To think we don't need to overhaul our hone for a new baby?

[SoonMummy]

We are trying not to go crazy or feel overwhelmed by the organisation needed round the home for a new baby. But I keep seeing stuff about all the prep I apparently 'need' to do, like decorate a nursery etc. Am I right in thinking you can get away with not doing loads and not buying loads? For the first 6 months the baby will be in our room so all I'm doing is adding a cot in there.

We live in a 2 bed place and currently the spare room is a home office as I wfh. Basic plan is to swap the spare bed for cot (for when baby is old enough) and add an armchair, but leave my home office set up in one corner and the baby will have to share! (It's quite a big room so it will have to double up).

I plan on clearing out a chest of drawers in the spare room to use for baby's clothes, and buying an extra dirty laundry basket for baby's things.

Finally I'm clearing some space where we hang our coats for a buggy.

Is there anything else we need to sort out or do to our home?

It's like reading them wedding planner checklists about what you absolutely must have done by 12, 6 and 3 months before your bug day.

A load of utter bollox.... Honestly new babies just need your time. Once they get moving around move stuff out of reach etc as you go.

Don't worry and enjoy your baby.

Sounds fine to me, at some point you might need to fix furniture to walls (but thats when they are crawling) and don't put the cot under any cord blinds.

You'll have to move the home office once they can climb over the top of the cot but that's usually age 1+

A lot of people “do” the baby’s room while pregnant (even though they know the baby will be in with them for the first 6 months) because they figure it’s easier to build stuff/decorate/move furniture etc with no distractions rather than sleep deprived or dealing with a clingy baby!

Nothing wrong with how you’re doing it, but nothing wrong with how other people do it either.

Sounds fine.

Though you may be surprised by the quantities of books and toys that seem to sprout in every room once the baby is a bit bigger.

It happens organically. You’ll have extra washing, so perhaps a tumble dryer or space for an extra airer or get some over radiator airer’s. I did paint the spare room and put a cot in.

You'll find it useful to have a changing station in the spare room/nursery where you can keep all nappies, sudocrem, bepanthen, wipes, jumpsuits and sleepsuits etc to hand so you're not fumbling around trying to locate it.

It's just easier to do stuff before the baby arrives.

You can definitely get away with not doing much, especially for the first 6 months. As you say the baby will be sleeping in your room and they dont need any big toys like a jumperoo, high chair etc. yet.

However in the long run it might be more difficult. For example when the child is 2 will they be able to play in their bedroom or go to bed unsupervised if there is office equipment in there?

All you really need to buy for the first few months are
Cot
Car seat (assuming you drive)
Pushchair or sling
Nappies and clothes
Change mat

Sounds fine.

The only thing is add is a change mat and a basket for some wipes and nappies for the living room.

Personally I don't like the idea of nurseries at all. I knew we'd keep our baby in with us as long as possible anyway.

The lists can be really over the top, and the baby isn't going to care. But, if you are going to make changes, it's a lot easier to do before the baby is born, before you're exhausted and burdened with a screaming infant you can't put down. And God help you when they start crawling/toddling/getting into everything!

We didn't do anything other than put a cot next to our bed, which we then moved to the spare room when baby was older. Our spare room already had a chest of drawers and a bookcase, so we just put a changing mat on top of the drawers and used the furniture to store baby's things. We then redecorated when DC was 3/4 and we had a bit more of an idea about what they might like/need!

Some people like everything to be "perfect" and some go overboard.

I was the opposite to a lot of you guys and loved creating a nursery for each of my 3 DC. As soon as I was pregnant I really enjoyed ‘nesting’.

Do you wfh in the evenings? If so sharing with the baby may become more challenging. D9nt suppose it matters you sharing once you are back at work and the little one goes to childcare.

I think your plan sounds fine generally - we also didn't set up a nursery either time. The only thing that I would flag is that if you do any work after the baby is asleep, you might find it doesn't work to have the home office in these

You're right OP. Better to save the money and spend as and when you identify what you need. Kids don't give a stuff about their room's decor until much later! If it brings you joy by all means decorate a nursery but it's just not neccessary.

Changing station - for night changes just use the top of the drawers where baby's clothes are. For daytime, keep the change/pram bag in the lounge complete with folding change mat. Easy peasy.

You may need a steriliser, ours currently just does dummies as ebf.

Otherwise I did pretty much as you plan to. On baby no 2 now and still no nursery or decorating done

It's just easier to do stuff before the baby arrives.

^ This.

There's not a lot you "need" to do, but it's harder to do the things you might want to do, even though they seem small now, once baby is here.

For example, we painted DS's nursery while I was pregnant, but never got round to the glossing. I figured I'd do it at some point while DS slept. Pahahaha! DS had other plans. He's now 13 months, in full time nursery and both DH and I work full time. Needless to say, the glossing never got done

The baby may need something to sleep in downstairs/lounge as you are meant to keep them near you when they have their nap. A changing mat etc downstairs is also handy.

The best advice I received was to buy the absolutely lightest buggy I could find that allows the baby lie flat, from newborn.

Easier to move in and out of a car.

Obviously if you do plan on doing a huge amount of walking, you might need something heavier.

Mine lasted through 4 children and was in perfect shape after them. So perfect that I was able to pass it on to someone who was delighted with it.

Sounds pretty much like the set up we have here, except ds shares with my books and dhs guitars and amps.
Babies don't need as much as they make out.

That's exactly what I did. Only after DD turned two we put the cot in her bedroom and moved the office to my bedroom.

Sound good to me. Just some where to change nappies (doesn't need to be a changing station). I had a box with everything in it including a changing mat in lounge behind sofa and same under cot.

We moved house into our first owned property when baby was 3 weeks old so we had nothing done at all! Nursery wasn't done until he was about 4 months old, and he's only just going into his cot properly now at 14 months! Do what works for you and to hell with what you're 'supposed' to do

It's easier to decorate etc before baby. DC3 bedroom was/is a bit of a bit of a laundry room. We painted it and set the wardrobe and cot up but whilst it's currently not being slept in I still have my laundry things in there. When it becomes a full time bedroom I'll remove my things. I'd be tempted to do similar.