50 Things to Know Before Having a Baby

This is a list of things that people have told me or I would have liked to know before I had my little bundle of joy!  I hope they help you too!! I am just a first time Mom, not a doctor, so not all my information may be accurate.  As I am writing these tips, I am a new Mom with a 2 month old.   I have been very lucky to get many of these tips from friends and family. Growing up, I was not around children much. This is advice that I would give any friend or relative that will soon be a proud Mom.  This information may be different for everyone but I hope my experiences will help in one of the best events of your life.  I hope you read this information and collect other information to make your own decisions.  What a beautiful season of you life that you are in!  If you are currently experiencing physical plain during your pregnancy remember the time will end.  You are slowly creating life!  

Stations

Creating these stations will help you stay organized

1. Set up a Changing Station- At the station you will need diapers, wipes, a changing pad, a changing pad cover and a trash can.  I recommend putting the trash can on the right if you are a righty.    This will make changing a diaper simpler. You could even have two of these... for example up and down stairs.  Keep clothes nearby in case a wardrobe change needs to happen.  Adding a mobile hanging from the ceiling of this station will provide entertainment to you and your baby. 

2. Set up a Bottle Station- At the station you will need bottles, nipples, formula, bibs, and a bottle Washing System.  These will need to be washed as you go through all these items many times.   I put these items in a basket on my kitchen counter near the sink.

3. Set up a Mommy Medicine Station- At the station you will need a piece of paper to keep what medicine to take and when.  See Appendix B: Mom Medicine Schedule.  Make a little chart where you can check off what you took each day.  I had to take pain medicine, iron, and a stool softener every day, twice a day, for the first month.  Since I was low on sleep when I came home and had to keep the baby changing schedule in my head, marking down when I took my medicine was very helpful.

4. Baby Feeding/Changing Schedule- Make sure you have a place to write when you fed and changed the baby.  See Appendix A: Baby Feeding/Diaper Schedule for a template to keep you and your helpers on track.  This worked great for us the first month, but was not needed after that.  You can buy a Itzbeen Baby Care Timer from amazon that can keep track of the diaper changes, sleep time, and bottles for you.

Doctor Advice

You will be visiting the doctor more often as the time comes

5. Write Down Questions- During the week you may have many questions, but when you get to the doctor you may forget them in your 10-minute appointment. 

6. Parenting Classes- Ask your doctor about parenting classes.  We found a free one at a local hospital.  The best part of the class was seeing a new infant being washed for the first time.  This helped with some of our fears. 

Learn

The more you know before the baby arrives the easier it will be

8. What Comes Out the Morning After Giving Birth- It will feel like a heavy period after you give birth.  They provided me with heavy pads, ice packs, and a spray for the brush burns that I had down there.  Just be aware.

9. Wedding Ring- Your wedding ring may become  may be too tight to wear.   To make myself feel better to wear another ring on my ring finger while my hands were swollen.  They may not fit for a couple months after either. 

10. Laugh at Yourself- LOL!  Laugh when your jeans don't button.  Laugh when your belly button goes away and turns black and blue.  Laugh at yourself when you can't believe how well a maternity shirt fits you.

11. Blame Game- If you are going to blame anyone for your pain, blame Eve.  Not your friends/family/partner. 

12. Changing Body - Your body will change.  Some things will go back to how they were before and some won't.  How lucky you are to have the body of someone who gave birth.  Many Women would love to be in your shoes.  By the way, those pregnancy feet may grow a little in size. 

13. Perineal Massage- Learn how to prepare the perineum for delivery.  “If you're moving into your last trimester of pregnancy, chances are you've heard something about perineal massage—the practice of gently stretching the skin between the vagina and the anus in order to "condition" the tissues for birth. The theory is that having a more stretchable perineum lessens your chances of tearing during delivery, and that it may even help you avoid an episiotomy” (BabyZone.com).   This may help reduce tearing or the need for an episiotomy. 

14. The First Two Weeks Home - The first two weeks were hard for me and my partner.  My body was making big changes in a small amount of time.  Someone told me the first two weeks are the hardest but after that you will be fine.  I agree with that statement.  So just be mentally prepared because as hard as you try before pregnancy your body won't be in the best physical shape right after having a baby.

15. Taking care of Mommy- Along with taking your medicine, you need to take care of yourself.  Try  to change pajamas every day.  Also, try to shower every day. A shower will give you time to relax.  Once you will take a shower you realize how much it was really needed.  I also put a little makeup on each day to make myself feel better.  Remember to brush your teeth too! 

16. GET HELP!!!-  Just because someone comes over to watch the beautiful one for a while does not mean you failed!  It takes a whole village to raise a child is not just a saying.  Everyone benefits from you getting help including your baby, your helpers, and you!

17. Heavy first period- You will get a heavy first period around 6 weeks after birth.  Keep those extra giant pads that they give you when you have your baby because you may need them in the future.

To Do

Try to do these before the last month of pregnancy.  I really slowed down then.  You want to concentrate on resting and being healthy the last month.

18. Read Up on Breastfeeding- I tried breast feeding and even with lots of help it did not work for me.  I feel if I would have read some books about people who tried to breast feed for the first time I may have done better. 

