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Things to do before baby arrives
So the countdown is on. Your baby is coming and you are dreaming of the day when you can finally meet them. But don’t wish your time as a ‘free agent’ away too quickly. Before your big day arrives, and you push your needs to the bottom of the list there are a few things you should and need to do before your baby is born and you become a full time mum.
As a busy new parent, your life will never be quite the same again. So whilst you still have the opportunity, take some time out to pamper yourself, visit friends and spend some uninterrupted time with your partner. Of course there are a thousand practical things to do concentrate on, but don’t forget to put some focus on you too.....
As a busy new parent, your life will never be quite the same again. So whilst you still have the opportunity, take some time out to pamper yourself, visit friends and spend some uninterrupted time with your partner. Of course there are a thousand practical things to do concentrate on, but don’t forget to put some focus on you too.....
For me – I was told over and over, “enjoy it whilst you can” and “rest now”, and I would smile and agree that I would. But in retrospect I really probably didn’t do as much, or as little as I really should have.
Myself and a few close new mummy friends have agreed that had we known how ‘full on’ motherhood was and how ‘little’ time we would have for ourselves we definitely would have lived our lives and spent our pre-baby time a lot differently.
Myself and a few close new mummy friends have agreed that had we known how ‘full on’ motherhood was and how ‘little’ time we would have for ourselves we definitely would have lived our lives and spent our pre-
Things for you and just because.. - before baby arrives
Relax
Now I know it is hard to relax and get comfortable at the moment, but still do try to just sit and do nothing or indulge in something that you enjoy such as a long soak in a warm bath, listening to a relaxation or meditation CD whilst putting your feet up or reading a book or glossy gossip magazine.
Use this time to indulge in a hobby or start a new one, such as scrap-booking. It is important to have some me time now, before you start dedicating all your spare time to your family.
Try to just sit and do nothing. Get yourself comfortable, put your feet up and just watch the world go by. Believe me; doing nothing will seem ‘golden’ in the not too distant future.
Waste time
Watch DVD’s, as many as you can. Even two or three in a row. Watch every program on TV. Get online and google anything and everything you can possible can. Read gossip magazines front to back. Why? Well because you can.
Get out and about
Try to see as many movies as you can, it will be a long while before you will get to watch a movie from beginning to end, let alone have all afternoon to dedicate to lunch, movies and coffee afterwards.
Go for a picnic, a drive or a walk barefoot along the beach. The fresh air will do you good and it will be a nice break from your usual routine of checking your hospital bag and counting how many boxes of nappy wipes you have.
Visit your friends. It will be a while before you can have an uninterrupted conversation, or will feel like a house full of visitors, so catch up with the girls. Just laze around and gossip, or hit the shops and treat yourself to something expensive or completely unnecessary. Talk about old times and have a laugh.
Pamper
If you can afford it pamper yourself from head to toe. Get your legs waxed; get a manicure, a pedicure and a shoulder rub.
Get a massage. Nothing feels better on a heavy and aching pregnant body than a pregnancy massage. Just make sure they use safe oils.
Get your hair done! Now this is really important as you won’t have three hours spare to get a head for a foils done for quite a while, and there is nothing worse then being tired and having bad hair. It may also be the time to consider getting an easier to care for ‘new do’.
Baby moon or time with partner
Soon it will be the three of you all the time, and the romance in your life will be on hold. So take this chance to spend some quality time together. Go away on a specific ‘baby moon’ or spend a few weekends just doing things you both enjoy. Take this time to bond and create some lovely memories to keep you going through the sleep deprived months ahead.
Create Memories
Spend some time just relaxing and rubbing your bump, there will be a time when you will look back and miss these moments. Take some progress photos and consider keeping a memory book or journal of your special and not so special moments, they will be fun to look at later on down the track.
