Tips on organizing your life through pregnancy

  Oh Baby - Big Changes on the Way!

Sugar and spice and everything nice; that’s what little girls are made of... Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails; that’s what little boys are made of. But before that new baby shows up, he might also be made of heartburn, swollen feet and strange cravings. You’re entering into a whole new chapter of your life, and isn’t it exciting? At the same time, it can be daunting, as well. How do you prepare and organize your environment so that you’re as ready as you’ll ever be when the little bundle arrives? I spoke with some honest-to-goodness brand new moms for the best, most current insight I could get. It’s fair to say that yes, experience is the best teacher, but the good news is that it doesn’t have to be your own experience to be valuable.

The First Trimester: Planning and Relaxing

The first three months of your pregnancy may be plagued with morning sickness and lethargy. Your body is getting used to being pregnant and it’s tiring work! During this period, there isn’t much that absolutely needs to be done to organize your home or preparations, except for getting plenty of sleep, as you will definitely need it! Kim Suchan, new mother to an 8-week old baby boy, remarked, “While you’re pregnant, put naps on your daily to-do list so you don’t feel guilty about taking one!”

One thing you might choose to take on during this low energy time is baby-proofing your home. Crawl around on the floor to get a baby’s vantage point. Look for hanging cords, accessible outlets, exposed corners of furniture, sharp edges, and other potential baby hazards that you might not think of otherwise. To keep baby safe from cleaning products, plan to add safety latches to your lower cabinets and easily accessible drawers. You’ll need the cabinet latches when your baby becomes a toddler, so doing it now gets it out of the way early and gets you and your husband accustomed to using them. Make a list of things to do or items to buy so your husband or a friend can implement the baby-proofing ideas for you.

If you are considering putting your new little one into day care, it’s a good idea to begin visiting facilities shortly after you discover that you’re pregnant. The demand for good day care is high and many centers will have a waiting list as long as your pregnancy! Get referrals from trusted friends and co-workers, and make a list of several day cares to visit. Says Suchan, “Be sure to drop-in to the day care centers you’re investigating, rather than making appointments.” She added, “When you call ahead to make an appointment, they know you’re coming, so they have time to prepare. But, if you drop in randomly, you get to see the center as it really is.”

The Second Trimester: Nesting

Getting into months four, five and six, you’ll probably find that your energy has come back and you feel like cleaning, organizing and doing house projects. This is called “nesting” and it’s quite natural. I suspect it’s Mother Nature’s way of making sure you have room in your life for your new addition. It makes sense to have your home as organized as possible in advance, so the added chaos that a baby brings isn’t so overwhelming. Bottom line is that the more you can de-clutter and organize your home in advance, the happier you will be once the baby arrives.

Month Four

Begin organizing your baby registry. Your friends and family will want to buy things for you and a registry is the best way to ensure you get everything you need with a minimum of duplicated items. Bring an experienced mom along with you for your first trip to the store to register. Your helper will keep you organized and focused because she’ll be able to guide you as to what you absolutely need, versus what things you can forgo. To avoid running back to the store several times to update your registry, just keep a running list of additional items that you want to add, as you think of them. Then, just make one or two trips back to the store to add those items to your registry list.

Where will baby sleep once he arrives? Do you have an extra room that you aren’t using? Is there an office or study that you’re willing to convert to a nursery? Or perhaps a guest room that doesn’t get much use? These are all good options for bedrooms, and the fourth month is a good time to choose a sleeping space for baby.

Month Five

Speaking of sleeping, if you are buying new baby furniture, month No. 5 is the time to do it. Some stores require a minimum of 12 weeks turnaround time, so don’t wait until your sixth month to order your furniture or you risk having the baby before the furniture arrives!

This is also a good time to begin any other household projects that you want to take care of, because you’ll have more energy now than during your first trimester, but you’re still small enough that you’re comfortable and mobile. Consider using this time to begin making the baby’s room ready for him. If you choose not to know the baby’s gender in advance, pick a gender-neutral paint color such as yellow, sage green, or even a light taupe to use as your base wall color. Any of these colors will adapt well for either a boy or a girl, and you can add other gender-neutral theme items such as border, wall hangings, and other accessories.

If you don’t own a chest freezer, you might consider buying one, or at least make some room in your everyday freezer, so you can begin to prepare meals ahead of time. Once the baby comes, you’ll be hard pressed to cook daily meals, so now is a good time to plan ahead. Prepare large batches of casseroles, lasagna, stews and soups that can be portioned and frozen. Clearly label the containers and date them. This way, after baby arrives, you (or your partner) can cook a delicious, healthy meal simply by thawing and heating up what you’ve already prepared.

Month Six

Once you’ve chosen which room will be the nursery, you’ve painted the walls and ordered the furniture, now is the time to begin getting the storage spaces ready.
If the baby’s room has a closet, you’ll need to clean it out to prepare for baby’s clothing, toys, and other baby supplies. This is a great opportunity to donate those old golf clubs, sweaters, and kitchen gadgets that you’ve been holding onto for all these years. You’ll discover all kinds of things that you probably forgot you even owned, so do yourself a favor and donate them to an organization that will make sure they go to a good home where they’ll be used and appreciated.

Maximize the space inside the baby’s closet by adding additional shelving, clothing bars and hooks to otherwise unusable space. The area above the door can be used to hang hats on little pegs, and clear plastic bins on the upper shelf are great for containerizing baby clothes that are still too big. The back of the closet door is a great place to hang a shoe bag with clear plastic compartments for storing baby socks, shoes, brushes, lotions, and other small items that you need to have handy.

The sixth month is also around the time that you’ll want to sign up for your childbirth class if you are anticipating a vaginal birth. This is also a handy time to ask your doctor about the availability of infant CPR classes.

About the author:
By Monica Ricci, Professional Organizer

http://babyfit.sparkpeople.com

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