Awaiting newborn? 11 things to prepare

11 things on your checklist before welcoming newborn

We all take good care of ourselves during pregnancy with diet, exercise and rest when suddenly the fateful day arrives when without any alarm we need to rush to the hospital and our child is born.

There are few lucky ones who have elders around to pack bags and be ready but there are quite a few who are not prepared to welcome a new-born and don’t have much help. I was one of the latter and based on my experience and mistakes, here are list of few items that you would need immediately after the baby arrives:

1) Clothes — the most important thing is to have a pair of clothes ready (washed and sanitized) for the baby. Additionally, based on weather, the following will help:

2) Swaddle — This is a wrapping cloth for your new born that could give them a cozy “womb like” feeling. Once out, a child is traumatized as its protective cover is gone. We should try making it feel as safe and snug as possible.

3) Top feed — Doctors don’t really recommend it but if you child is hungry and needs to be fed, formula milk is a must. Please make sure to choose the brand properly as most formula milk only add weight but no nutrition.

4) Diapers — Pre-mothers usually think that they might only use cotton nappies for their newborns which is good only if they are cleaned properly. I always suggest diapers if you are managing everything on your own. Diapers are easily available and almost all brand have diapers for newborn babies. You can easily buy them at Amazon.in at discounted price.

5) Towels — Do keep few towels handy all the time. You might need them anytime and anywhere.

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6) Changing waterproof mat/sheet — It is a padded, cushioned mat with raised edges. You can also look for a waterproof sheet that could be placed on your bed for the leaks etc

7) Bathing essentials — Bathing seat, a baby oil, no-tear baby shampoo, a safe body shampoo etc.

8) Bottles and sterlizer if you don’t plan to breast feed.

9) Breast pump — This will always come handy if you are planning to start work soon after your maternity. Manual breast pumps are useful but take a lot of time and effort. An electronic breast pump allows you be ready with stacks of bottles. I was astounded to learn that kids have been on mother’s milk for almost 3 years since pumping milk can be frozen for almost a year!

10) A Pram — Please keep them ready and buy a good quality pram since you may need them for a longer time than expected.

11) A Crib / Cot — Invest in a safe baby crib. A Crib allows a kid to be independent.

Pregnancy is not a disease. You just need to be careful, happy and alert for best outcome. Simple exercises are a must during these nine months. Please ask your doctors about the various exercises you should incorporate in your routine.

Good Luck in welcoming a new human life. Feel proud to be a mother. It is a beautiful, well deserved gift.

Originally published at https://www.colossalumbrella.com on August 2, 2017.