10 Tips For New Moms Bringing Home A Baby – Inspired By Lysol

Lysol® and Twittermoms have teamed up and are looking for experienced moms to offer tips to new moms who are bringing home a baby. Since I am the mother of a 2.5 and a 6 week old I can think of many simple things that can help get you ready, save you time and help keep your family safe.  Because I’m currently going through the same things as you are you can bet that these are tried and true.

• Make Use Of Your Nesting Instinct – Most moms go through it a few weeks to a few days before baby arrives. You get the urge to clean, clean, clean. Well, let me tell you from experience. NOW is the time. Make use of this last burst of energy. The more prepared you are beforehand the less you will have to do once baby actual gets here.

• Prepare Meals Ahead Of Time – One of the nicest things someone did for me after I came home the first time was present me with an already prepared meal. My neighbor, who just so happens to be a lactation consultant and a mother sent me over lasagna that was ready-to-go, a salad kit and a loaf of frozen garlic bread.  For a first time mom who was nervous and suffering from lack of time and lack of sleep it was ideal.  So my suggestion? A few weeks before your due date (if you have room in your freezer) cook up batches of a few simple meals. Chili, Beef Stew, Lasagna, Chicken or Beef Pot Pies etc. You will have less to worry about the first week or so and less apt to get stressed. Remember, stress can make you sick!
• Baby Proof – One of the biggest mistakes I made first time around was to not baby proof BEFORE my baby was able to get into things. You would not believe how fast time flies when you have a new baby. While you’re relishing every moment with them time is passing by and before you know it it’s time for you or your significant other to return to work. Next thing you know baby is giggling, standing on his own, crawling and then walking. My oldest son walked at 9 months and just a few weeks after learning he was in to EVERYTHING. I had no idea what types of latches and locks to get. It took time to research them all and then on top of that I had to install them by myself while a baby walked around me reaching for anything and everything. 

• Disinfect and Sterilize Feeding Supplies – If you have no dishwasher just like me you will quickly find out that it can be difficult to clean babies feeding supplies such as bottles, nipples and even breastfeeding equipment. Do your research because I found out this time around that several companies offer micro-steam bags. You simply wash the various items like normal then place them into a bag, add a touch of water and then microwave. The steam kills 99.9% of most harmful bacteria and germs. Simple and far more effective than just regular dish water.
•  Get Your Flu Shot – If you are able to get your flu shot before you give birth, do it! As a mom who gave birth while suffering the effects of the flu I can tell you right now it’s not something you want to deal with. Ever. If your baby is already born by the time flu season comes around its even more important to get your shot in my opinion and especially important for everyone else that lives in your household to get theirs as well. It might not prevent the flu but hopefully it will keep the chances down. Last thing you want to be worried about when you’re supposed to be enjoying a new baby is that they have the flu.

• Hand Sanitizer – One of the quickest things you can do to help your many visitors from spreading germs is to keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in the nursery and various other places around the house so that it is visible and available. Don’t be sweet and shy about demanding that they use it either. It’s your baby and your house. It’s also perfect to keep in the car and your purse or diaper bag for when you’re on the go.
• Wash Your Hands – Hand Sanitizer is a quick solution to help prevent the spread of germs but absolutely nothing beats washing your hands. It’s something most people learn as a child but you will find out over the next few years that it’s not a habit everyone keeps. Stay vigilant about it and you can avoid a lot of problems.
• Don’t cross Contaminate – A lot of people worry about cross contamination when it comes to preparing food, like when you prepare raw chicken. You would never cut up or clean a chicken and then cut your veggies on the same board, or even use the same knife without washing it first. Well now you have one more thing to take into consideration. Those countertops you prepare food on are more than likely the same ones you set your baby bottles, nipples and pacifiers on. After I clean and sanitize my countertops and other surfaces in my kitchen I also use Lysol disinfecting wipes. In fact I keep them handy in my bathroom and kitchen for quick clean ups. You can never be too careful.

•  Diaper Pails – A quality diaper pail is a great thing to make an investment in. You won’t believe the smells that can come out of a little baby! and you’ll want to do everything you can to contain them in one area. I suggest reading reviews online to compare. They are not all created equal as I found out.  When you have one you like it is imperative to keep it clean and to keep the smells at bay. You may think that all those smells will stay in the bags and you can simply remove it and all will be ok. Unfortunately that’s not usually true. What tends to happen is that the smell permeates the plastic and sort of gets “stuck” there. It’s not nice.  This is the time you want a quality pail AND a can of lysol disinfectant spray. Just make sure baby is not around when you are spraying and if you can, open a window to air out the room and get the air moving. It helps a lot.

• Pets and Babies – I have an 80lb dog that has lived with me for over 13 years. He is one of the hairiest beasts ever known to man. When I first came home with my oldest son I cried and cried because there was dog hair around the house and I was terrified my baby would swallow the hair somehow or even get sick from the dander.  A good vacuum with hepa filters, a designated area for my dog to sleep in (no more sleeping in my room) and a can of lysol on the very rare occasion there was an accident, made it all work.

There are a lot of other things you can do to prepare for the arrival of a new baby and most of these tips could be elaborated on, but then they wouldn’t be tips, they’d be full posts! As a new mom myself I don’t have a lot of time and just like you I want to enjoy as much time with my new baby as possible. I hope these tips reach you before baby arrives and will help you avoid some of the common mistakes I have made along the way so that you can spend your free time snuggling with your little one instead of worrying.  Best of luck to you and a big thank you to Lysol for making my life a little easier.

Disclaimer: I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Lysol® Wee Wisdom blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.