Autumn is approaching, the season during which far more babies are born in America than during any other. If you live in a family friendly apartment and are in the process of preparing for the arrival of the newest member of your family, consult this baby preparation checklist to make sure that you don’t forget anything that will make your life easier and your apartment home safer for your baby once he or she has arrived.
Deep Cleaning
There is a lot of cleaning that needs to be done before your baby arrives. In addition to ridding your home of germs, you will want to remove clutter and empty storage space for the entirely new set of clothes, hygiene products, and other baby items that are about to become mainstays in your home. Since a baby’s environment should be sanitary and free of germs, it is smart to get in the habit of regularly dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, and disinfecting your home. Another reason to declutter is to prevent stuff from piling up on the floor, creating obstacles between your room and your baby’s room.
Home Baby Proofing
Baby proofing your home can be stressful, mostly because you want to make sure that you block all potential hazards from your baby’s reach. Start with the nursery, making sure that there are no objects outside the crib that your baby can grab on to. Install childproof sockets on every outlet in your family friendly apartment. Tie up or tape down long electrical wires, appliance cords, etc. Make oscillating fans, kitchen cutlery, and heating appliances entirely inaccessible to the newest member of your family.
Baby Care Essentials
Remembering all of that decluttering your just did? Designate some recently freed up space to the storage of diapers, linens, clothes, and other health and hygiene supplies. Replenish your supplies often–running out of formula or realizing you’ve used the last diaper you have on hand in the middle of the night sucks.
Crib Setup
Do a lot of research when shopping for a crib, and choose one that meets the following criteria:
1. It has good reviews, especially where safety is concerned. The crib should meet all current safety standards.
2. You like it.
3. It works with your nursery space.
Set the crib up carefully, in accordance with the instructions that came with it. The slats should be no more than two and half inches apart. The crib should be set up near a blank wall, not one that is lined with window blinds and cords or houses your apartment’s heating unit. Keep pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals out of your baby’s crib as a safety precaution.
Nursery Decoration
Decorating a nursery is an exciting venture, especially the first time around. If you live in a family friendly apartment, be sure to obey any guidelines for painting and hammering nails into the wall. There are plenty of great decorating options that don’t even require you to make any physical changes to the walls in the nursery. Others require only a few simple and reversible changes. In addition to aesthetics, consider comfort when designing your nursery layout. A rocking chair is a good investment for babies and parents alike. The rocking motion soothes most babies and often induces sleep. This, in turn, can help an exhausted parent catch a few more zzzs as well. Another affordable and fun nursery decoration project is a “baby board,” on which you can track the development of your baby through photographs, notes, and mementos.
Baby Monitor Setup
For your peace of mind and your sanity, it is essential that you set up a baby monitoring system that lets you keep tabs on sounds coming from the nursery no matter where in your family friendly apartment you may be. When installing your baby monitor, be sure to reference the owners manual and test the transmitter to make sure it works without regular interference from the place you have chosen to install it.
After you have completed the aforementioned preparation tasks, your family friendly apartment home should be ready for baby’s arrival! Just try to keep things clean and continue to prepare yourself mentally for this exciting, grown-up challenge we call “parenthood.” Good luck and wishes for happiness from all of us here at AMLI Residential.
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