The Dos And Don'ts Of Preparing For Your Very First Baby

Getting ready for a new baby is a very exciting time indeed! Those nine months waiting for the due date are full of anticipation and excitement, but you will find that they fly by! You will be so busy trying to get everything ready for your new little bundle of joy, that the nine months will seem to be over in the blink of an eye. So, as you can see, you won’t have much chance to simply sit around and wait for the new baby. There is plenty of things that you should be doing! Not too sure on the best way to prepare for the birth and baby? Here are some very important dos and don’ts that you should keep in mind during the pregnancy.

Don’t Leave The Nursery Until The Last Minute

If this is your first baby, the chances are that you won’t already have a nursery in your home. Sure, you may have a spare room, but it is going to take some work getting it ship-shape and ready for the baby! So you need to start working on this as soon as possible. Don’t just wait until the last minute to start. Otherwise, you may not get it finished in time, and the baby might have to move into an incomplete nursery. And don’t think you will finish it off after the birth – you will no free time whatsoever once the baby is here, so it is important you get it done now while you don’t have a little human to take care of! Most parents paint the nursery walls with pastel tones and add lots of baby furniture, such as a crib, changing table, and some toys. You should also add some decorative features as well, such as letter art, cute ornaments, and photographs. Of course, you might want to wait to add some photos until the baby arrives and you can take some adorable new family pics!

Do Try And Get As Much Sleep As You Can

Ask any new parent, and I’m sure they will tell you all about their lack of sleep! It is a very well-known fact that babies don’t sleep that well through the night, especially newborns. Lots of new parents are up every hour or so, to either soothe the baby or feed it. So, it is important that you try and get as much sleep right now before the new addition to your family. Because your new baby isn’t going to be that bothered if it’s crying keeps you up all night and leaves you feeling very exhausted the next day – if they want to feed, they will demand to be fed no matter what time of night it is! So do yourself a favor and start to knock all your late nights on the head. Get to bed early and don’t feel bad if you sleep in slightly some mornings – you need all the sleep you can get right now!

Don’t Forget About Other Areas Of The House

Lots of expecting parents often become so consumed getting their baby’s nursery ready, that they often forget to take care of other parts of their home. However, it is important that you do see to all the other rooms in your home, as you need to ensure that everywhere is child-friendly and going to be a suitable place in which to raise a child. One of the most important things you should do is ensure that there aren’t any hazards that could put your baby’s safety at risk. For instance, if you have any pieces of furniture that have hard edges and sharp corners, these could pose a risk once your child starts to learn to walk. You might want to replace these with some child-friendly furniture. It’s also a good idea to think about childproofing your kitchen now. Even though you baby won’t start to walk until they are a toddler, it is too easy to forget and be too preoccupied with your child to think about securing your kitchen. So consider getting some child locks for your kitchen cabinets right now!

Do Accept Help From Friends And Family

You should expect to be offered a lot of help from your friends and family while you are pregnant. Especially from those friends and relatives who are already parents and have been through pregnancy before! They will know exactly what you are going through and will want to ensure you are coping well with all the changes going on in your life. Some expectant parents don’t want to be too much of a burden on their family and friends so don’t accept all these offers of help. Others think that they are very much able to cope on their own and don’t think that they need to accept any extra help from people. However, if you think you fall into one of these two categories and haven’t yet taken up anyone’s offer of help, it is important that you rethink your decision. Ideally, you should be taking all the help that you can get! So whether someone offers to help you decorate your nursery or simply gives you some of their old baby clothes, you should be very grateful for all the help that they are offering you!

Don’t Leave Your Overnight Bag Until The Last Minute

In the run up to your due date, you will need to prepare yourself for going into the hospital to give birth. Obviously, if you are planning on having a home birth, you can ignore this quick point! But for those of you who will be giving birth in your local hospital, listen up! One of the main things you will need to get ready is your overnight bag. This will need to be filled with lots of useful stuff that you and your new baby will need during your stay in hospital. You will need lots of practical things in your bag, including your birth plan, pajamas, and a change of clothes. It’s also a good idea to pack some things that can keep you occupied while you wait to go into labor, like a puzzle book and magazines. Don’t forget to also take some things that the baby will need, including babygrows. You should also consider packing some snacks, toiletries, and lots of spare underwear.

Do Buy More Baby Clothes Than What You Think You Will Need

Trust me, you won’t ever be able to buy too many baby clothes! Even if you are getting lots of hand-me-downs from your friends whose children have all outgrown their baby clothes, you should still continue to buy some new ones. Ideally, you should buy them in a range of sizes; don’t just stick to ones intended for newborns. After all, babies are different sizes when they are born, and a babygrow that might fit one newborn may be too small for another. And you will notice that babies grow incredibly fast! So make sure you have some larger ones at home that your baby can grow into. Don’t just think you will be able to nip to the shop quickly once your newborn is here. You will find it hard to find the time, so be sure to get stocked up in advance with plenty of baby clothes!

Don’t Do Exactly What Others Tell You To

While you are pregnant, you will hear a lot of advice from your friends and family who have already experienced giving birth and living with a new baby. In fact, you may also get some advice off people who don’t really know you! This is very normal, and lots of moms want to try and help other women who are expecting their first baby. However, it is very important that you don’t listen to too much advice, and make your decisions completely independently, between just you and your partner. As it is your pregnancy and your baby, it is important that you do everything how you want to do it. So you should plan the birth that you want to have, not the one that others want or expect you to have. Ideally, the only people who you should be taking advice from is your doctor and other health professionals.

Do Get Excited!

I’ve probably made pregnancy sound like one big chore that you should be very anxious about! But that couldn’t be further from the truth! You will find that it is a very exciting time, filled with a whole lot of joy and happiness. So make sure you sit back and really enjoy this time for what it is. You will also find that lots of people say you look great and have a fantastic glow around you. Be sure to take these compliments! No matter how tired and drained you may feel, remember that you are still beautiful and your pregnancy is a really great experience to go through!