A new baby arriving will often mean big change. Big change in how you live your life and big change around your home. This is certainly the case for first time parents as it is something you won’t be familiar with and have to adopt to – something we are more than aware off. Our own lives changed for the better 19 months ago when we took Lewis home for the first time. We didn’t know what to expect but had done our best to have everything prepared and ready for his arrival.
The same is the case for our new house. While Lewis is now a bit older, we still had to think of the layout of certain rooms when finally moving in. With this in mind, we wanted to share some advice on getting your home ready for a new arrival. Here are three things to consider.
3 Steps to Getting Your Home Baby Ready
1. Get It Safe
This is probably the first thing you will think of, and that’s because it’s the most vital and important of all. You need to make sure that your home is going to be as safe as possible for your baby, as otherwise you will never know what might happen.
If you have never had to baby-proof a house before, you might be wondering what you need to do, but it’s actually relatively simple. One strange but effective piece of advice is to literally get on your hands and knees and see the home from the baby’s perspective. That will help you understand what dangers you need to remove and so on, and it will mean that you can effectively get the home to be as safe as possible in no time.
It’s important to consider the hazards that may present themselves to a crawling baby. While this could be a while away for you yet, areas like your kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedrooms are all zones you need to ensure are same for a baby.
You should also think about what’s going on outside of your home. Your garden, driveway, garage, and even your car are all crucial things to consider when you’re expecting a baby. Pokey plants or flowers and steep or slippery patio surfaces could put your baby at risk when they are exploring their surroundings.
Likewise, sharp and heavy tools and loose cables might cause an injury. As for your vehicle, ask yourself if your current car is spacious enough to carry your entire family around. With a baby on the way, your trustworthy family-mobile may need an upgrade, but you don’t need to break the bank.
You should find it easy to keep the costs low by searching for used vans and cars that will accommodate everybody. Considering your baby will affect your finances, saving every penny is a must.
2. Set Up The Nursery
This is one of the more enjoyable and exciting parts of getting your home ready for a new arrival, and it is something that you can hopefully spend a lot of time on as well. In order to prepare the nursery, you will need to get all of the essentials that you are no doubt already aware of, but you might want to consider going for style as well as substance here and looking to the likes of Teddy One baby furniture for that.
Along with that, you will want to spend some time working out how you would like it all to look in general. What should your layout be and what exactly do you need in your nursery. For us it was about creating a space that the baby could grow from baby to toddler in, so we needed some storage space for clothes and toys, while also having an area to keep his baby essentials such as a changing bed and crib. While Lewis initially stayed in the same room as us as a baby, he is now is his own nursery and really enjoying having his own space. Plus, he sleeps much better in his own room (a big bonus, we’re sure you’ll agree 🙂 ).
In terms of colour schemes and decor, we opted for a neutral palette. If you know the sex of your baby you can always paint and style your room based on this, but the neutral approach has made our nursery feel a much bigger space. It also gives us a canvas to start getting creative, something we will be doing with the room in 2019.
3. Stock Up On Supplies
One thing you can never have enough of is supplies – nappies, baby wipes, baby cream, nappy bags – you will go through these essentials like you wouldn’t believe. It’s never too early to start thinking about what supplies you need and to begin stocking up on them. Stopping in at a shop every week and getting some nappies or baby wipes and starting to build your supply is a great way to go.
We’d also suggest joining the Boots Parenting Club as you get 10 bonus points for every pound spent. You’ll be buying lots of nappies and these bonus points can come in really useful. We saved all ours up to get Lewis his second car seat!
Got Something to Add?
Are you an expectant parent, or like us, have you recently become new parents? What advice would you have for getting your home ready for a new baby arriving? Let us know in the comments section below.
Until next time, Happy Christmas guys, and all the best for 2019.
Helen, Nial and Lewis.
Welcome to Pikalily, an award-winning food, travel and lifestyle blog. We are Nial and Helen, a happily married couple from Northern Ireland, who share a passion for food and travel among many things. We became parents to our beautiful boy Lewis in 2017. Follow our adventures through the blog.
