always have lunch ready when you’re running on just a couple of hours of sleep. Finally, you will have a lot on your plate postpartum, and feeling comfortable will make it easier for you. So, stock up on comfy clothes for yourself, too, while you’re doing your baby clothes shopping spree!

Soon, your little one will need 100% of your attention, so you won’t have time to deal with trivial matters. Sort out these necessary home preparations before their arrival and you’ll have everything you need at hand during this beautiful period of your life!