If you are currently expecting a baby, congratulations. The road ahead will be the most magical time of your lives!
Nevertheless, there is a long list of preparations that you must put into place. This can include issues like getting a new car or determining how to split your maternity and paternity leave. However, creating a comfortable home environment for your growing family should sit at the top of your list. Use the advice below for guidance to unlock the potential of your home before the big arrival.
Prepare your bedroom for the first few months
While designing the nursery will be an important feature, your baby is unlikely to sleep here at the start. Most parents will have their children sleep in their rooms for the first few months. Aside from giving you a chance to keep an eye on your sleeping baby, it makes life far more convenient. Especially when nighttime feeds could be as often as every two hours.
This bassinet buying guide will help you prepare for these crucial early nights of your baby’s life. In truth, you probably won’t need to make many other updates to the bedroom. However, softer lighting and a waste bin for dirty diapers may be useful. Your bedside table can be used for placing a night light or toy that plays lullabies too.
Create A Great Nursery Space
Even if your child isn’t likely to sleep in the nursery for a little while, you’ll want to design it now. For starters, it is an immensely exciting task that makes the fact that you’re about to become parents seem real. Besides, having the perfect space ready for them to move into when the time comes is another huge tick on your checklist.
You can create a neutral nursery space if you’re not finding out the gender of your baby. Alternatively, you can introduce pastel blues and pinks if you do. As well as the design, you should think about storage. If you can keep diapers, lotions, and clothes stored in this room, it will reduce the pressure elsewhere. But you should avoid overcrowding the nursery too.
Choose Their Bed Wisely
While the bassinet is great for those early months, your baby will move into their first cot bed in no time. As with the bassinet, a firm mattress will be advised. Meanwhile, you should opt for a bed that will allow you to raise the height now and lower it as your child gets older. This will put far less pressure on your back as you bend down to lift your child.
You won’t need to lower the height of the bed until your child can stand. Once that happens, it will be a safety measure to put it down to a suitable level. You may find that you want to focus on a cot or look for a cot bed that can change into a bed during the toddler years. Supporting your child’s sleep patterns over the years to come will make a huge difference.
Make Space For Household Gadgets
As a parent, you will soon discover that there are literally hundreds of baby gadgets on the market. In reality, the vast majority signal unnecessary purchases. Nevertheless, the worthwhile items will take up valuable space within your property. So, you must find suitable places to either keep them displayed or stored when not in use.
This could range from milk prep machines and sterilizers to diaper bins or changing mats. If a product actively makes your life easier, it will provide value for money. Adapting the home to make space for them is a job that you should take on ASAP. But you should factor in the fact that there will be one or two items that you discover later on. Save space for them.
Remove Safety Risks
You may think that there is no need to worry too much about childproofing the property until your child starts crawling. However, this time will sneak up on you very fast. Moreover, time becomes far harder to find once you have a child to look after. Therefore, it’s probably best to start the process sooner rather than later. If nothing else, it’ll help you avoid stress.
The safety risks can include sharp corners on fireplaces or tables, as well as slippery surfaces or unprotected sockets. Keeping chemicals out of reach will be crucial. This guide to baby-proofing the home should give you all the insight needed to achieve the desired results. Preventing future trips to the local ER can only be a good thing.
Improve The Security Features
Internal safety risks are far more common external dangers. In reality, though, the thought of potential intrusions is sure to play on your mind. The thought of having unwelcome visitors in the home is nothing short of a nightmare. They could threaten your child’s safety as well as cause a financial and emotional fallout that’s very hard to overcome.
If your home is not currently supported by alarm systems and surveillance cameras, now is the opportune moment to add them. On a side note, you should check that pests cannot enter the home. Their fur and droppings could cause a serious threat to the health of all family members but particularly an infant. Prevention is the best form of protection.
Ensure That The Home Is Easy To Clean
A clean home is a happy home. More importantly for your newborn, though, it will be a healthy home too. The air quality will be improved while there will be reduced risk of them picking up viruses from surfaces or grime around the home. Given that their immune systems are still underdeveloped, it can be a key step to preventing illnesses.
With all of your other responsibilities in mind, though, it makes sense to make the home easier to clean. Where possible, a minimalist approach to interior design will help. You can also use this as a chance to sell unwanted products. Either way, when you spend less time cleaning the property, you can spend more time enjoying your new family.
Consider A Home Office Space
If you manage a business or have the opportunity to work home, building a dedicated office space is ideal. Even if you cannot dedicate an entire room to this task, it should be possible to find an area and desk where you can enter work mode. If you can stay productive while also reducing commute times, your work-life balance will soar.
It could be months before you return to work, but the office space can serve as the ideal spot for organizing paperwork. From home admin to managing your weekly diary, the benefits can be seen right away. You’ll struggle to build this dedicated space once your child has arrived, so it’s probably best to complete this transformation while you can.
Invest In Your Backyard
If the home has a backyard, it makes sense to focus on unlocking its potential. The soft grass will be a safe place for your child to explore once they are crawling and walking. In the meantime, it is the perfect place to get a little vitamin D and fresh air. These are two items that all kids need. So, the benefits will follow them throughout childhood.
Besides, a beautiful garden space can be the perfect outlet for you to calm down during stressful moments. It is also an ideal space for entertaining guests. Given that it’ll be easier to have friends and family visit you rather than go out when you have an infant, this is a key bonus. Besides, garden upgrades are often a very cost-effective option.
Go Open Plan Where Possible
If your home isn’t built to support open-plan living, there isn’t much you can do about that. However, any update that makes it easier to keep your eyes peeled at all times should be grabbed with both hands. You can open sightlines by adding serving hatches to the kitchen or removing an internal wall. It is especially useful in the ground floor areas.
Another option is to install sliding doors that lead into the conservatory or backyard. This will make it far easier to complete tasks around the home, especially when your baby is asleep. Besides, it is a great way to make the home look and feel bigger due to increased natural lighting. Frankly, the open spaces can be inviting for all the family.
Consider Your Material Choices
When the home is occupied only by adults, home purchases can be made solely with aesthetics in mind. Once a baby arrives, you will need to think about durability and be ready for accidents. Kids are clumsy and tired parents are too. Therefore, darker fabrics and flooring choices that can be cleaned will serve you well.
You don’t necessarily have to replace items right now, especially if they are in good condition. Once mess or damage means that a product does need replacing, though, you should keep this in mind. In many cases, budget-friendly homewares provide a better solution than premium good. After all, the latter are equally prone to spillages.
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