Sleep, Sleep, Sleep
Now I can’t say this enough. Sleep, sleep, sleep! Sleep late on weekends, take naps during the day, put your feet up and close your eyes on your lunch break. Take every chance you can to rest; because once your baby arrives you may wonder if you will ever sleep again!
Relax
Now I know it is hard to relax and get comfortable at the moment, but still do try to just sit and do nothing or indulge in something that you enjoy such as a long soak in a warm bath, listening to a relaxation or meditation CD whilst putting your feet up or reading a book or glossy gossip magazine.
Use this time to indulge in a hobby or start a new one, such as scrap-
Try to just sit and do nothing. Get yourself comfortable, put your feet up and just watch the world go by. Believe me; doing nothing will seem ‘golden’ in the not too distant future.
Waste time
Watch DVD’s, as many as you can. Even two or three in a row. Watch every program on TV. Get online and google anything and everything you can possible can. Read gossip magazines front to back. Why? Well because you can.
Get out and about
Try to see as many movies as you can, it will be a long while before you will get to watch a movie from beginning to end, let alone have all afternoon to dedicate to lunch, movies and coffee afterwards.
Go for a picnic, a drive or a walk barefoot along the beach. The fresh air will do you good and it will be a nice break from your usual routine of checking your hospital bag and counting how many boxes of nappy wipes you have.
Visit your friends. It will be a while before you can have an uninterrupted conversation, or will feel like a house full of visitors, so catch up with the girls. Just laze around and gossip, or hit the shops and treat yourself to something expensive or completely unnecessary. Talk about old times and have a laugh.
Pamper
If you can afford it pamper yourself from head to toe. Get your legs waxed; get a manicure, a pedicure and a shoulder rub.
Get a massage. Nothing feels better on a heavy and aching pregnant body than a pregnancy massage. Just make sure they use safe oils.
Get your hair done! Now this is really important as you won’t have three hours spare to get a head for a foils done for quite a while, and there is nothing worse then being tired and having bad hair. It may also be the time to consider getting an easier to care for ‘new do’.
Baby moon or time with partner
Soon it will be the three of you all the time, and the romance in your life will be on hold. So take this chance to spend some quality time together. Go away on a specific ‘baby moon’ or spend a few weekends just doing things you both enjoy. Take this time to bond and create some lovely memories to keep you going through the sleep deprived months ahead.
Create Memories
Spend some time just relaxing and rubbing your bump, there will be a time when you will look back and miss these moments. Take some progress photos and consider keeping a memory book or journal of your special and not so special moments, they will be fun to look at later on down the track.
Sleep, Sleep, Sleep
Now I can’t say this enough. Sleep, sleep, sleep! Sleep late on weekends, take naps during the day, put your feet up and close your eyes on your lunch break. Take every chance you can to rest; because once your baby arrives you may wonder if you will ever sleep again!
Getting Practical - Before baby arrives
Take Care of Business
Now I know it is boring, but whilst you have peace and quiet, try to get your life organised. Set up direct debits for your bills; check if your licence needs renewing. Get the paperwork sorted for the Family Tax Office. Clean out the office. Do all those boring housekeeping tasks you have been putting off, because believe me, these now relatively easy tasks can be very challenging when you have a new baby, particularly if they involve trips to government agencies or banks with long customer service cues.
Think about the future
Now whilst we are talking about business think about things like setting up a trust fund for your baby’s future and making sure you and your partner have a will. It is not something nice to think about, but you are parents now, and parents have to think about these sorts of things. And if left up to the State, they may think your sister or mother in law is the best person to raise your child in your absence, whilst you may want to choose your child’s guardian should the worst happen.
Plan your budget.
If you are going to be on maternity leave for a while, and will be returning to work part time or using full time child care once you do return to work then you will need a whole new budget for the year ahead. Take the time out now to work out your finances and make sure that ‘where your next meal is coming from’ is not something that is keeping you up at night. You will have a little bundle of joy for that.
