Three Things I’ve Done and Seven Suggestions for Prepping for Baby
I have about five weeks until my second baby comes into the world. Since I’ll have a toddler and a newborn, I’ve been trying to keep up with prep work to get ready for this baby. The funny thing is, I don’t remember doing a lot of “practical” prep-work to get ready for my boy. Sure, I washed his clothes and diapers, and I had cleaning up the place on the docket for the weekend before my due date, but my water broke before I got a chance.
So far, I’ve done three things that put me ahead of where I was before I had my first baby.
- I made chicken soup and froze it in two cup portions. I keep it basic: Simmer cooked chicken, diced carrots and celery in chicken broth. I use homemade broth because I like making stock. I didn’t add the noodles yet, but I like it with or without. If you like noodles, boil them separately and add to the cooked soup.
- I portioned out ingredients for smoothies and packed them in individual baggies. I even froze the yogurt to pop into the baggies. Each bag contains spinach, a frozen banana and peaches. Three of them also have strawberries, and the other three have blueberries. The yogurt is in ice cube trays at the moment. Once it is frozen, I’ll pop a couple cubes in each baggie. They will be super easy to make. Just dump the contents into the blender, add some orange juice and puree. Voila!
- I purchased a small, cheap storage unit to keep diapers and onesies organized on the first floor. This unit cost about $10 at Target. The bottom drawer contains about a dozen prefolds, six covers and two Thirsties pockets. The middle drawer contains about a dozen all in ones. This will be about two days worth of diapers for the new little guy. The top drawer is currently reserved for onesies. I’ll also put a basket on top of the unit for receiving blankets and diapers accessories (Snappies and coconut oil).
Maybe it’s because I remember how painful the stairs can be after a C-section or because I remember feeling so tired and overwhelmed after bringing my first son home. Or maybe it’s because I remember that feeling of disappointment at not getting around to cleaning my house before I went into labor. Whatever the reason, I’ve really been trying to stay on top of things regarding prep-work.
I was going to wash a bunch of newborn clothes too, but my friend is bringing me a whole bunch of clothes later in the week, so I figure I might as well wait and do everything together.
In my previous post about prepping, I made a nice organized list of things to do. I, of course, have been jumping around, doing whichever items I feel like doing at that time. I really think that prepping for a new baby is individual work. Each person needs to decide what is worth their time as far as being prepared and helping them feel on top of things.
Some things to consider doing:
- Purchase and wash clothes in both newborn and 0-3 sizes.
- Put together a few freezer meals that can easily be popped in the crock-pot or oven for a fast dinner.
- Have diapers on hand for baby and any other diaper wearers in the family.
- Have pads ready for postpartum bleeding (even if you are having a C-section).
- Wash all your stretchy, comfy clothes as you won’t want to wear anything else.
- Buy some “grandma” panties if you don’t have any on hand.
- Install the car seat and know how to adjust it to fit the baby properly.
Some seriously good tips here that I wish I had done. I’m waiting any day for my twins now, and in my condition can’t do any of the above, even the smoothie idea which I love so much. Thankfully we prepared the essentials, such as the clothes and sleeping arrangements, diapers and such. But I wish I had done more when I was more mobile to make life easier once the babies are here. This twin pregnancy has been so different from my singleton one that I totally underestimated just how quickly I can go from being able to walk around okay to let me just lie down all day lol.
Wishing you a healthy delivery and a restful next five weeks!
I wish you the same! I don’t know how any mama deals with twins. I find one baby exhausting and uncomfortable. Is there anyone who can help you get a few more things together before the babies come?