Things That Should Be on Your Postnatal To-Do List

Once you find out you are pregnant, your life might never be the same. After the excitement, you might find your head is spinning as you think about the to-do list – from preparing things for yourself to providing stuff for your baby. However, we’re here to tell you that getting ready for your baby’s arrival doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Refer to the list below so that you don’t need to worry later!

Preparing your kitchen

You will need to stock your kitchen with ingredients for your family member, helper, or nanny to prepare confinement meals. One of the main job scopes of nanny is to prepare confinement meals for you. Your nanny is required to prepare three meals a day for mother and also preparing other things like your daily red dates tea and herbal baths.

To ease the process of preparing and cooking, you will need to prepare fresh meats, fish and vegetables. Other than fresh cooking ingredients, you should include some dried goods such as black fungus, sesame oil, oil ginger and scallop. Some people will also prepare wine for cooking depending on your preference.

Packing for hospital

This is the most important thing to prepare during your pregnancy. Trust me. You will prefer not to bother about the packing list so that you can stay as calm as possible right before admission to hospital. We recommend you to pack around 35 weeks if you are at risk of early delivery.

Nursing or breastfeeding

If you are planning to provide breast milk instead of giving formula milk, you will need to prepare things including breast pump, nursing scarf, breast milk storage kit, feeding bottle and cleaning equipment. Some mothers might have less breast milk at the beginning stage, you can prepare some formula milk powder just in case.

Preparing baby’s outfit

Usually, this will be the most exciting part for mothers! Women always like to shop for clothes and pretty stuff. From top to bottom, bonnets to socks. There are always a lot of designs to choose from. 

If you are not sure about the gender or you are not planning to know the gender in advanced, you can always go for unisex design. Not to forget about the laundry detergent for baby. Baby’s skin is a lot softer than ours and you might need to prepare a baby-friendly detergent to wash the baby’s outfits.

Diapering

Diapering is one of the most important preparations for the arrival of your baby. This is the basic necessity for a baby. Some basic stuff of diapering includes napkin or diaper, nappy cream and changing mat. If you are planning to use a napkin instead of diaper, you need to take into consideration the changing and washing frequency of the napkin. To avoid rashes, you will also need to prepare nappy cream. It will form a protective layer to protect your baby’s skin.

Bathing and health care

Bathing a newborn is not an easy task. Some bathing accessories will assist you to protect your baby when bathing. Other than baby’s toiletries and bathtub, you can prepare bathtub net or non-slip mat. To measure the water temperature, you can prepare a bath thermometer. 

Other than the bathing accessories, you are advised to prepare some health care products such as nail clipper, a nasal aspirator and some cotton buds. There are few baby’s health care products available in the market, you can choose a brand you trust.

Bedding

Baby’s bones are not as strong as an adult yet and you will need to prepare a cot with a firm mattress for your baby. For safety purposes, you can also prepare a bumper pad for the cot. Besides that, some mothers will prefer to have a rocker or bouncer. While the baby has a place to relax and play, the mother can free up her hands and get things done.

Hiring a Nanny!

This is the most important thing you need to prepare for your confinement period. A nanny is always a helping hand for a mother after giving birth. You will need confinement nanny to assist you in taking care of your baby so that you can have enough rest during the confinement period. A well-trained confinement nanny will provide the professional advice and guidance for a new mom. 

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This is the basic pregnancy to-do checklist before giving birth to your baby. You can always add on additional things depending on your needs. While there might be quite a few things to do and prepare, you are not alone. You can and you should ask for help when you need it!