Get organised
Now I am not just talking about the practical things like washing the babies clothes, I am talking about things like making a list of Doctors, Paediatricians, Lactation Consultants, Early Childhood centres, the Australian Breastfeeding Association and Mothers groups in your area. You don’t want to be looking for this information at 3.00am with a crying baby in toe.
Paperwork
Check the Centrelink and Births Deaths and Marriages websites to see what identification you will need to register your baby’s birth and to register for the baby bonus. Get photocopies of the documents you need and get them signed by a JP. The last thing you want to do with a 2 week old baby is run around looking for a JP.
Read the manuals
Make sure you read all the baby manuals and work out how to use and adjust all the equipment. E.g. sling, pram, breast pump. Again this is something you don’t want to be doing at 3.00am with a crying baby in toe. I remember crying in the rain at the hospital car park because I couldn’t work out how to adjust the straps on the baby capsule.
Sort out the car
Put up the car shades, fill the nappy bag, and add some toys, wipes, hand sanitizer etc. to the car. Put the pram in the boot and hang the baby on board sign.
Get cooking
Cook up a stack of easy to defrost meals and snacks for those nights when things are just not going your way. Take the time to teach your partner how to make a few quick and easy meals if he isn’t much of a chef and you usually do all of the cooking.
Stock up
Stock up on non-perishable food, nappies, wipes, toiletries. All the things you don’t want to ‘accidentally’ run out of. It is much easier to lug boxes of nappies and other supplies when you don’t have a pram and baby in toe.
Thank you cards and birth announcements
Buy a packet of pre printed thank you cards and/or birth announcements, or the supplies to make your own.
Make sure you have envelopes, stamps and have got your address book up to date. It is amazing how many of your friends you may only have a mobile contact for you and don’t know their postal address. When you have a newborn finding time to track down or look up addresses and post codes on line can be a job that you just don’t have time for. So get organised before hand, that way when you get home from hospital you can write out a card or two each day as you find the time.
Storage
Now that you have an extra person in the house, you will be surprised at just how much extra stuff they need. Once you start getting new clothes and presents from everywhere you will need some where to put it all. So consider getting some more storage containers or draws now.
Clean the house
It will be at least a couple of months before you come up for air so try to get the house as clean, tidy and as clutter free as you can before hand, that way the mess that comes when you first get home will not be as obvious. Consider asking friends for a hired cleaner as your baby gift.
Organise the nursery
Make sure you have washed all of the baby’s clothes and blankets, unpacked their toys, put batteries in the mobile and assembled the change table. When baby comes home you want everything to be ready.
Read
Read all your baby and labour books. I remember trying to read an article on ‘handling crying’ at 2.00am after being up for two days. I really didn’t take much in, so read up on everything you need to know when you get home. Maybe write a few tips on a post it note and pop it in on the fridge for those late nights.
Pack your hospital bag
Try to pack your hospital bag around 34 weeks. There will be a few items that you can’t pack until the last minute so make a list and keep it in the top of the bag. That way you can just tick of the last minute items on the day.
Post baby clothes
After months of wearing enormous maternity dresses, you may have forgotten to think about what you will be wearing during your first few months at home. Make sure you have nursing bras, nursing clothes, and comfortable clothes to wear as your body slowly returns back to normal. This will be the time when you will need those ‘in between’ clothes you were wearing around the fifth month.
Take Care of Business
Now I know it is boring, but whilst you have peace and quiet, try to get your life organised. Set up direct debits for your bills; check if your licence needs renewing. Get the paperwork sorted for the Family Tax Office. Clean out the office. Do all those boring housekeeping tasks you have been putting off, because believe me, these now relatively easy tasks can be very challenging when you have a new baby, particularly if they involve trips to government agencies or banks with long customer service cues.
Think about the future
Now whilst we are talking about business think about things like setting up a trust fund for your baby’s future and making sure you and your partner have a will. It is not something nice to think about, but you are parents now, and parents have to think about these sorts of things. And if left up to the State, they may think your sister or mother in law is the best person to raise your child in your absence, whilst you may want to choose your child’s guardian should the worst happen.
