4 Ways to Prepare for a New Baby

If you are pregnant or the partner of someone expecting a baby, here is a shortlist of things I feel are crucial in your preparation process. This post contains affiliate links to the products I mention and links to previous blogs with even more helpful information!

What to do before your baby arrives

1. Start buying diapers

Diapers are going to be an everyday part of your life for the next two years at least unless you have an early potty trainer. Buying diapers even before the baby arrives is a great way to prepare. You can do this in a few ways. Having a diaper raffle at your baby shower should be a priority. If you’ve never heard of this, you incentivize your baby shower guests to bring boxes of diapers as or in addition to their gift in exchange for a chance to win a gift. I gave away a nice purse and some cell phone accessories at my shower! Doing this resulted in us not having to buy diapers for quite a while!

Pro Tip: Have a different number of raffle tickets for each box count and diaper size to make sure you don’t end up with all newborn diapers or small bags. Either way, you can return and exchange them, even without a receipt. Let me know if you want a short post about how I did my returns!

Couponing is another great way to start. Proctor and Gamble, the makers of Pampers, sends out coupons in the mail every month or so. You can also print coupons online to use in store or check apps like Walgreens, Target, Dollar General and Family Dollar to use digital versions. I would also suggest following the Krazy Coupon Lady on social media or signing up for their emails. Any time they post about diaper discounts or deals I always head straight to the store. It is important to plan ahead in this way so that you end up spending less in the long run. I try to always buy diapers when I get a coupon whether I am in immediate need of them or not. This keeps me from paying full price if I wait until we are completely out and there are no coupons available to use.

2. Prepare the Hospital Bag

Having your bag ready early is something that will help ease your mind leading up to the date and prepare you for when you go into labor. When you are going to be induced you have a firm date to be ready by but if you will be waiting for natural labor, you’ll want to be prepared at a moment’s notice. This is why I always had my bag packed by 32 weeks. Click here to see what I put in my bag the second time around. I feel like I was much more prepared and practical this time.

3. Gather Feeding Supplies

If you are planning to breastfeed and even if you are just going to try (Which I highly recommend) you should gather everything you need well before your due date. I would contact your insurance provider and see if you qualify for a free pump or work with aeroflow. They will do all the legwork to get you your insurance breast pump. I used them twice and both times worked out great. The process is simple. You sign up and provide them the information for your doctor and insurance. Then they email you when everything is done so that you can choose the pump you want and wait for it to be delivered. Different insurance companies have different rules. Some want you to wait until the month before you deliver to receive the pump. Others will send you resupplies each month which is really nice.

After you get your pump and supplies I would suggest setting up your nursing station. For my first daughter, we had a corner in the nursery set up with my chair and supplies. For my second daughter I used a portable infant care cart as a mobile nursing and diapering station.

I found this more helpful, as I spent most of the time in my bed or doing other things around the house. I would just push the cart where I needed it to be.

4. Make Your Room Baby Friendly

This is really key if you do not have space for a nursery or if you won’t be using one for whatever reason. When we went from 1 child to 2, it just wasn’t realistic that my 2-year-old would sleep through a newborn crying every 3-4 hours and me coming in and out of the room to breastfeed. Because of this, and the fact that I bedshare, co-sleeping was the way to go. With my care cart set up next to the bed and a bassinet (that never got used) nearby, My room was ready for the baby. If I could add anything, it would’ve been a mini fridge. On the nights that I pumped while she was sleeping, it felt like such a chore to walk to the kitchen to put my pump parts and milk into the fridge. That’s why I would suggest to any mom, especially if you choose to do formula, get a mini-fridge and microwave for your room if you have the space and resources for it. Trust me, it’ll make everything easier.

So those are my 4 things. Of course, there is so much more you need to do in order to prepare for a new human to be living in your home, but these 4 are very important areas. Being a first-time mom, or even adding on more kids, is going to bring up feelings of doubt and anxiety, it’s that’s perfectly normal. Just remember that preparation is the key to success! Preparing helps us feel like we are qualified for the task at hand and capable of being successful. Trust me, it will go a long way to be able to look at your organized care cart and feel some sense of control when your baby refuses to allow you to sleep or shower in peace.

But you totally got this!