Joe Dover: 10 Smart Ways To Prepare For Your Baby’s Birth

Sunday, 27 September 2015

10 Smart Ways To Prepare For Your Baby’s Birth

Once you find out that you are pregnant, you only have so much time to prepare for the birth of your baby. There is a lot to do, and many first-time mothers find themselves overwhelmed. It is actually really easy to stay organized and be prepared for the birth long before the big day. Here are some tips that will help.

1. Learn how it All Works

It is a good idea to learn about the birth process. That way, if you have any fears, they will be eliminated long before you go into labor. It is a good idea to take pre-natal classes, which will provide you with loads of info about each stage of your pregnancy and giving birth.

Detailed Info & Useful Links: Parents, BabyCenter, WebMD

2. Choose a Pediatrician

It’s never too soon to choose the doctor who will be taking care of your baby after it is born. In fact, the sooner you make this choice, the less stress you will have about your baby’s health care.

Detailed Info & Useful Links: Healthy Children, The Bump

3. Work with Your Partner

You and your partner need to be on the same page, so they are going to be able to help you when you are in labor, caring for a new baby, taking care of household duties, making important decisions, and more.

Detailed Info & Useful Links: BabyCentre, NHS, EssentialBaby

4. Talk to other Mothers

If you are a first-time mother, you can really benefit from the advice of other mothers who have been around the childbirth/child rearing block a time or two. Just be sure to weed the good advice from the bad, and ignore the horror stories about the pain of giving birth.

Detailed Info & Useful Links: Parents, The Happiest Home

5. Prepare Siblings and Pets

If you have other children, they need to be prepared for the new addition to the family. It is also a good idea to get your pets used to being around babies and small children.

Detailed Info & Useful Links: ASPCA, The Humane Society

6. Pack Your Bag before Giving Birth

Once you go into labor, you may not have a lot of time to get to the hospital. Make sure that your bag is packed well in advanced. In addition to the regular items such as toiletries and a nightgown, consider other things like a comfy pair of slippers and your own pillow from home.

Detailed Info & Useful Links: FitPregnancy, Boots

7. Get Your Essentials

Babies need a lot of things, and many of these things need to be purchased on a regular basis (diapers, creams, etc.). Make sure you are well stocked up. You can use coupon sites to get great deals on many of the items you need, and save a lot of money.

Detailed Info & Useful Links: Mashable, Kohls Coupons Online, NewParent

8. Choose the Person who will Attend the Birth

Make sure you have chosen the person will be with you in the delivery room. It may be that you don’t want anyone but your partner, or you may want to have certain family members or friends with you to witness the birth and help you through labor, or even a midwife to help.

Detailed Info & Useful Links: BellyBelly, NestleBaby, Healthline

9. Be Ready for Labor

You will need to know what to do when your labor begins. Make sure that you have a plan for who to call if you are alone, directions for the shortest and fastest routes to the hospital, when to call the hospital, when to go, etc. Make sure you have backups for those who you choose to drive you, just in case you can’t get in touch with them when you are ready.

Detailed Info & Useful Links: Parents, What To Expect

10. Get Help for after the Birth

You may find yourself overwhelmed after having a baby unless you are fully prepared, and have arranged for help ahead of time. This could be talking to your family about taking on additional responsibilities, hiring a nanny, or just having someone on call to help when things get hectic.