Congratulations! You are welcoming a new bundle of joy into the world. Whether this is your first, second, third, or twentieth thanks to Britain’s largest family The Radford’s, I don’t think the feeling of excitement, joy, and sheer emotions ever changes. However, just as you can feel excited about the prospect you can also feel overwhelmed and worried about it. It’s a rollercoaster ride of emotions that is for sure. Once you are over the initial excitement, you can start to think about the future and prepare yourself for the arrival of your new baby. But what do you really need?
If this is your second child or beyond, you may be blessed with things you have kept from your firstborn. The most popular things to keep tend to be pushchairs and car seats, even nursery furniture and clothing. So if you do have their benefit now would be the ideal time to sort through the loft or storage areas and see exactly what you have. It can also help determine how much you need to invest in the new baby. But for some, you are starting from scratch and so you may feel like you have a big endless list of things to buy or consider for your new baby, but actually, there are not as many essentials as you possibly once thought.
Somewhere to sleep
Babies need a place to sleep, after all, they tend to spend those first few weeks sleeping a lot. So you may want to consider what sort of arrangements you are going to have in place for this. Of course, there are Moses baskets that offer great flexibility for sleeping. But you could also consider the more permanent arrangements such as a cot that will potentially live in the baby’s nursery. There are all sorts of accessories to consider when it comes to sleeping arrangements, particular mattresses, and sleeping aids, so it’s always advisable to do your research to ensure that the products you think you might not actually be beneficial.
The feeding arrangements
Some people choose to breastfeed, others choose to bottle feed. Whichever route you decide to embark on is a decision only you can make and it is personal to you and how you feel. Sometimes you may have plans to feed in a certain way and things just don’t go to plan. There are, however, essentials that could work with each type of feeding possibilities such as breast pumps for breastfed babies or bottles and sterilisers for bottle-fed ones. It is worth taking your time to find the right method and also the right accessories that you will need or your choice. You may want to try breastfeeding but have bottle feeding options on standby just in case. Make the choice and then ensure you have what you need to embark on the feeding journey you choose.
Clothing for those first few weeks and months
We can often get a little carried away when it comes to buying clothes for a new baby. It’s all those cute little outfits you see in shop windows or websites like Next or Zara. The truth is, in those first weeks and months the chances are your new baby will live in rompers and sleepsuits. Cute outfits are great but don’t have too many where you run the risk of your baby outgrowing them before they even have a chance to wear them. Be careful with your purchases, and instead, buy a few months ahead to ensure you have a steady stream of clothing from newborn size onwards.
Dealing with siblings
It can be hard to handle siblings when you are expecting a new child. You run the risk of feelings of jealousy creeping or feeling left out. It can be hard to remember at times there are other feelings to consider, especially when you are excited and concentrating on taking care of yourself through pregnancy. The essential factor here is to ensure that you involve your child in the process of welcoming another baby. That might be a surprise gender reveal or making it a big event to announce the new sibling. It might just be arranging a private scan so that they get to meet their new sibling, a 4D scan could be a great bonding experience. You could also buy a gift from the baby for the sibling, or buy something that their sibling can gift to them like a teddy bear or a comforter.
Getting out and about
You might need to consider getting out and about arrangements for your new baby. Which could mean doing research on travel systems, pushchairs, and car seats. The car seat essentially is something you need for the hospital to get you home safely, so that may become your priority if you are planning on spreading the bigger purchases. There are options to suit all budgets in this field, and the best advice would be to go out and visit them and try them out and see how they feel. People have opinions from the top end of the budgets right through to some of the cheaper options available on the market.
Take care of your own wellbeing
Make sure you take care of your own well-being. Take time out for yourself, enjoy a nice book, and have a relaxing bath. They may not be essentials that cost much, but they can make all the difference in how you feel. You can treat yourself to a bath bomb, buy a good book to read when you are doing a night feed, or just want ten minutes to yourself. You can also buy pre-made food, a recipe box to help with meal planning to ensure you are being fed, and maybe invest in Netflix or Amazon Prime so you can enjoy watching something on the tv. It might sound like very trivial things, but time or yourself is so important as a new mum.
I hope these suggestions help you plan and prepare for your new baby.
