The months before your baby’s arrival are exciting and busy, and they go by very quickly, especially as you reach the third trimester. Before you know it, you will be wondering how to prepare for bringing baby home.
There are so many things to prepare for your little one’s arrival. The nursery, baby clothes, diaper bags, hospital bags, car seats, and the list goes on.
You can use a newborn baby checklist printable to see what you need to buy and have ready for the baby, and even for yourself after giving birth.
This article will be helpful advice about how to prepare for bringing baby home to make life with a newborn much easier.
Preparing House For Baby Checklist
Knowing how to prepare for bringing baby home doesn’t have to be complicated at all.
It’s all about creating a clean, safe, and welcoming environment. Your home is one of the most important things to prepare before delivery.
When To Start Getting Your House Ready For Baby
At some point during your pregnancy, usually in the 3rd trimester, you may feel a strong urge to get your home ready for your baby to arrive. This desire to prepare your home by cleaning, stocking up, organizing, and even decluttering is known as nesting.
Although nesting instincts can peak in the final weeks before delivery and bringing your newborn home, it is important that you get your home ready for baby on a timeline that safe and productive for you.
You can start getting your home ready earlier in your pregnancy when you might have more energy. Consider tackling daunting nesting chores earlier on during the first or second trimester so you don’t feel rushed or overwhelmed by doing everything all at once.
How To Prepare For Baby To Come Home
Before the baby arrives is an excellent time to deep clean your home. That way you know that when you come home from the hospital with your new arrival that everything is spic and span.
If you have carpet, have them steam cleaned, make sure the baseboards have been wiped down, and clear out as much clutter from your home as you can.
In case no one has told you yet, babies come with a LOT of stuff, and it has to go somewhere. It is easier to keep less “stuff” clean and organized when you are bringing your newborn home from the hospital.
Please keep in mind that you are expecting and you need to be careful about things such as heavy lifting, and chemicals that may be used for cleaning.
If you have never had your home deep cleaned by a professional before, shortly before the baby is due to arrive may be the perfect opportunity to give it a try.
Things To Do Before Baby Arrives
Chances are you have already taken care of setting up the nursery, but there is a lot of gear that comes along with a baby.
Pack n plays, bassinets, swings, bouncers, and more. Once you bring the baby home from the hospital you will need multiple options to lay them down safely.
Go ahead and decide where you want these items to be placed in your home, and set them up.
They aren’t going to do you any good in the box, and even though most are easy to assemble, it can be made more difficult with a sleep-deprived mind and a crying baby on your hands.
Do yourself a favor and set these items up now, because you’ll have enough to do figuring out how to survive the newborn stage.
Set Up a Changing Station Outside of the Nursery
Once your little one arrives you will be changing a LOT of diapers, and running to the nursery every time you need to change the baby is simply unrealistic, especially if your home or apartment has more than one story.
Set up a changing station in a convenient location in your home, and stock it with diapers, wipes, diaper rash cream, and an extra outfit or two.
There WILL be blowouts and you will be grateful that you don’t have to go hunting for a new outfit with a cold, crying baby in your arms.
Be sure that all of your baby’s clothes are washed, so that you have lots of clean clothing options to change them into.
Stock Up on Household Essentials
Take some time before your baby arrives to stock up on items that you use around the house every day.
Paper towels, trash bags, personal toiletry items, cleaning products, toilet paper, and laundry detergent are good items to have on hand. This can keep you from having to get out with your newborn to pick up items that you need.
Before your baby arrives is a great time to check out subscription and delivery services such as Amazon where these items are shipped directly to your door at the frequency of your choice.
This can help to save you a considerable amount of money, and you don’t have to leave the house which is important to many right now.
You may also want to consider adding disposable plates to your list, sinks can fill up quickly with dishes and you may not feel up to dealing with them at first.
Along with your household essentials, If you haven’t shopped for items for your postpartum care kit, now is a good time to do so!
Fill Up On Freezer Meals For New Moms and Stock Your Pantry
This is probably the most helpful piece of advice that can be given to an expectant mom. While you are preparing for the baby, prepare your kitchen as well!
You are going to be exhausted, and knowing that you have freezer meals for new moms that you only have to pour in the slow cooker or slide into the oven to get dinner on the table is an amazing feeling.
There are tons of online resources about freezer cooking where you can get great recipes for meals that can be either partially or completely prepared in advance and placed in the freezer for later use.
While you are stocking up your freezer, don’t forget about your pantry too.
Particularly if you are nursing, you will be hungry a LOT, and it is a good idea to have your favorite snacks and drinks on hand.
Successful nursing and milk production rely a lot on taking in calories around the clock and staying hydrated.
In addition to your favorite snacks, make sure that your pantry has plenty of your favorite canned soups, quick pasta dishes, and easy protein if you like chicken or tuna salad.
If cooking is just not your thing, then now might be an excellent time to research meal delivery services. Some expectant moms even add a week or two’s worth of meals from these services to their gift registry.
There are lots of these services to choose from that offer meals that are just heat and eat or come together quickly with minimal cooking and preparation.
Set Up a Feeding/Nursing Station
Whether you are planning to bottle feed or nurse/pump for your baby you will want to set up a comfortable area for you to do so.
Again, if you have a two-story or more house, you will probably want a designated area set up on each floor. This can also be helpful for nighttime feeding sessions if you have a spouse who will be returning to work.
A comfortable chair, breast pads, nipple cream, burp cloths, water bottle, snacks, nursing pillow (these are handy for bottle feeding too), low lighting options, TV remote, and a way to charge your phone while sitting there are a good start.
Your newborn will go through quite a few growth spurts in those first few months and you will find yourself sitting in your feeding/nursing station quite a bit.
Final Thoughts On How To Prepare For Bringing Baby Home
These are just a few simple things that you can prepare before your new baby’s arrival to make those first few days and weeks a lot easier on yourself.
You will be enamored with your new arrival, but you will also be sore, recovering from the birth, and exhausted.
Having some of these things taken care ahead of time can make the transition of your new addition into your home a lot smoother and more comfortable for everyone.
