6 Ways to Prepare Your Home for New Baby
Bringing home a new baby is one of the biggest changes that you'll make in your life. The road to parenthood is long and has a pretty steep learning curve, but it's essential to make sure you're prepared before you bring that new little one home. If this is your first child, here are six ways to prepare your home for a new baby to help make your preparations a little bit easier.
1. Soften Your EdgesAs adults, we love sharp, clean edges on our furniture and in our decorating. It provides a smooth aesthetic that appeals to everyone, even if you don't have much of an eye for interior decor.
For little ones learning to walk, though, these aesthetically pleasing sharp edges can be dangerous. It doesn't take much for them to tip over and injure themselves on a sharp table edge or door frame. Make it a point to soften those edges while you're baby-proofing your house. Most stores sell baby bumpers that fit easily onto sharp corners and edges, or you can make your own with pool noodles or pipe insulation — just make sure you remove it before they get big enough to start chewing on them.
2. Go for a Crawl
This might sound silly, but while you're working on baby proofing your home, get down on your hands and knees and crawl around the house. This is the perspective that your little one will have once they start moving around on their own. You'll be surprised how many dangerous things you find if you're not looking down at them from on high. Crawling babies and toddlers will find anything and everything that could possibly harm them, no matter how careful you are.
If you're at the end of your pregnancy and can't get down on the floor — or rather, can't get back up without some serious assistance — have someone crawl around for you. From there, you'll have a better idea of the kind of preparations you need to make to ensure that your home is safe once your little one starts to get around on their own.
3. Don't Buy Too Much Furniture
It's tempting to buy everything at the store when you're shopping for your little one, just to make sure you have everything you could ever possibly need, but all you're going to do is clutter up the baby's room with things that you don't actually need and may never even use.
At a minimum, you'll need a crib or a co-sleeper, depending on your planned sleeping arrangements, a chair for nursing, a changing table and a high chair. Anything beyond that is unnecessary and may leave you scrambling for space. You may find you need other things over time, like a dresser to store clothes or a toybox to store all of the toys that you will collect throughout their life, but as you're preparing to bring home your first little one, don't overstuff your nursery.
4. Leave Your Shoes at the Door
Once your little one starts crawling, they're going to be all over your home. Before they're born, you should get into the habit of leaving your shoes at the door to keep your home cleaner for their explorations.
In addition to tracking in the dirt, your shoes can also bring in bacteria and other toxins, transferring them to your floor. If you've got a baby crawling around on your floor, the last thing you want to do is have bacteria or dangerous chemicals hanging around because they stuck to your shoes. The soles of your shoes have more bacteria than the inside of them by orders of magnitude. On the inside of your shoes, you'll find an average of 2,800 units of bacteria. The soles of your shoes carry 421,000 units so make it a habit to leave your shoes at the door.
5. Stockpile Home Essentials
Once you bring your little one home, the last thing you're going to want to do is pack them up and head to the store because you ran out of baby wipes or coffee creamer.
Stockpile your non-perishable home essentials before you head to the hospital so you'll know that you have everything you need before the baby comes home. Don't forget to stock up on your favorite snacks too! There's nothing like a tasty treat to improve your morale when you're exhausted and struggling to keep your eyes open because you've only slept for two hours in the last two days.
6. Prep Freezer Meals
If you're too tired to brush your hair, you definitely won't want to worry about cooking after you've brought your new little one home. Before you head to the hospital to bring your little bundle of joy into the world, prep plenty of freezer meals and snacks so you can enjoy hot and fresh meals without worrying about the time it takes to put them together.
Freezer meals should be simple but flavorful and after the initial prep work should only have one step — heat them up and enjoy.
Take Care Of Yourself
While you'll have a new little one to take care of, the most important thing to remember is to take care of yourself. These tips and tricks can help keep your little one safe and keep you from losing your mind from lack of sleep.