Whether it’s your first baby or your fifth, newborns come with overwhelmingly long to-do lists! When you are entirely preoccupied with everything you must do to prepare for baby’s arrival, it’s easy to forget the monotonous things that still need tending to in our day to day lives. Who wants to have a newborn baby, be overwhelmed by motherhood and realize you have to go to the store for toilet paper? Not this gal! With just a couple of weeks left before baby’s arrival, I’m sharing with you a list of things to get done that you will either have no time nor desire to do once baby arrives.
Your Hair!
This one isn’t the most important, I admit, but you deserve some pampering mama! It’s not easy waddling around feeling super uncomfortable 24/7. Get your hair done and relish your glamorous locks before they’re full of spit up on the regular. Not to mention, finding 2-3 hours for a hair appointment won’t be an option very soon!
Another good and important one would be to visit the dentist. Did you know that women are far more susceptible to dental problems during pregnancy? Now is the time for a check-up or even just a clean. Who knows when you might get time to go again.
Make Lists
This is the crazy organized part of me shining through. I have compiled a list of family and friends numbers who we want to share the news of baby’s arrival with immediately. This helps to avoid forgetting someone when you’re running on endorphins and won’t exactly be thinking of Uncle so and so who then gets super offended that he saw it on facebook. So make a list or y’know, tell everyone online and offend them all equally. Whatever your view is, it’s your baby!
A perhaps more achievable list to compile is a list of recipients for your Thank You cards as you receive registry gifts. I didn’t have a baby shower but we were still flooded with gifts from family and friends. For the love of God don’t fail to thank those who have sent you something. Rude! Even if you don’t do it as they arrive, be sure to send a birth announcement card with a thank you from baby attached.
Deep Clean
And by deep clean, I mean have your ever-so-gracious and helpful partner do it or hire someone. Don’t attempt all that bending and scrubbing alone. Have rooms/closets organized, carpets shampooed, windows cleaned and basically any big ‘Spring cleaning’ kind of task that more than likely will not get done with a newborn around.
Since January we have been taking a room or area of the house each week in which to deep clean blinds, window screen ledges, windows and baseboards. My husband has shampooed the carpets and we maintain a twice weekly quick and general cleaning of the whole house to keep it up.
Stockpile Household Necessities
2 days postpartum is not the time to find out you have run out of bin liners, toilet paper, disinfectant etc. Have everything stocked up that you use week to week. It’s not like bathroom cleaning spray is going to be at the forefront of your mom brain.
I went to my local Sam’s Club and stocked up on TP, paper towels, trash bags, body wash, razor blades, toothpaste, pantry staples such as cereals, pasta, grains, sauces & seasonings and also, a large freezer meat supply! I’m subscribed to diapers and other baby essentials on Amazon Prime so I can rest assured that will be taken care of. Basically all I will need weekly is fresh produce and dairy which my husband can help out with by quickly picking up on the way home from work.
Prepare The Car (+ Install Car Seat)
Keep your vehicle pet hair free when baby’s due date is getting close! We have an SUV that will be perfect for carting around baby’s gear but up until now it’s been the personal Uber car for our Labradoodle. Let’s just say he got WAY more lab than poodle and he sheds like a maniac every February or if he’s just been bathed. We’ve vacuumed out the car and installed the car seat to ensure no floating Doodle hairs end up on the baby. Ew. Poor Darby is now limited to riding in less style in my husband’s commute-to-work car. But he doesn’t mind once he ends up at the park, the beach or his friend Olaf’s house!
Prepare Freezer or Crockpot-Ready Meals
This one takes effort but oh goodness will it be worth it when you’re so tired you could crumple in a heap and cry! I’m a big supporter of the crockpot. That glorious device that I dump stuff into and can magically eat 8 hours later. Set aside an evening to plan your meals. Then spend a morning shopping for ingredients and the rest of the day assembling. Again, request help with this one. This is definitely a task where many hands make light work. Stock up on freezer bags and get to it. It’ll be so satisfying to see your meals for a solid month or more all taken of! You will be less tempted to order fast food. This is not only costly but not the healthiest for new mothers, especially if nursing your baby.
Bonus + Often Overlooked Task!
Make Arrangements for Pet Care
This gives me the most anxiety. Babies aren’t exactly known for their perfect, convenient arrival times on their exact due date. We’re lucky to have the world’s best puppy sitter! She’s flexible and ever so good to the Dood. Ensure you have someone lined up to take care of your pet. Decide whether they will take them to their place or stay at yours. These plans will be loose until the big day. Most people are understanding about the unknowns in this situation.
What’s important to you, to complete before baby’s arrival?
These are such good tips, Amy! I wish I would have remember some of these before my daughter was born–a supply of easy meals would have really helped the first few weeks.
Yes! I’m 34 weeks and just went to get my hair done because it was on my to do list! Gotta make sure all these other things are done too!
I love these! I wouldn’t have thought of the list of phone numbers or getting my hair done. I think I’ll definitely want to do all these things before September! 🙂