When you first bring home your baby, there are more things to consider than seems possible. There are questions about your baby’s health, whether your baby is getting enough sleep, enough to eat. Are they safe and happy? Then there are also considerations regarding yourself – are you protecting your mental health? Are you devoting energy to yourself to recover from this crazy yet beautiful thing you’ve just done?
Given there are so many things to think about before going into birth, it’s easy to forget at least one of them. However, one of the aspects you should take note to remember is to prepare your home for your return.
The home you’ve been living in pre-baby will be unrecognizable in comparison to a household with a baby. In a lot of expected ways – it’s likely to get messier than you could imagine – and in some, you may not have considered. Think about it like this: a new person is moving in, and with them, they will bring all their stuff. And, mama, these types of roommates have a lot of things!
Here are some ways to prepare for your new, tiny roommate.
1. Bulk cook
When you have a newborn, you are not going to want to cook. Or even have the time or energy. It’s a good idea to stock up on meals before you give birth, so post-birth, you can take a pre-made meal out of the freezer and throw it in the microwave.
You could spend time pre-birth cooking these, or to save time, you can work it into your routine. Each night making meals before the birth, double and freeze half. You’ll thank yourself later when you don’t have to try to find an hour to cook between feeds and cries. Also, consider asking your baby shower host or a friend to set up a meal train too!
2. Find Necessary Furniture
Your baby will need material objects as you do. There are specific needs that you are likely aware of – a changing table, stroller, highchair, car seats – but also fun extras that you can have a good time picking out.
Finding the right things can be difficult, so looking at review sites like The Baby Website can be useful. You want to pick staples that will work for your growing family and lifestyle. And believe me when you have hundreds of options, review sites like the The Baby Website makes it a whole lot easier!
3. Tidy, Tidy, Tidy
There’s no easy way to put this. When the baby comes into your life, your home will be turned upside down. Because you will never see your home spotless ever again (well, while your kids live under the same roof), it’s a good idea to do a deep cleaning before birth.
Invest in ways to make tidying easier, so hopefully, you can have a partly tidy house one day in the future. Little bits of storage around the house is smart so that you can chuck things away out of sight!
Removing unnecessary objects from your house can be a good idea in the wake of a new baby. Anything that could be dangerous for a newborn or young child, plus anything that you won’t use anymore in your new life. Clutter can add up with a baby, so chuck it while you can.
Preparing your home for your new baby may seem daunting at first, but by preparing those freezer meals in advance, browsing The Baby Website before you buy for baby, and deep-cleaning your home pre-birth, you will have more time to rest and focus on your new bundle of joy.
Because let’s be honest, mama, cooking, and cleaning will be the furthest thing from your mind when you have a cooing baby in your arms and you’re running on three hours of sleep.
The Cultured Baby 