8 Genius Ways to Prepare your Home for Baby
How to Prepare your Home for a New Baby
There are so many articles out there about how to prepare for baby, what you need to stock up on before baby arrives, and how to create the perfect nursery. But, I feel like there is a major piece of the puzzle missing. See, babies don’t just take over one sweetly decorated room of your house (the nursery), they take over YOUR ENTIRE HOME. In fact, many babies don’t even use their nursery until they’re several months old. With three friends who are expecting babies within a few weeks of each other, I figured I’d share these simple ways to prepare your home for baby. These are little tips and tricks I’ve picked up along the way that I wish I would have known before Weston was born. I hope these home preparation hacks help you make mom life a little more manageable once your bundle of joy arrives!
Set up the Pack n’ Play
You know that nice, expensive pack n’ play you added to your registry that’s supposed to be used for when you travel? Set it up in the corner of your living space and get your money’s worth. Most new Pack n’ Plays come with bassinet and changing table attachments. The pack n’ play can serve as a home base for you most frequently used living area. A place for baby to nap, a place to change baby, and a place to keep lots of excess baby stuff! I stole this idea straight from our best friends and it has been a life saver.
Ditch the Changing Pad Covers
I know that changing pad covers are so cute and soft and you probably got a few of them at your baby shower, but I highly recommend not using them for the first few months. There’s going to be a lot of poop and a lot of accidental pee sprays that happen in early days of parenthood. It’s a lot easier to wipe up a plastic changing pad with disinfecting wipes than it is to wash changing pad covers every other day. If you really want to use the cute covers, invest in these changing pads liners that will protect your covers and absorb all the mess.
Bonus Tip: The changing pad liners can be used in car seats and strollers too!
Make a Breastfeeding Kit
If you plan to breastfeed your baby, make yourself a breastfeeding kit. You can use one of these little diaper caddies, but fill it with everything you’ll want to have at your fingertips when nursing and keep in next to the couch (or wherever you plan to nurse). I would fill it with the following:
- Extra nursing pads – I can’t tell you how many times I somehow misplaced a nursing pad after I pulled it out to nurse Weston. I’d usually find it shoved in a couch cushion or stuck to his butt. Having extras on hand is a must.
- Burp Cloths – You can never, ever have enough
- Haakaa – This thing is amazing. While you’re nursing from one side, the haakaa collects the milk that’s leaking from the other side (yup, letdowns happen in both boobs, not just the one that’s getting sucked on). Using the haakaa helps you collect so much milk that would otherwise be thrown away in a nursing pad. If you plan on going back to work, this is a great way to add some extra milk to your freezer stash!
- Snacks and a Water Bottle – Breastfeeding makes you so hungry and so thirty. Every time I sat down to nurse, I would get an overwhelming feeling of thirst. Keep your caddy stocked with a water bottle and snacks. Might sound a bit over the top right now, but you’ll thank me later.
- Nipple Cream – Breastfeeding can be rough on your poor nipples. I always used nipple cream after every nursing session for the first few weeks to prevent cracking and bleeding.
- Baby Nail Clippers – Believe it or not, when your baby is nursing is a great time to clip their nails. They’re totally relaxed and dead set on getting their next meal, which makes clipping those tiny nails so much easier.
Bonus Tip: Download a TV remote app on your phone. If you have an AppleTv, Amazon Firestick, or Roku, there are remote apps you can download from the app store. Trust me, there’s nothing worse than sitting down with a cluster feeding baby and not having the TV remote next to you.
Make a Car Kit
Similar to the breastfeeding kit, make yourself a car kit. Sure we have diaper bags, but as a mom, you can never be too prepared. (Especially if you’re like me and your diaper bag packing skills aren’t the greatest). Get a little basket and fill it with diapers, wipes, a portable changing pad, a blanket, a hat (summer or winter), a jacket, a bib, and a handful of grocery bags (for dirty diapers). You’ll be surprised at how often your car turns into a changing station.
Bonus Tip: Keep some puppy pads in the car for a disposable, on the go, changing station.
Double Up on Sheets and Mattress Pads
When you’re preparing your home for baby, do an extra layer of mattress pad and sheets in your baby’s crib. So it will go mattress pad, sheet, mattress pad, sheet. When your baby has a middle of the night blow out, all you have to do is take off the first two layers and you’re still left with a fully made bed.
Baby Proof
I’m not going to bore you with all the ways you need to prepare your home for baby by baby proofing, you already know all that good stuff. But, I do want to share one of my favorite baby proofing products. We have a huge brick fireplace in the middle of our living room and it made me a nervous wreck. My in-laws got us a huge pack of this edge guard to cover all the sharp corners and it worked like a charm. It can be used on tables or any other awkward corners in your home.
Organize Clothes by Size and Season
Before Weston was born, I organized all of his clothes by size. Everything was folded and hung neatly (which lasted about a week). Things that I thought were too big were packed away until he started to outgrow the smaller items. As time has progressed, I’ve kind of thrown this method out the window. Prepare your home for baby by organizing everything by size and season. For example, right now, I have every piece of winter clothing out (from 12 months to 2T). I can’t tell you how many times I pulled out the next size of clothes and found something totally adorable that was now out of season (especially holiday themed clothes). Often times, babies can wear different sized clothes at the same time, it just depends on the manufacturer. Not to mention, they grow so quickly that even if they don’t fit in the bigger clothes at the beginning of the season, the most likely will by the end of it. I also recommend getting a clear plastic bin and keeping it in your baby’s closet. When they outgrow something, simply throw it in the bin. When it gets full, you can write what sizes are in the bin on a piece of paper and place it so you can see it from the outside.
*Note: We are the hand me down kings so I never really knew what was in his stash of clothes.
Make Way for All the Stuff
Look around your house. It’s probably packed pretty full as it is. Now imagine adding another human being who has more stuff than you ever thought possible. Prepare your home for baby by finding a place for all those new things so that they don’t drive you insane. Clear out an entire shelf of your cupboard to make room for bottles, sippy cups, bowls, and plates (if you want to be super organized, these bottle organizers are great!). Create a space that is designated for their toys, whether that be a play room or a bin in the corner of the living room. Make room in your storage area so that you have an easy place to put things once they outgrow them. You’ll be shocked at how quickly you’ll be packing away swings, bouncy seats, and bassinets. Try your best to not let the amount of stuff overwhelm you.
Related Baby Prep Posts:
- 9 Important Things to Do Before your Baby is Born
- How to Make Pre-Baby Freezer Meals
- The Pre-Baby Bucket List: 6 Fun Things to Do Before You’re Due
I hope that these are some new tips that will help you prepare your home for baby. If you have a great tip that I didn’t share, drop it in the comments below. Best of luck preparing for your new arrival!
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How to Prep your Home for Baby’s Arrival
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