Preparing for Baby: 6 Ways to Make Your First Months Easier

The first few months after your little one comes into the world are both blissful and incredibly taxing. New babies require a lot of attention, and often leave new mommies and daddies feeling exhausted and at their wits’ end. Preparation can go a long way in making the new baby period feel less stressful and more joyful. 

Here are a few tips for preparing to bring a new baby into your life.

Find a Pediatrician

Good healthcare is one of the most important things you will ever give your child. By finding a pediatrician you trust before your child is born, you help your little one get the healthiest start possible with a person you have met, feel comfortable with, and see eye-to-eye with. 

Prepare and Freeze Healthy Meals

No new mom or dad wants to cook, and often end up eating a lot of takeout. This is not a healthy choice, and unhealthy choices at such an important time in your life could have very real consequences.

In order to keep your family—including your new bundle of joy—healthy and happy, prepare several healthy meals in advance and freeze them. This takes all the time and work out of preparing dinner, so you can focus on caring for your child. 

Another option for making sure your family is well-fed during your postpartum period is to ask a friend to set up a meal train, where your loved ones deliver you scheduled, home-cooked meals for a while. Often, it is good to have your baby shower host set this up on the day of your shower. This is convenient because all your friends and family are already together to coordinate the meal train.  

Layer Bedsheets

Changing the bedsheets may seem like a small task, but when you are trying to care for a newborn, even the easiest of chores can become difficult.

To remove one of the many chores from your list for awhile, add 3–4 layers of sheets to your bed with a waterproof pad between each. Babies tend to make messes, and with layered sheets, you can quickly remove the mess and have a fresh sheet with very little effort. 

Stock Up on Diapers

This might seem like a no brainer, but when you are preparing to give birth, sometimes things may slip your mind. Make sure you stock up on diapers before the baby arrives. Newborns go through a lot of diapers each day, and running to the store for new ones in the middle of the night is never a fun chore.

By making sure you have plenty of diapers to last three or four months, you can avoid this issue entirely. 

Purchase a Breast Pump

Maybe you are wanting to start a stock of milk in the freezer, or maybe your oversupply is making you miserable. Whatever the case may be, there is a good chance you are going to want a breast pump before you want to head out to run errands.

Finding the right breast pump for you can sometimes take time and research, and deciding on the right pump is a very personal decision. In order to avoid the need to do this research and run errands right after baby arrives, buy your pump in advance and have it ready and waiting. 

Line Up Help

Every new parent needs help now and then. As the saying goes, “It takes a village.”

It is important that mom and dad are well-rested, and have an occasional break from their tiny new addition. Additionally, sometimes the laundry and dishes pile up when a newborn is on the scene, and a little help around the house is necessary.

No matter what you think you’ll need help with, make sure to have someone lined up to give you a hand. This could be a teenage mother’s helper, a grandmother, or an aunt or uncle. You will appreciate the helping hands more than you can imagine. 

This small amount of prep work will save you time and sanity when your tiny bundle arrives, and help ensure you have the time and energy to properly care for your newborn.