The birth rate in California continues to decline. However, with so many people living here, it’s safe to say there are still plenty of pregnancies in progress across the Greater L.A. region. Whether you live in a studio apartment or a two-story house, getting ready for your baby’s arrival requires various changes and adjustments at home.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at essential aspects of preparing your home for a baby:
Nursery Design
You’re probably excited to put together the baby’s nursery, but you’re waiting to know the gender before making any decorative decisions. Did you know there’s a way to know as soon as six weeks? Take a Sneek Peek test to determine your baby’s gender fast. Doing so lets you start designing their nursery the way you want. With that said, some parents prefer to wait until delivery to know the gender. Fortunately, plenty of gender-neutral color schemes and patterns are available for nurseries.
Deep Cleaning
There’s cleaning, and then there’s deep cleaning. It’s essential to do the latter within a month or so of the due date. Focus on the germiest areas of the home. These include sinks, toilets, countertops, and cabinet handles. Have your partner check cracks and corners for dirt, dust, and grime. Shampoo the carpeting, sweep the hardwood floors, and follow up with vacuuming and mopping. Use sanitizing wipes to keep surfaces germ-free going forward.
Baby-Proofing
It’s never too early to start babyproofing your home. Sure, your baby won’t be crawling around exploring for quite some time, but taking care of power outlets, cupboards, and other potential hazards now will prevent them from being problems in the future. Getting it done early also gives you time to get used to all the new babyproof locks and other ways to keep little ones out of harm’s way.
Food Prep
Will you have time and energy to make dinner once your baby is home? Probably not, at least not for the first few weeks. With this in mind, consider spending a Sunday preparing meals with your partner. Aim for at least one week’s worth of meals for both parents. Later on, when you’re in a sleep-deprived daze and can barely get off the couch, having those meals ready to go with a little time in the microwave will be a welcome convenience.
Stockpiling
Thanks to generous baby shower guests and helpful friends and family, most expecting parents have a trove of infant care supplies. But what about toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, sponges, wash clothes, laundry detergent, fabric softener, and all the other usual stuff? It’s on the parents to ensure they have enough to last. Take time to stock up on common household items and anything else you plan on needing in the weeks and months ahead. Having plenty of supplies on hand makes you worry less about running out of what you need. Fewer trips to the store later means more time for you to (hopefully) sleep and (probably) help the baby fall asleep.
Logistics
Stop and consider where you plan to put everything baby-related. Imagine yourself waking up in the middle of the night to change a diaper or feed a hungry infant. Go through the motions step by step to ensure things will go as smoothly as possible. The last thing you want is to juggle a baby in one arm while you struggle to open a door with the other, all because the items you need are kept in an inconvenient place. This will reduce the chance of accidents and make things easier during those stressful first few weeks.
Chores
With a day or two left before the due date, now’s the time to get laundry done, wash the dishes, and do other household chores. Stay on top of these chores going forward to ensure you aren’t coming home to an extensive to-do list. After all, you’ll have your hands full with the baby. Will you really want to fold clothes or put away silverware? That’s what we thought!
A baby on the way is a stressful thing to consider. But there are ways to limit the number of things you need to worry about in the weeks and days leading up to the due date. Taking care of these things before the baby arrives will let you focus on starting a family.
Congratulations, and good luck!