19. Baby Moon- Enjoy your partner outside your house. I went to Vegas for a friend’s wedding.  Even complete one more of those bucket list items.  I got to have a frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity.   

20. Read or Watch The Happiest baby on the Block- Either we lucked out, or we had some great tips from this book.  My husband and I were never really around babies and the tips we got in this book really seem to work when our child cries.  I think this is one of the key reasons. We use the Sleep Sack to swaddle.   If you don’t like to read, you can find links on YouTube.com.  Then send the link to your husband. 

21. Make a Get Out of The House Plan- You need to get out of the house!!  Yes, maybe a week or two is ok after you little one is born to get some sleep and learn your babies habits.  But the sooner you get out the better.  If you think about places that are safe to start before you give birth this may help.  Grocery shopping, coffee shop, woman’s group, a friend’s house, or possibly church.  I started out by going to a friend’s house.  Then church and went from there. 

22. View Pregnancy Boards- You are not the only woman going through this.  Start being part of pregnancy boards. I frequented  TheBump.com.    Ask questions and get answers.  Many questions or feelings that you have already asked by other people.  Or just Google your question to get the answer.  Remember to find reliable sources! 

23. Take Belly Pictures- Remember your pregnancy by taking bell pictures each week  or month.  What a life changing event to remember!  Then put all the pictures together into one image to view the great changes your body has made. 

24. Set-Up Baby Pictures - If you want to get those o-so-cute baby  pintrest, they should be done in the first 2 weeks of the baby’s life.  This means you might want to decide and kind-of schedule an appointment before the birth.  You can create a board on  pintrest.com to show the photographer what type of pictures you would like. 

25. Set Up the Baby Room- After you sort our your shower gifts create a vision board and create the environment where you will be taking care of your newborn.    

26. Choose a Baby Formula- Decide what baby formula you are going to use before your big day.  I didn't think of this, and they gave my little one Gerber.  Now that all the coupons are gone, I wish I went with a cheaper brand.  Even if you are going to try breastfeeding, they may give your baby formula at night.  Decide now so when they ask you after the craziness is over you have an answer.

27. Make a Meal Plan-  Decide what you will be eating for a week or month out.  The earlier you start doing this the better.  When people ask if they can help before you have your child, tell them that they could make a dinner to bring over in the future. Try to add as many fruits and vegetables as possible.  They hill hydrate you.  You will also want to snack less.

28. De-Tag, Wash, and Sort Baby Clothes-  De-tag, wash, and sort all baby clothes by size.  Put clothes in bins marked 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, and 12 month plastic containers. 

29. Walk, Walk, Walk - Try to walk as much as you can.  Then waddle to the end!  I even walked in the grocery store and couponed when it got cold.

30. Start Journal- Find a Journal and start writing.

31. Birth Announcements- Choose a birth announcement from a website that you are going to select.  I selected shutterfly.com to create mine. 

32. Address Spreadsheet- Create a spreadsheet with the names and addresses of intended baby shower/birth announcement/thank you note recipients.  Print out Avery Easy Peel White Address Labels- two times, one for birth announcements, and another for thank you notes. 

33. Buy Thicker Toilet Paper- By the end of your pregnancy when you cannot see all of your lady parts, you will need it. You can start  couponing now for items you know you will need. 

34. Buy a Larger Bra- You will need to deal with your milk coming in.  You will need some support here.  Also a tip, if you are going to try breastfeeding then decide it is not right for you, it may take a month or two to quit.  This was painful to me when I just wanted to relax and enjoy my new one. 

34. Create a Google Calendar for Baby- I don't like clutter, so keeping  online calender for your child is a great way for keep track all the events of her life.  This is also a great place for medical information.  For example if the doctor asks when you changed over to solid food, you can find it on your child's online calendar on your cell phone during the visit. 

35. Home Renovations- Try to do these in the now while the  nesting phase occurs phase occurs.  Trying to do them while a little one is crawling or walking around will be even harder.   

36. Baby Sitter Sheet- After a couple weeks you may want to leave your awesome addition to your family at home for a couple hours while you get out of the house, but may not have time to leave that information for someone.  Creating a sheet with important information before you have your baby will make this process smoother.  You can always add more information to the sheet after the birth.  Add this document to the home binder. 

37.  Get Excited!-  Get excited to know that you are the luckiest person in the world to get to see your baby grown and learn each day right in front of your eyes!  The most beautiful thing in the world is going to be in your arms soon!


38. Cervix Checks- Before you have your baby they will start to  check your cervix.  If you did not start to change, this could be very painful, so just be aware.  You do not have to get them if you would not want because this information may not help anyway.  Research cervix checks for more on this. 

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To read all 50 tips read 50 Things to Know Before Having a Baby eBook.  A great baby shower gift for a friend who is pregnant!  The book is only $.99 and FREE for Prime Members!  I ENCOURAGE YOU to borrow the book for free from the Kindle Lending Library.  The book also includes a BabyFeeding/Diaper Schedule , a Mommy Medicine Schedule, Baby Cloths Chart, and Website Resouces.  If you want the book for free or would like to share these tips please email me at lbrennec@gmail.com.