Having a first baby is a big milestone in our lives as none of us know what to expect. Some prospective parents are very clear how they want to parent whereas others don’t know at all, either way is fine. Many of us have an idea but it changes once baby is born! Here are 10 tips on having your first baby below to help you both before birth and after.
- Have your hospital bag ready and some clothes for baby too.
- If possible have the essentials ready for when baby arrives. Nappies vests baby grows, muslins, baby wipes, cotton wool, a couple of baby flannels or a sponge for the bath.
- A cot and a pram if possible, good idea to be able to take baby for walks or for someone else to take baby out while you rest.
- Cots. I love a Moses basket as you can move baby from room to room when you want to. However many people have the next to me cot so they can have baby near to their bed in the night.
- Don’t buy too many things as you will be given lots of gifts and babies do grow out of clothes very quickly! If you don’t have enough after baby is born you can always buy some online shopping has changed our shopping habits
- Prepare or buy meals for the freezer as you won’t feel like cooking meals in the early days after you’ve given birth. Food is a great gift if family and friends want to help.
- Make sure if you can that you have some support or help when you get home, you will need more help if you have a c.section delivery.
- Think about whether you want to breast or bottle feed. It’s always a good idea to have a couple of small feeding bottles and ready made formula in case you need to top up with a bottle in the early days.
- You will kneed some sort of sterilising equipment electric or microwave or Milton tablets to use in cold water.
- Make sure you have plenty of help before you leave hospital especially if you’re going to breast feed. This is probably one of the most important tips. Having a midwife teach you how to get baby latched on is very important for successful breast feeding.
Please do contact me if you need any help maybe just a chat on the phone or a home visit, through my website.