When to Start Preparing House for Baby

Do it when you have the time and energy -- you never know how things are going to go! My first pregnancy was trouble-free -- until my water broke unexpectedly at 33 weeks. I was admitted to the hospital and stayed there until my son was born a week later. (I even missed the baby shower, which was scheduled for two days after I was admitted to the hospital. My husband went to it -- they stuck a pillow under his shirt, pinned on the corsage, and let him open all the gifts! He set up the video camera and taped the whole thing so I could watch it later and brought me a nice "doggy bag" of treats from it.)

With my second, I ended up being basically put on bedrest from 28-36 weeks and never knew from one checkup to the next whether I would come home or be sent to the hospital again, so every meal I cooked, I made double and froze half of it so my family would have something to eat if I did end up being admitted. I wasn't supposed to even push a vacuum cleaner around, let alone do any deep cleaning, but I had a great friend who came and cleaned my house thoroughly a few weeks before my daughter put in her appearance.

As far as "advice" on adding Baby Number 2, I can tell you that the one thing I made sure I did every day for weeks before mine arrived, was to take my son on my lap and tell him that a new baby was coming and would take a lot of Mommy and Daddy's time, but that didn't mean that we loved him any less. I told him that love grew when there were more people and that just meant there was more to go around. My mom also sent my son a little boy doll after our daughter was born so that he would have a baby to take care of while I was taking care of the our baby. (Nearly five years later, he still loves that doll.)

This is an exciting time! Best wishes to you!

I would do it around 6-7 months when you get the nesting bursts of energy and feel well. If you wait much longer you will feel too miserable to want to! If you have a subzero, you can freeze food up to 6 months so I would definitely start now! Good luck!

Funny :) I was just wondering this myself ... I have 7 weeks till my due date. Guess I should get out his clothes and wash them up and start preparing now! I would probably wait a little closer to the due date to freeze meals unless you have a deep zero degree frost-free freezer. In that case, go ahead and start now (I have started baking an extra item every time I do a baking job and am going to start doing that with meals now too). I would rearrange any furniture sooner rather than later so you get used to the new layout before you are dealing with sleepless nights and walking into things! ha! Good luck and best wishes! We are still trying to figure out where to put the baby after 3 months in our room (our 2.5 yr old and almost 4 year old need to become roomies and so far the nights we have tried were NOT great)!

well I did it all early, I think we had the swing and pack and play and changing table all set up by the time I hit my third trimester. I have terrible pregnancies, all but this last resulted in bedrest for at the least 2 weeks and the most 4 months, so I wanted to be sure things got done. I did end up redoing a lot of it, but the big cleaning like blinds and baseboards I didn't end up doing again, there really wasn't any need. (with now 4 kiddos, 2 of which i homeschool, I have finally learned that the baseboards/blinds/under furniture, really doesn't need done every couple of weeks)

so my suggestion, start the big stuff and work your way backwards, depending on how much you do each day and how big your house is you should be set to do the laundry a couple of weeks before your due date and then be ready to cook the week before.

Do it when you feel at your best. I waited too long. I was about eight months along when i started asking this question and i waited til closer to time and by that time i was so "oh my gosh" pregnant that i was just too miserable to even hardly move. It's at your discretion, and if you have the energy now..........i would suggest getting started. :) Good luck to you and congrats

Congrats!
My answer to everything is 1 - 2 weeks before.

Stuff like crib sheets, wash cloths, burp clothes I would wash about a week before you are do.

If you are sure you are having a boy, wash his 'homecoming' outfit about a week before, along with a handful of clothes. If you are unsure of what you are having, then wash a handful of gender neutral clothes. Leave the tags on the rest of the stuff, just in case.

The infant carrier and base should have a trial run about 2 weeks prior. The base can just stay in the car from that point.

For moving toys into her room, go ahead and do that now so that they have a new home before baby gets here. As for putting baby's stuff in the living room, go ahead and set up a playpen about a week before, other toys should be in baby's room waiting. She can play with them in the nursery.
Rearranging the living room can be done now so that you get used to the new flow/restrictions.

I didn't freeze meals, so ...

M.

Not totally sure of the answer here, but I think the time is soon. I am only 22 weeks, and I have been slowly stocking up on items. In a few weeks we are getting the furniture and bedding. Then, i'll probably start going full throttle, because the baby's room is currently being used as our office. So my husband has some work ahead of him. I would have the room set up yesterday if it were up to me, but I can move furniture and clean that room out on my own!
I would say to have it done by 36-37 weeks. That way in case some one decided to make an early appearance, you are all set.

First, be prepared for baby #2 to be exactly opposite in every way from baby #1, because they usually are'!

Sounds like you're really on top of things, already. Do everything you 'feel' like doing NOW. 2 months of dust accumulating? What's THAT amount to? LOL Maybe you're a little too conscientious (and I'll bet you're a melancholy - 'Miss Organized'! I need you at MY house! I'm a sanguine -- 'Miss Fun' - rarely do anything 'because I HAVE to', only what I WANT to. Oh, and I'm 53 with 4 adult children, so it's not just childish irresponsibility but innate temperament -- and it's all good! God made us different) Just go easy on yourself for anything you DON'T get done, and be sure to ENJOY motherhood AMAP (as much as possible) beyond all the 'rules and regulations. I've found that whether I'm working as hard as I can or whether I do nothing (for months -- was depressed), the world goes on.

God bless!

I agree do it when you feel well. And really, what do you need to prep other than the room the baby is sleeping in? Are you talking about baby proofing? I didn't until we started needing it. Sure bring out the baby items a few weeks from your due date, clean them, let 2 year old play with them to get used to them. Set rules on them, ect.
Cleaning there is no point to deep cleaning till just a few days/weeks till your due date. I also wouldn't freeze any meals for longer than a month. Eating month old food, even if frozen just grosses me out.

It would be wise to start freezing food now. Most will keep at least 3 months. By the time baby arrives, you'll have stocked up plenty of meals for the first month.
As for cleaning, use the energy while you have it. It sounds like you are in the nesting phase, so get to it! A good deep clean will be worth it when you are in the blah (uncomfortable) phase right before the big day. All you'll have to do is maintain the clean you've done. Get hubby to help!
You have a good idea with letting your daughter see her baby brother's stuff before he arrives. It's a great visual for her to know this is really going to happen.
God bless you and your growing family!

i wouldn't wait till the last month. my 6th child can 5 weeks early. he decided he was done in the oven and tried to come out butt first. thank god he was just little and nothing more. R.