Motherhood is a very
special and fulfilling stage in a woman's life. However, this can be
intimidating and scary at the beginning too. First time mommies are wary if
they will ever be a good mom to their kids. They are nervous about caring for
the fragile baby. Well all of these are understandable, so what you need to do
is prepare well for the arrival of your newborn.
Here are 20 things that
you need to do to prepare for a new baby:
- Ask tips from your mom or mother-in-law - They say mothers know best, so who else should you talk to when it comes to parenting but your own parents, specifically your mom. You should seek for advices and tips especially for the first few days of your baby.
- Read magazines and books about parenting - There are many things that a single woman does not know about being a mom so it would help to read magazines or books about parenting.
- Watch some video tutorials - Do you actually know how to change diapers? Well you might want to check different video tutorials on how to do these things.
- Get the baby's room ready - Most parents are excited to arrange the baby room. Of course, you need to make sure that everything here is in order - proper ventilation, safe interiors, no harmful substances and best of all decorated with baby items and toys.
- Choose the name - This can take a long time so you might want to start thinking during the first trimester of your pregnancy.
- Buy baby clothes - It is also great if you will start your baby shopping even before you give birth. Buy baby clothes that are made from 100% cotton.
- Buy a baby monitor - You will surely need this to monitor the baby even when they are sleeping.
- Prepare bath items - Babies can be very fragile so it is necessary to make sure that you will buy hypoallergenic items. Items that you should include are no tears bubble bath, lotion, baby wipes, cotton wool, nappy sacks and others.
- Buy feeding items - It would also be great to prepare feeding bottles, pacifiers, breast pump and other items that they need for feeding. Make sure to sterilize everything before using.
- You should stock up on baby formula - This is if you are planning to formula-feed your baby.
- Prepare the breast pump - If you plan to breastfeed the baby but you also need to go back to work then you might want to prepare the breast pump.
- Pack your hospital gear ahead of time - This is to make sure that you will not forget anything the moment you feel like you are ready to give birth. You should include camera, video camera, some clothes for you and for the baby.
- Be sure you are ready for all the hospital bills - Of course you do not want to worry about hospital bills so make sure that you are prepared financially before you reach your second term.
- Learn about the postnatal checkups and vaccines for the baby - You should learn the schedule of various vaccines to give to your newborn baby to avoid diseases and health problems.
- Choose the hospital where you want to give birth - It is good to have a hospital in mind so you know where to run in case the schedule gets ahead of time.
- Prepare your video camera - It would be nice if you or another family member will be able to capture the first moment of you and the baby so prepare your video camera ahead of time. Make sure your husband knows exactly what kind of shots and angles you want.
- Prepare the announcement materials ahead of time - It is also ideal to prepare the announcement materials that you will send to all your friends the moment you give birth.
- Read about post-partum depression - There are cases wherein moms experience post-partum depression so it would be good to be knowledgeable about the matter.
- Arrange your schedules - If you are working in a business or office then it is essential that you arrange your schedule especially after you give birth to be able to spend quality time with your newborn.
- Study about educational plans - This is probably too early but it would not hurt if you will study about educational plans for your baby ahead of time.
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