I have been sharing on my Instagram stories about areas of my home I am prepping for baby #4 that maybe aren’t the norm. I think that when you go into especially your first baby, you wonder what do I all need to prep? I wanted to do a blog post and walk you through some non nursery baby prep, and how to have every space ready!
This is a little bit different than baby proofing, because it’s all about making YOUR life easier. Making the house ready for you to live in with your sweet baby. After 3 babies I have done this in different ways each time, but I truly feel I have a good game plan!
This post contains affiliate links
NON NURSERY BABY PREP
I feel like the best way to break this down is to go over all the areas of your house that might help you feel more ready when baby is here. On top of this list, there is the normal nesting and cleaning, but these are just little things you can organize and prep in ONE afternoon that you will be super thankful you did.
Prep in the Kitchen
Aside from loading the kitchen up with things like bottles, and all the other great things you registered for, one thing I ALWAYS do when we are pregnant is stock up on paper plates and plastic cups. When we have a baby we switch to paper plates for lots of our meals the last week or so, and for the first month ish after baby comes. Cutting down on dishes is such a small way to cut down work for mom and dad, especially with 3 other kids this time around. I also keep a small stack of party cups on the counter by our coffee pot, so if people come over you can offer then water or whatever it is and not add to dishes.
This will seem super simple, and possibly un needed, but I promise everyone I know that has followed suit and used this advice has been really glad they did! You will be doing lots of extra dishes with pumps or bottles as it is.
Another option when you are prepping in the kitchen is filling you freezer with freezer meals. I personally don’t do this too much, but wanted to have some great resources for you. Here are a couple of great freezer meal blog posts from friends!
Val from Lovely Lucky Life – she is also a mom of 3 expecting her 4th!
Prep in the Bathroom
Another non nursery baby prep area is the bathroom. Loading up any bathroom you think you will use (as mom) frequently with postpartum care items will be super helpful. I put a small container under the powder room sink with supplies, as well as a small bucket that can sit next to the master bathroom toilet.
Having supplies ready and purchased is super helpful. My kits personally contain: pads, tucks pads, and a perineal spray bottle. This isn’t glamorous, but its reality people.
Another thing I do in the bathroom is keep a second drying rack and dish soap in our master bathroom. This is great for pump parts or bottles either one. I hate having to go all the way downstairs in the middle of the night, so this allows myself or my husband to quickly wash bottles in our bathroom. We have had to supplement with formula with all of our kids, so eventually I keep formula in our bathroom as well.
Living Room Prep
Something lots of moms don’t think about – you will be in the living room just as much as the nursery or master bedroom in many cases. I have shared many times that I am all about organization in those areas to keep things concealed yet having things handy. For us with this baby we took a drawer of our tv stand and loaded it up with diapers, burp cloths, and all things baby. We already had another drawer with wipes and diapers for Walker, so now we just have that in two drawers.
When we had Walker we used an IKEA cart and loaded that up with everything we would want for him on the main floor. This was also a great option and worked really well for us! Read more about that here.
Master Bedroom Prep
This might not apply as much if you don’t plan to have baby sleep in your room, but I know for most moms they do plan to have the baby sleep in the master for a while. I always have a diaper caddy ready to go in my bedroom. Honestly – most of the time you could just take the one thats going to be in the nursery and keep it in your room before they come. We are using the basket I used for Diapers in Walker’s nursery!
Also just think about anything else you might want handy in your room – this light has been raved about recently as an option for your nightstand, and we also set up our babies sound machine in our room for the first couple of months. This is all on top of the normal bassinet and such for sleeping.
Portable Nursing Prep
Last but not least – have your breast pump and accessories ready. If you are a first time mom you likely only have one pump. I have found that using an inexpensive diaper caddy like this one to store everything in makes it easy to carry for anywhere you plan to nurse. Pumps have so many parts so keeping them all in one spot is great, and this diaper caddy has plenty of space to add a burp cloth and a bottle of water and such to make sure you’re fully set!
Shop Items From This post!
Life with a newborn is 100 percent easier with prep and organization throughout your home. Implementing even a couple of these ideas will totally help you as you adjust to a new human and give you more time to snuggle, and less time to worry about those little tasks. If you have any questions or want other advice please let me know. I always love getting emails or DM’s via Instagram.
Pin this post on Non Nursery Baby Prep for later
Seriously such a big game changer with a baby!! Hopefully it helps.