The ultimate father’s prep guide for welcoming baby home
Perhaps the only thing better than finding out you’re going to become a father is actually welcoming your other half back home after she’s actually given birth.
This is usually the first time that parents will see their newborn in their family home, and as such, it can be a momentous occasion. However, as new fathers, we often wonder exactly how we will cope both in terms of ourselves and how we might be able to help the mother.
Luckily, this article aims to demystify the often challenging first encounters and should help ease the transition from man to father as seamlessly as possible.
Create a comfortable nursery space
Your baby will need its own space that you will fill with all manner of toys and materials to help move along their personal and cognitive development. Part of this will be to create a nursery space that is not only a mentally stimulating space when it needs to be, as well as a relaxing area for when you put your child to sleep, but also a safe space for the mother.
You can achieve this by filling it up with all the usual things you might imagine (cot, toys, books, etc), as well as flowers for new mom that make the space a little more personal for her and offer something a tad more visually stimulating than it might otherwise be.
Once you have set the room up just so, you will find that you have made your life slightly more manageable as you can use it as a base of operations to care for, nourish (both mentally and physically) them, and generally make a safe space where you can help them along as they grow and develop over time.
Stock up on baby essentials
In reality, you should have stocked up on all of the essentials before your wife gave birth, as this can be a thoroughly bonding experience. However, in practice, some things have to wait, depending on how you choose to find out their gender. If you opt to wait until the child is born to find out whether they’re a boy or a girl, you will have to spend the time when they’re still in the hospital to head out while you have the time and purchase a load of gender-relevant stuff like clothing, etc.
However, regardless of that point, it pays to buy the usual things beforehand, such as pacifiers, bottles, sterilizing kits, diapers, and so on. Getting as much as you can before they come home and storing it in an organized way will make your life so much easier.
Prepare meals for busy days
It’s far too easy for parents of newly born babies to miss meals either because they don’t have the time or because they have simply forgotten about themselves due to the intense duties involved with raising a newborn. However, missing measles can compound many of the issues that come from rearing a child and can cause sickness if not addressed appropriately. By preparing your meals in bulk and freezing them, you’ll ensure a ready supply of nutritious meals that you can grab and cook for yourself and your other half without too much effort.
While we all know that women are required to put in far more work when raising a child than men, it can still be tricky for newcomers to navigate the process and ensure their wives, children, and themselves are healthy and happy. Nonetheless, the tips in this post should give you a foundation to start with.
