13 Tips to Get Ready for Motherhood
Expecting a baby is a relatively calm time. But once you’re back home with the newborn, your life will change completely. Get ready for this.
1. Stock up on food
As your baby is approaching the due time, it’s a good idea to make some preparations so you won’t have to run to a store so often after the birth. Stuff up the freezer with frozen eatables like veggies, soups, casseroles, pile up cans of foods in the pantry, make a sizeable stock of rice and pasta. It will enable you to get meals ready just by warming them up.
2. Customize your home for the baby
In no time your baby will grow old enough to set off exploring; get ready for it too! Plug up electrical wall sockets, tie electrical cords together and move them out of reach; install safety latches on cabinets and gates on staircases; cover up sharp corners with padding; see that your water heater is set to 125 degrees at the most.
3. Get a baby car seat fitted
Don’t wait to install a rear-facing seat in your car according to the instructions; make sure you know how to strap and buckle it up. At police stations, hospitals and fire departments there usually are certified child safety experts who can see to it that you did everything correctly.
4. Prepare your children and pets for the arrival
Discuss the arrival of the baby with your older children, tell them how it was when they were born. Involve them in the preparations like buying things and arranging the nursery. Fit the nursery with a gate and preclude access there. Start paying less attention to the pets so they get used to it; have some friends with babies in so your pets learn to co-exist with babies and toddlers.
5. Make contact with a pediatrician
Ask your friends who have children – or your obstetrician – to recommend you a good pediatrician, go and see him or her, probably go and see another doctor as well. Learn when they are in the office, how exactly you can get in touch with them or with a nurse, if they are available for emergency calls. Get a consultation about the baby’s condition which requires a doctor’s attention.
6. Gather information about child care
Make preparations for getting child care when it may be necessary. Go to day care centers, talk to baby sitters, get them to tell you about safety measures, cleaning, parent communication, dealing with a baby that’s fallen ill, all kinds of things about their daily routines. Discuss day care centers with your pediatrician or/and other parents.
7. Control meals
There will be people willing to help. Accept their help; some of it will be providing meals for you and probably older kids. Let your helpers know that meals should be ready-made or easy to knock together, nothing complicated. If you are keeping to a diet, also inform them, and about your other kids’ dietary preferences, too.
8. Make sleeping arrangements
Sleep can become a great problem when the baby is here, it is advisable to arrange for a quiet place to snatch forty winks whenever the chance comes by. Mark a sofa in a room far from the nursery for you and your partner to adjourn to for a nap. While one is attending to the baby, the other can have proper rest.
9. Get ready to breastfeed
If you’re going to breastfeed, make some arrangements towards it while you have time to. Your partner and doctor ought to be informed about it beforehand. Think about attending a breastfeeding class and consult a lactation expert. Mind you may need a breast pump. If you intend to go on working, arrange with your employer for a quiet place where you could pump milk.
10. Stock up on diapers
Don’t let diapers be an emergency that will send you rushing out to a late-night store. Make sure you have enough diapers of different brands and sizes so that you will hit upon the ones you like best. To avoid running out of the stuff, find an online company that delivers diapers and formulas and sign up for monthly supplies.
11. Collect baby information
Buy a book for parents, find websites with baby information, register at a forum where you can take part in discussions. Get all the information you can get about newborn babies in advance. Still, it doesn’t mean you should follow every piece of advice meticulously – trust your intuition about your baby, especially if supported by your pediatrician. Never hesitate to ask questions when in doubt.
12. Get everything for hospital packed
Begin to get ready for hospital well beforehand, why not a month before? Choose a handy bag, put in some comfortable clothes, bras, slippers that are not slippery, hair clips and holders, toilet accessories, your insurance card and small change to buy off the vending machine. Don’t forget the baby stuff. Place the bag where you can easily pick it up.
13. Plan ahead some entertainment for yourself
No-one doubts that you will love your baby and take good care of him or her; still, it will be great if you set some time to enjoy life. Arrange a night out with your friends, get DVDs and books you wanted to watch and read. Leave the baby with a sitter to take a walk or visit a beauty salon. Get on with your life at the rate it is possible for you to.
