things to do whilst waiting for your baby to come

Jun 6

Are you waiting for your first baby to arrive? If so, this might be the last time you get to enjoy some alone time for months, so please once you have packed your hospital bag, please spend all your time snoozing, drinking hot cups of tea and having long showers.

End of blog post.

Ok you kept reading.

Here is a list of useful tasks that I did before Osk came. If you insist on not chilling out, then these ideas should make your life a little easier in those first few whirlwind weeks of newborn life!

1. download TV shows to watch in hospital

I filled my iPad with a selection of box sets, documentaries and totally mindless junk. This worked pretty well as the hospital wifi was terrible.

2. lay out a full set of clean bed linen

Ask your other half to change the sheets in the morning before they pick you up from the hospital. Clean sheets on your own bed will feel like bliss after a hospital stay. (Also who knows when you will have the energy to change them again…)

3. lay out piles of spare clothes

Lay out and clearly label piles of extra baby vests, onesies, muslins, clothes for you etc. somewhere that your partner can find them easily if you need more whilst you are in hospital.

4. organise your “going home” stuff

Lay out any gear you will need for coming home from the hospital (carseat, blankets, etc.) and put these into the carseat ready to go.

5. do an online grocery shop

Arrange delivery whilst you are in hospital (so that your other half can put it all away). Coming home to a full fridge is one less thing to think about.

6. set up your changing stations.

The baby will probably need to be changed within the first hour of coming home, so having everything you need all ready to go will make life a little easier. We had two changing stations, one in our bedroom and one in the living room.

7. stock up your nappy caddy

My feelings are nappy caddies are very clear, I am a big big fan. Check out my post on nappy caddies for what they are and what to put in yours.

8. bake snacks

I love to bake, it’s how I relax, so I made up some banana bread and brownies and froze them in individual portions. It was nice to focus on baking and yummy to have treats that we could defrost and enjoy during those early days.

9. fill your freezer

I love the idea of making your home into a baby bunker. So I spent a day or two at the stove making meals for our freezer. Consider easy meals like curries, bolognese and casseroles that can be reheated in the microwave and eaten with one hand.

10. get on top of your life admin.

If you’re spending most of your time sitting, use the opportunity to organise any life admin that needs sorting e.g. passport expiring soon, car insurance renewal, car tax etc. Try to make sure that all your bills are up to date.

11. buy gifts.

Although you will be on the receiving end of lots of gifts over the next few months, do a quick calendar check. Do you have any birthdays, anniversaries, celebrations coming up in the first few weeks after your baby is due? Get ahead of yourself and buy and wrap gifts in advance.

12. baby life admin

Separate from grown up life admin, babies come with a whole pile of their own paperwork. Consider all the life admin you will need to do for them in those early days. Do you know how and when to register the birth? Will you need to apply for citizenship or a passport? Do you need to add the baby to your health insurance within a certain time frame?

13. download and set up a baby tracker app

We used this baby tracker app and found it so useful for tracking wet and dirty nappies, feeds, sleep etc. As he was on a lot of medication over the first year, it came in really handy to keep track of those. We still use it to track medications and all his vaccinations.

14. assemble all your baby equipment.

I understand that some people are superstitious about these things, but honestly, you will not want to be working out how to assemble the cot or buggy when you are hormonal, sleep deprived and trying to breastfeed. Even worse (for me) would be watching/trying to instruct my husband to do it.

I would even go a step further and ensure that the cot is made up with clean bed linen and ready to use.

15. take some time out for self care

Do you whatever you need to do to unwind and pamper yourself. For me this was getting my eyebrows tinted and a pedicure! I wish I had had a few more lie-ins and hot cups of tea…

If you have read to the end of this list, I admire your dedication, but seriously. Just make a cup of tea, then sit down and enjoy it whilst it is hot!