Plan your budget.
If you are going to be on maternity leave for a while, and will be returning to work part time or using full time child care once you do return to work then you will need a whole new budget for the year ahead. Take the time out now to work out your finances and make sure that ‘where your next meal is coming from’ is not something that is keeping you up at night. You will have a little bundle of joy for that.
Get organised
Now I am not just talking about the practical things like washing the babies clothes, I am talking about things like making a list of Doctors, Paediatricians, Lactation Consultants, Early Childhood centres, the Australian Breastfeeding Association and Mothers groups in your area. You don’t want to be looking for this information at 3.00am with a crying baby in toe.
Paperwork
Check the Centrelink and Births Deaths and Marriages websites to see what identification you will need to register your baby’s birth and to register for the baby bonus. Get photocopies of the documents you need and get them signed by a JP. The last thing you want to do with a 2 week old baby is run around looking for a JP.
Read the manuals
Make sure you read all the baby manuals and work out how to use and adjust all the equipment. E.g. sling, pram, breast pump. Again this is something you don’t want to be doing at 3.00am with a crying baby in toe. I remember crying in the rain at the hospital car park because I couldn’t work out how to adjust the straps on the baby capsule.
Sort out the car
Put up the car shades, fill the nappy bag, and add some toys, wipes, hand sanitizer etc. to the car. Put the pram in the boot and hang the baby on board sign.
Get cooking
Cook up a stack of easy to defrost meals and snacks for those nights when things are just not going your way. Take the time to teach your partner how to make a few quick and easy meals if he isn’t much of a chef and you usually do all of the cooking.
Stock up
Stock up on non-
Thank you cards and birth announcements
Buy a packet of pre printed thank you cards and/or birth announcements, or the supplies to make your own.
Make sure you have envelopes, stamps and have got your address book up to date. It is amazing how many of your friends you may only have a mobile contact for you and don’t know their postal address. When you have a newborn finding time to track down or look up addresses and post codes on line can be a job that you just don’t have time for. So get organised before hand, that way when you get home from hospital you can write out a card or two each day as you find the time.
Storage
Now that you have an extra person in the house, you will be surprised at just how much extra stuff they need. Once you start getting new clothes and presents from everywhere you will need some where to put it all. So consider getting some more storage containers or draws now.
Clean the house
It will be at least a couple of months before you come up for air so try to get the house as clean, tidy and as clutter free as you can before hand, that way the mess that comes when you first get home will not be as obvious. Consider asking friends for a hired cleaner as your baby gift.
Organise the nursery
Make sure you have washed all of the baby’s clothes and blankets, unpacked their toys, put batteries in the mobile and assembled the change table. When baby comes home you want everything to be ready.
Read
Read all your baby and labour books. I remember trying to read an article on ‘handling crying’ at 2.00am after being up for two days. I really didn’t take much in, so read up on everything you need to know when you get home. Maybe write a few tips on a post it note and pop it in on the fridge for those late nights.
Pack your hospital bag
Try to pack your hospital bag around 34 weeks. There will be a few items that you can’t pack until the last minute so make a list and keep it in the top of the bag. That way you can just tick of the last minute items on the day.
Post baby clothes
After months of wearing enormous maternity dresses, you may have forgotten to think about what you will be wearing during your first few months at home. Make sure you have nursing bras, nursing clothes, and comfortable clothes to wear as your body slowly returns back to normal. This will be the time when you will need those ‘in between’ clothes you were wearing around the fifth month.
Got any more hints, tips or advice, then let us know......
What to do before your baby arrives.
If you are already pregnant, then your options will be limited to what you can physically do whilst carrying around a bump, but that doesn’t mean you can’t indulge just a little. Below are a few ideas for things that you should do, and will wish you had down before little mister or miss ‘time absorber’ (a.k.a baby) arrives: