4 Ways To Prepare Now for Baby — Especially When You Already Have Children
Updated 25 July 2024
Prioritise your personal space — where you will nurse, rest, and play
Prepare to birth biologically
Family & community
Make a sleep sanctuary
Preparing for your baby’s arrival means getting the home ready. Creating a biologically safe and supportive environment for your newborn is a series of small steps that can start even before conception or pregnancy, and extends throughout your baby’s precious first years.
Essential for both yours and baby’s wellbeing is a supportive, comfortable space rooted in the love and commitment for your little one. Biological principles and lifestyle choices are at the heart of preparing your nest, as with any renovation or interior design project that considers your whole health.
Whether you birth at home or at the hospital (or anywhere else!), your home is where you welcome your baby into your personal environment, bonding during the precious first weeks, and which shapes his or her first experiences of the world.
I extend that idea to where I choose to birth, my belongings, as well as the food and other items that will support and protect me. During my pregnancy, I spend time each day to consider each item in its space and think about how it will or will not support me and my newborn. I also think about whether it has helped for my family thus far.
To share about the elements of a biological home environment, I decided to revisit my own birth experience to reflect on the practical approaches that work.
Thanks to hindsight, I myself have learnt a lot between my first and last pregnancies, and so in this article, I focus on the simple things you can do now that can make the difference for families already busy with little ones!
Prioritise Your Personal Space — Where You Will Nurse, Rest, and Play
Any mother would know that the first weeks and months are nothing if not hectic. Often we are so preoccupied with our birth plans that postpartum plans get neglected.
When you’re getting ready to nest, prepare with your longterm goals in mind.
You want to to clear a space that is calm and dedicated for long hours spent breastfeeding, resting, and just bonding with baby takes off a big load.
Carve a calm, resting place early in your pregnancy. Give it many test drives (and naps!).
This space should be free of any toxic materials. I cull any clothes, furniture, toys that are not 100% healthy, and do an EMF assessment to get an up-to-date sense of how my environment is.
I tidy and reorganise the space so I know I’ve mentally prepared for how I like to spend the first moments with my baby. It is helpful to feel assured that even if there’s a million things to do, that your main spaces are completely safe.
Prepare Mentally to Birth Biologically
No matter how the pregnancy and birth actually goes, doing the work of preparing mentally offers you a chance to reflect and have a say in every aspect of how you will birth.
Feeling at ease and confident, whether for labour or during pregnancy itself, requires preparation beforehand. During my first pregnancy, I attended a great birth class — it was a 5-hour classes every week — which may seem like a lot, but the time being pregnant can seem to fly by and it was great to park aside that time each week to learn about my changing body, growing baby, and the whole process of birth.
Still, it probably wasn’t until I went through that birth and in my second birth that I could really understand that birth, pregnancy, and the newborn days is 90% prep and 10% execution. A lot of it is in the mind prep, and your physical space goes a long way to ensuring you’re staying in the right mindset.
So take the time to contemplate yourself and your space, and don’t let anyone tell you it’s navel gazing (though, one might ask, if not now to navel gaze, then when?).
Make a list of all the things you personally need for a healthy birth and working backwards from there. This is your personal wish list for a whole new phase of life ahead, and your space will evolve to support it.
Your list will have general items as well as must-haves that are unique to you. It could include items in your birth plan, sensory and aromatherapy options, doing an overhaul of your bedding or personal care items, which will need researching ingredients and materials. If you have always felt visual overwhelm in your space, uncluttering will help you get in the frame of mind you want or birth, and make a soothing environment for your newborn too. If you are uneasy about being off gym sessions, hack your space for more ergonomics and movement.
No worries if not all of the prep can be done ahead of time: nesting “deeply” invites mothers to participate in every aspect of their birth, from the physiological demands to diapering options to setting up baby’s nursing and sleep spaces.
Family & Community
When a new baby is born, everyone experiences a shared joy — and a change to routines. The first time I was pregnant, we had all hands on deck ready to serve the arrival of the little one. First-time parents face many surprises and questions, but preparing for the arrival of a second (or more) bundle can get us feeling all steely in advance for more complex challenges.
One of the things I considered the second time around is the evolving needs of the other members of the family, which any mother with feisty firstborns can relate to. Keep in mind that the home supports the health of the whole family.
My birthing prep required participation from my husband and my daughter. I set up two separate biological sleeping spaces so that we simply have more options for good sleep (the family bed idea did not work out so well after sleep deprivation walled even Papa).
I thought of where Big Sis will now spend her days playing and sleeping; it turned out she does not want to be in a corner tucked away to do her quiet activities, so I had to make a separate but close enough space for her to be comfortable in while I get on with the baby, sans any spills of drinks or marker marks. When going outside is not possible, cosy indoor spaces to have visitors in can make or break a playdate visit. I am still planning these essentials now.
Make Your Sleep Sanctuary
The entire pregnancy can be a practice (or ordeal!) in itself trying to get enough sleep. Restorative sleep begins from the morning to your nighttime routine before you nod off. These two bookends to my day became my daily practice, and when I do my birth affirmations.
Biological principles are most important in your bedroom: ensure a clean and calm EMF environment, no toxic materials or inappropriate items that agitate rather than calm, alongside good ventilation and appropriate lighting.
Sleep is essential to your energy and a core focus in Building Biology assessments. It can make all the difference for the marathon that is pregnancy and giving birth.