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November 2007 – The birth of my second child, Jackson Dewling, is imminent. A critical ingredient to getting through the first hectic weeks of a new Baby is organization. It starts with preparing the room, continues with preparing for your hospital stay and rounds out with advance preparation of meals and visitor expectations.
 Preparation goes beyond decoration. Think in advance how the initial sleeping arrangements will work until your child is sleeping through the night. Is your partner a sound sleeper, allowing Baby to be a simple addition to your master suite routine, or, do you need to design the nursery to accommodate a sleeping and feeding Mother?
Have spit-up blankets nearby for feedings and ensure that all changing materials are both easy to reach for adults and out of reach of other children. Some form of night-time entertainment is helpful to keep Mom awake while feeding. I will keep a portable DVD player handy to watch bits of a movie each night. Ensure you have access to water to keep yourself hydrated if you are breast feeding.
Organizing clothing by size will avoid hunting for the next size as your Baby goes through the rapid growth of a newborn. Keeping a box for items he/she has outgrown will make it easy to transition through sizes. Ensure you label the boxes with the size ranges as they become full get rotated out of the nursery.
Most hospitals provide a list of what you require for hospital – Markham Stouffville Hospital provides a very comprehensive one. The main ingredients are as follows:
- Bag for Mom to include loose clothing, nursing bra, absorbent pads, utility case, identification and a small amount of cash .
- Bag for Baby with all diaper changing supplies, outfits for hospital stay, outfit for hospital baby picture and the trip home. Ensure the car seat is already safely installed in the vehicle you’ll be using for returning from the hospital.
- Cord Blood kit. If you are participating in cord blood storage for your Baby, such as Cells For Life, don’t forget the kit as it is required immediately following delivery.
- Bag for Dad or Partner. Snacks, blanket and pillow, cameras – anything that will make the stay more comfortable for the birth coach because, in my experience, the birth event can be more taxing on the coach than on the Mom or Baby.
- Gift(s) for other kids. If you have other children, get a gift for each child from the new Baby and present it to them at the hospital. It will help take the initial edge off for them when they notice the new Baby getting all the attention and gifts from other people.
- List of Contacts. Dad or Partner will need a list of people you want contacted by phone, immediately following birth. Organizing a ‘phone tree’, where one calls a few people and each will call a few more will save precious time. If you carry a Blackberry or have easy access to another email device, it is handy to have the announcement shell completed ahead of time so you just fill in the relevant details, add a picture and hit ‘send’.
It is more important to spend time concentrating on ‘the people’ instead of the chores, especially in the first few weeks. Pay attention to your children, spouse and visitors and worry less about cleaning, laundry and meal preparation. The last tedious weeks of pregnancy offers the perfect opportunity to stock-up on prepared foods. Here are some ideas:
- Meatballs – prepared ahead of time so you cook up some pasta, add frozen meatballs to sauce in a pan and have dinner in 10 minutes.
- Casseroles – any type of casserole is ideal, as you can include several food groups, they freeze well and simply get popped in the oven and served.
- Soups – homemade soups can be prepared, stored in meal-sized containers and easily served for lunch or with salad and bread for dinner
- Slow cooker meals – for a fresh dinner alternative, look for recipes for slow cooker meals where the entire ingredients can been thrown together and then you walk away for a few hours until dinner is done.
I have become a fan of Grocery Gateway in the last few weeks of my pregnancy and intent to continue that convenience for a few weeks after Baby arrives. Grocery selection is a simple process online and the items get delivered right to your door. We have found that the overall cost is only 10% higher than our usually bill which is well worth the convenience.
Note: keep in mind, if you are breast feeding, you may have some limitations to foods you will be able to eat so aim for foods that are less gaseous and have little spice.
Only you and your Partner know what will work for you. It is critical that you agree ahead of time and communicate clearly with friends and family. You and your Partner may be tired and short tempered – make sure your choices are what is best for you and your family. Here are some things to consider:
- How do you feel about visitors at the hospital?
- Ensure people understand that those with contagious illnesses are not advisable around a new Baby.
- How soon and what time of day can people visit once you are at home?
- Do people need to call first or are you ok with drop-ins?
- Are you having any sleep over guests? Be sure to set expectations up front as you don’t want to add extra stress on yourself in the early stages as you get comfortable with a new routine.
- Be clear with out-of-town guests if you have room for them or want any visitors in your home early on so there are no misunderstandings about accommodations.
Having a child is a blessed and joyous experience. It is also a time when you will be tired, sore, and struggling to find a balance with Partner and other children. Being organized and keeping communication clear will help ease the transition. Being clear on priorities is also key. Dust on furniture or a pile of laundry is unimportant, in the whole scheme of things. Choose time with Partner and Baby over household chores – that special time is what you will remember and cherish in future.
If you have a storage or home maintenance challenge and need ideas to solve them, or if you have a comment about how some of my ideas have worked for you, email me.
Article by Sheri Gammon Dewling
Markham Organizing Maven
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