Helpful tips to get to ready for baby’s arrival

What exactly do you need to get done before the birth of your child? Buying diapers is much needed, but there are plenty of other ways for new parents to prepare and reduce stress. We are going to cover some things that are essential in preparing for a baby. 

Prepare your home

To feel organized and ready to bring your baby home, there are many things you can do around the house. We’re going to go over a few useful hints! You might discover that you spend a lot of time organizing closets, washing everything in sight, and cleaning. This is a common pregnancy feeling that is fondly referred to as “nesting.” Let’s get into it:

• Make meals ahead of time and freeze them (and ask family to help)
• Stock up on all of your other essentials like toilet paper
• Research and buy any postpartum supplies that you may need
• Get the nursery ready (baby may sleep in your room in a bassinet etc for a while, but it’s nice to still have the nursery ready to go). Consider black-out curtains
• Prepare other parts of the house- you will want baby supplies in your family room for when you’re camped out on the couch feeding baby and watching Survivor
• Get breastfeeding and bottle essentials prepped
• Prepare a couple of changing stations- one in nursery and one in family room (or wherever you hang out)
• Make sure you have a Boppy or other feeding pillow
• Get your car seat installed by an expert in your area
• Choose a baby monitor- from audio to visual to motion sensors- lots to choose from
• Have bath supplies ready
• Organize your essential baby-calming tools: swaddling blankets, bouncy seat, swing, baby wrap (for wearing baby), pacifiers, whatever you plan to soothe baby with
• Nightlights for when you’re stumbling around in the middle of the night
• Baby proof your house- there are a million gadgets to help with this, but a BIG one is you must anchor heavy furniture! Please don’t skip this one!
• Have all of your gear assembled and ready, like your crib, stroller, car seat, pack & play, bassinet, and more

Talk with your partner

Having a first child together brings up a lot of questions that need answering before the baby arrives. The more you and your partner talk about the details ahead of time, the more likely you are to be on the same page and have everything go smoothly.

Here are some examples of things to discuss:

• Your birth plan
• Baby names
• Sleeping arrangements
• Feeding decisions (breast, bottle, both)
• Who will be responsible for what duties/chores
• Plans for caring for the baby
• When to return to work
• Pacifiers
• Family visits
• Daycare
• Family babysitting
• Cord blood
• Fears and dreams
• Pets
• Circumcision
• Parenting style/discipline
• Religion

Health insurance

Learn the steps and costs involved in adding a newborn to your policy from your health insurance provider. Changing from Employee or Employee/Spouse to Employee/ Family can have significant cost differences depending on your insurance plan and your employer, so it’s important to do some research before making the switch. If you and your partner are both employed and covered by a health insurance plan through your workplace, compare both the cost and benefits for a baby.

So many things can be covered that you might not think of: prenatal testing, help for quitting smoking, breastfeeding counseling, a breast pump for home, and more. To help with pregnancy pain relief and postpartum recovery, many insurance companies will even pay for compression garments. Maternity support belts move the weight of the baby away from the hips, lower back, and abdomen. This takes away some of the discomfort of being pregnant. Garments made for postpartum recovery help to support the hips and lower back, as well as keeping the abdomen stable. Compression socks can be helpful during pregnancy and postpartum. They are beneficial in reducing swelling and improving blood circulation. Check to see if your health insurance will cover the cost of these compression garments, just in case you end up needing them! 

Finally, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with your expected costs for having a baby and any restrictions your insurance company might have, like the maximum amount of time you can stay in the hospital.

Life insurance & wills

Now is the time to purchase life insurance if you don’t already have it. It’s possible that your employer offers some type of life insurance; however, remember that most insurance plans provided by employers do not offer nearly as much coverage as you would probably want for your family. So, while you’re getting ready for your baby’s arrival, take a look at life insurance, which may be less expensive than you think. A term policy for several hundred thousand dollars in coverage can be obtained for a few hundred dollars per year. The process can take a few weeks and usually includes a health exam, so be sure to plan ahead and have this done before the baby arrives.

It’s time to make a will, even if you’ve probably never given it much thought before. You don’t want there to be any stressful situations surrounding the custody of your child if something were to happen to both you and your partner. Even though it’s unpleasant to plan for this, there are online services that make it easy and inexpensive to draft a valid will. Make sure that both your will and your partner’s will reflect your current wishes.

Employer policies

It’s also critical to learn about your employer’s maternity and paternity leave policies. Employers must provide maternity leave to full-time employees, and an increasing number are also providing paternity leave. Some companies will even let you ease back into work by starting with shorter days or weeks. 

You should also inquire about flexible spending accounts for medical and child care expenses, as well as college savings accounts. You’ll never know what benefits are available to you unless you ask!

Learning the basics

You should take a class at the hospital where you plan to give birth, or at a nearby facility if you intend to give birth at home. Chances are, a hospital in your area offers birthing and parenting classes. They usually include infant CPR and are not too expensive. You can also consider an online course for expecting parents.
The last thing I’m going to cover is a very important one… schedule your Pittsburgh area maternity and newborn portrait sessions! It’s best to have your sessions scheduled and planned ahead of time, so that you aren’t stressing about them when you are very pregnant or have a newborn at home. I’d love to talk about your vision for your session and look at the schedule! Let’s chat!