Becoming a new parent is never easy, there are so many things to worry about. Are you going to feed them formula or breastfeed, are you going to have a pool birth or a planned C section. There are so many things to think about and one of the problems is getting your home suitable for a newborn so your baby can have what a baby wishes for.
In this article, we will aim to tackle that problem and give you 5 ways of baby proofing your home so it’s one less problem to think about.
1) Invest in a shoe rack.
With a newborn, you will want to protect them from any germs that could enter the home and an easy way of doing this would be to invest in a shoe rack and keep it at the front door.
A newborn won’t be crawling anytime soon, but the germs brought in through people’s shoes can be transferred to other surfaces very easily.
Getting a shoe rack installed in plenty of time will get your visitors and yourself into the habit of taking your shoes off by the door in plenty of time before your baby is born.
2) Get rid of that dust now.
Dust and allergies go together like peanut butter and jelly. If you don’t want to have any reactions or let your little one be exposed to dust you should start cleaning it up right away and get into the habit of doing so.
Preferably you should have someone else do it as you don’t want to fall when you’re trying to fit into tight spaces to get those last bits of dust. Keeping your home dust-free is easy too, all you need to do is invest in a long duster and a small cloth.
3) Get rid of any junk now.
You won’t believe how many items your new baby is going to need and the amount of space they will take up from newborn to 1 year old is astonishing.
To avoid your home becoming cluttered and causing a potential hazard for trips and falls you should either get rid of any junk you may have or put your furniture in storage, especially large items like chairs, sofas and any beds you don’t currently use.
You may think your home is big enough now, but when you have to buy a cot, pram, rockers, rocking horses, baby swings and anything else you don’t even know you need yet, you soon start to fill the rooms in your home.
4) Smooth out any sharp edges.
Your newborn won’t move around much for the first 6 months, so this tip isn’t needed right away, but what I found is that when your baby is moving you don’t get a lot of time to carry out home improvements. So it could be better to future proof your home when your baby is young.
If you have a new home which is furnished in high gloss, chances are you have sharp edges and possibly glass furnishings. Firstly you should get rid of any glass furniture, either sell them or put them in a storage container until your little one is older. Glass is a no-no around small children. Next, have a look around your home for any sharp corners. There is a good chance you have furniture with sharp edges. What I would recommend is getting some bubble wrap and putting it on these edges, it may look a bit silly but it will protect your little one in months to come.
5) Invest in suitable lighting
Most of the lighting in your home was likely bought before your baby was even a consideration. When you become a parent you will see lighting in a different light (mind that pun). You are now going to need lighting that isn’t as harsh. You could either invest in new lamps or what I found worked great was dimmer switches. Dimmer switches allow you to light a room at a light that allows you to see what’s going on but their dim enough to keep your baby in a slumber so they can go back to sleep when doing a night feed or a nappy change.
A new lighting system won’t cost the world but it will make a world of difference when it comes to settling your baby back to sleep.
Conclusion
Making the small changes above will save you a lot of bother in the future and can keep your child safer. All of the above can be done on a budget too so there isn’t a reason why you shouldn’t baby proof your home now.
