Preparing to Bring Your Baby Home

Getting Ready to Bring Home Baby

When you’re preparing to welcome a new baby, especially a first baby, it may be wise to do a few things ahead of time to make the process smoother! Coming home to a house that is ready to receive your newborn and having a plan in place for the first few weeks can help you feel more confident in adjusting to a new member of the family. It is also wise to start checking these preparations off your list while you’re a few weeks away from baby’s anticipated arrival. Despite the fact that we have due dates, sometimes you never know when baby will decide to make their appearance! 

 

Cleaning

Many parents may feel the need to do a “deep-clean” and sanitize their living space before bringing their baby home. While it can be a good idea to clean up – this will only get messier from here on out – you don’t really need to “sanitize” your home as long as no one is sick or you have outstanding conditions of uncleanliness. Your baby will adjust to the home environment and germs there, because despite our best efforts we can’t get rid of every germ! So, don’t sweat going overboard on sprays and disinfectants that make everyone uncomfortable. While the intention behind these measures is commendable, they are often unnecessary and difficult to sustain. Few families can uphold such rigorous cleanliness standards while attending to the needs of their baby and maintaining a normal life. It’s more practical to rely on common sense when preparing and maintaining your home. A thorough cleaning suffices. Abrasive cleaning products and insecticidal sprays may leave lingering odors that could potentially irritate or harm your baby.

 

Siblings

Hopefully, you’ve kept your existing children part of the process during pregnancy so they aren’t surprised when a new sibling shows up! It can be a good idea to try and foster some intentional one-on-one time and prepare your older children for what life may be like when their baby brother or sister comes home. Plan to spend special time alone with each of your other children a short time after your baby comes home and repeat this daily. Encourage and allow them to talk about their feelings. 

 

Schedules and Routines

Your family will most likely need to find a “new normal” once baby arrives back at home. Talking about options for what this looks like in both the short-term and long-term will help everyone feel like they’re on the same page. This includes talking with your spouse, any family members who might be helping out in the weeks after your baby is born, and your children for whom it may feel like their lives have changed drastically from what they already know. 

For questions or any other concerns, Augusta Pediatrics can be reached at (706) 868-0389. The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this web site is for general information purposes only.