1. Don’t forget the soap. With Cashel I forgot to have soap and hand sanitizer on hand.
You’ll be doing a lot with bodily fluids and soap is handy! Ben actually bought me a bouquet of soap before Camper was born. He headed to Bath & Body works and chose, on sale, a bunch of soaps that carried me through a lot of hand washing. Yummy smells and the sentiment made it that much more enjoyable.
2. Visit a car seat specialist. I totally recommend this. And make sure you get a trusted one. There is so much to the seats and the installation and upkeep in order to keep your kiddos safe, it is worth it. Usually your local fire station has one you can see. In the Kitsap area I have one I recommend at the Kingston Fire Station. Contact me if you’d like her info.
3. Give them the tour. On our way home we had to stop at the drug store to pick me up some medication. (You will probably need to do this too.) I loved that Ben gave the little one a “tour of our town” as we drove home. Plus we were able to grab some takeout that really hit the spot when we got home.
4. No visitors. Well… at least for a while. I am a social person and this one is hard for me. Give yourself a bit of time before you have visitors. Even then have visiting hours, accept help, and draw boundaries. For you and for baby.
5. Get a spot ready. Have some baby necessities near a comfy chair, the television, some movies (or books) ready to go. In fact I recommend finding a series that has several seasons that you’ve never seen or really love and would like to watch again. We suggest Friday Night Lights or Blue Bloods.
6. Feed yourself. Have friends bring meals and have a few freezer meals ready to go. We love mealtrain.com…. and having a few favorites in the freezer felt good. You don’t need to be prepared for the apocalypse, but it was worth the time when I was huge to prepare in this way. I couldn’t do a lot of cleaning, especially not as much as my nesting urges would have like but I could stand and cook! Also have some yummy snacks on hand that are quick and healthy. Some of my faves… chopped veggies and dip, sliced fruit, bran muffins (good for digestion), granola and yogurt, and I really loved dried fruit.
7. Be prepared not to sleep. And in our family my husband gets a week but then has to go back to work so it is primarily me who doesn’t sleep for a while. Know that this is only for a time. Enjoy what you can, get through it, and know it is okay not to love this phase. Do take naps when you can. Accept help and sleep when the baby sleeps as hard as that is.
8. Enjoy the wrinkles and document them well. Those little wrinkles really do go away fast. I recommend waiting until the umbilical cord falls off, but not too much longer. Get newborn photos of the babe, you with the babe, and siblings with him or her too. The wrinkles will be gone all too soon. This phase where their skin is too big for them is amazing. I even suggest keeping them naked as much as you can depending on weather. They need to be warm but man…. enjoy that skin and those wrinkles.
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