As your new bundle of joy will soon arrive, here’s some helpful advice on preparing your family.
1. Write A Birth Plan
If this is your first birth, writing down your preferences may be beneficial in communicating them to your midwife. Include details such as desired pain medication types, when and how you want the cord clamped postpartum and whether immediate skin-to-skin contact post-delivery is essential to you.
Your birth plan must be flexible to adapt as circumstances or choices change on the day of delivery, but can still serve as a useful resource for both you, your birth partner and medical staff attending to you.
2. Converse With Your Partner
Before your child arrives, it’s essential that both of you are on the same page regarding labor and delivery responsibilities as well as household duties in your new family life. Our articles for new dads and birth partners may prove useful here.
3. Get Advice From Parents With Expertise.
People who have already experienced life with children can provide invaluable advice on adjusting to life with a baby – be it your own parents, friends who have children, or the friendly parents in our BabyCentre community. There is no such thing as an inappropriate question when it comes to pregnancy and parenthood; make use of every opportunity available to you in order to gain knowledge from others’ experiences.
4. With Your Older Kids, Spend Time.
Spend more time with your current children if you already have some rather than waiting until a new baby comes along to care for. Some parents worry that having another kid might make their older one feel displaced; use this opportunity for some quality bonding time before the delivery occurs!
5. Plan Additional Assistance
Starting off as a parent can be daunting, and if you have friends or family willing to assist, discussing specifics with them before the birth can help immensely. Perhaps their assistance would be most helpful during those first few weeks after giving birth – for instance when will paternity leave end for your partner?
Planning is key if you are considering hiring professional assistance such as cleaners or nannies for older children. Check with other new parents on how they found assistance they needed.
6. Pet-Proof Your Home.
New family members often cause shock among our family pets; but with proper preparations in place, the arrival of an infant won’t come as such a shock to both parties involved. There are steps you can take to ensure both infant and pets coexist harmoniously in the home environment.
Your infant should not sleep in the same room with your dogs due to potential safety risks. A stair gate may help keep dogs out of certain rooms. Or invest in a cat net so it won’t sneak into their crib or stroller and harm their sleeping space.
7. Clean Your Infant’s Clothing And Blankets.
Your newborn’s skin will be delicate, making washing clothes and bedding beforehand an important precaution against irritation to their delicate skin. Doing this will remove any dirt or substances which might irritate it further.
Though there’s little proof that biological detergents will irritate your baby’s skin, you should use non-biological detergent for precautionary measures.
8. Shop For Supplies For The Home
Make the most of the first days after giving birth by stocking up on essential home supplies before giving birth. Being prepared will make life much simpler when welcoming a newborn home – pantry basics, frozen meals, toiletries, medicine, toilet paper, shampoo and extra pairs of underwear could come in very handy!
9. Make A Lot Of Food!
Make A Lot Of Food! As soon as your new baby arrives, life will quickly become overwhelming! Making food may become time consuming; to save yourself the trouble in the first week after delivery, consider making some meals ahead and freezing them to have on hand when feeding yourself or for someone else – check out our freezer-friendly recipes for some tasty ideas.
Be sure to label and date all portions stored in your freezer so you can easily keep track of their whereabouts. This will allow you to stay organized.
10. Tidy Up The Home
As parents-to-be, you won’t have much time for chores after giving birth, but making the most of this nesting instinct should make all the difference! Make sure to vacuum, dust and clean your house. If this becomes too taxing on you, limit yourself by organizing baby necessities instead – every small effort helps ease transition into parenting a newborn!
Also Read – 10 Effective Ways to Instill Joy in Your Family