Preparing Your Home For A Baby

Before your baby arrives, you need to make sure that your home is baby-friendly. Some improvements may be necessary for the comfort and safety of your little one, while others can benefit you by making your life easier. Here are just some of the improvements that you may want to consider in each room when preparing your home for a baby.

Note: This is a contributed post. Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means I receive a commission if you make a purchase. Affiliate relationships include, but are not limited to, Bluehost, Amazon Associates, Walmart.com SM, and Etsy.

 

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Your bedroom

Your baby will likely sleep in your bedroom for the first six months to a year of its life. As a result, you’ll need to make sure that your bedroom is prepared.

 

For the baby…

Setting up a crib is the most important task (although you may only need a moses basket initially). Decide where to place this in your room – beside the bed is often the most convenient place but not all bedrooms may have the space. A convertible crib could be a worthy long-term investment as it can be adjusted as your baby gets older (some even convert into beds for when your baby becomes a toddler).

Buying lots of bedding is important as you’ll constantly be washing sheets. A swaddle blanket will meanwhile keep your baby warm.

 

For you…

It could be worth clearing out your bedside drawer and putting some emergency items in there for easy access (e.g. diapers, wipes, muslin squares, breast pads). Having a nursing pillow near a rocking chair could meanwhile make feeding your baby more comfortable.

As for helping your baby to sleep through the night (and helping you to get more sleep), you may want to consider buying blackout curtains or a white noise machine.

 

The baby’s bedroom

You don’t have to start decorating the nursery until your baby is old enough to move in there, however many parents like to get it done early (it’s certainly easier to do it before the baby arrives). This room may currently be used for another purpose, in which case you may have to clear it out and possibly relocate any contents.

Nurseries don’t have to be large rooms – you’ll find plenty of nursery ideas for small spaces online. Ideally, you don’t want it to be too far away from your room so that you can easily attend to your baby in the night.

 

For the baby…

Make sure that the room is warm and that it has good air quality. This could include insulating windows or eliminating sources of dust and mold if necessary. You could also consider putting a lock on the window if the windowsill can easily be climbed onto (although you may not need to worry about this for a couple years).

You can start setting up toys and turning it into a suitable play zone. Leave enough space to place the crib for when you eventually move this from your bedroom.

 

For you…

As with your bedroom, you may want to consider features like blackout curtains to improve sleep quality. A few baby supplies such as diapers and wipes could also be worth keeping in here, as well as a chair for feeding your baby and possibly a changing table/mat (it will save you taking them into your bedroom to feed/change them).

 

The living room

You’ll be spending a lot of time in the living room, so you may want to make sure that this too is baby-friendly. This could include adding a few play features for your baby as well as adding a few features for your own convenience.

 

For the baby…

A baby bouncer and playmat could be useful for keeping in the living room. These can keep your baby occupied when you’re not able to hold them.

Make sure to eliminate any dangers for when your baby starts crawling and exploring. This could include hiding cables, putting protectors on electrical sockets and possibly even adding window locks if the windowsills are easy to climb onto.

 

For you…

It’s worth setting up a baby station in the living room for diapers, wipes and other emergency items for your convenience. This could be inside a small ottoman placed next to the sofa for easy access.

You may also want to consider features to limit mess in your living room. Buying a throw or slipcover for your sofa could help to protect it from stains and crumbs. Switching to wooden floors instead of carpets could also make cleaning up spillages easier (alternatively, you could place down a rug around the sofa to catch these spillages).

 

The kitchen

You’ll also need to prepare the kitchen, which could include eliminating dangers and stocking up on certain foods. Some of this may not be necessary until your baby is a little bit older, but it can still be worth planning in advance.

 

For the baby…

Your baby will live off breastmilk or formula for many months, but will eventually move onto food. While you can stock up on baby food early, you need to be careful of expiry dates. 

It could also be worth planning ahead and getting rid of any dangers for when your baby is crawling. Cupboard locks will prevent your little one getting into cupboards and finding dangerous items. Other measures to take could include adding protectors to sharp corners of countertops, putting a soft rug down on the floor to prevent slipping and possibly securing the refrigerator to the wall if it feels wobbly.

 

For you…

It’s worth stocking up on a few easy meals for the first few weeks after you’ve had your baby. You likely won’t want to cook complex meals so consider microwave meals and canned foods. Alternatively, you could cook meals in advance and freeze them.

 

The bathroom

Another room to consider is the bathroom. A few improvements could help to make this safer for your baby and more relaxing for you.

 

For the baby…

A baby bath could be something to consider buying to make bath time easier. You’ll also need specific soaps for your baby’s skin. There are also baby towels that you can buy. On top of this you could plan ahead and buy some baby toothpaste and a baby toothbrush for when your little one’s first teeth come through.

 

For you…

Regular baths will help with postpartum recovery (as well helping deal with the stress of new parenthood). Consider stocking up on bath supplies including bath bombs and epsom salts to make bath time more relaxing.

It’s worth also stocking up on maternity pads.  This guide offers more information on some of the items worth stocking up on for the ultimate postpartum care kit. 

 

This is a contributed post.

 

Products List & Related Articles

• convertible crib
• moses basket
• crib sheet set
• baby swaddle
• diapers
• baby wipes 
• muslin squares
• breastfeeding pads
• nursing pillow
• rocking chair
• blackout curtains
• white noise machine
• changing table
• baby bouncer
• playmat
• small storage ottoman
• Cupboard locks
• corner protectors
• baby bath
• baby soap
• baby towels
• baby toothbrush
• baby toothpaste
• bath bombs
• epsom salts
• feminine pads

 

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