How to properly prepare for your return from maternity?

Categories: Pregnancy

To ensure the return home is as calm and organized as possible, it's best to anticipate the return from the maternity ward. From the 6th month of pregnancy, you can prepare for this long-awaited moment of returning home with your baby. So what should you plan for? What are the key points to consider so you don't forget anything? We'll tell you everything!

Why anticipate the return from the maternity ward?

When returning from the maternity ward with the baby, it's a whole new rhythm that needs to be established in daily life. Newborns also require a lot of attention day and night, which can cause fatigue and difficulties in organizing.

Therefore, it's recommended for new parents to anticipate this upheaval as much as possible so they can focus on what's most important: their well-being and that of the baby. So, inform yourself as much as possible about what to expect to prepare for it, and take action from pregnancy onwards so that the return from the maternity ward can be as serene as possible.

Preparing the baby's room

Preparing the baby's room often requires dedicating time to it. This is why it's most often recommended for parents to start from the 6th month of pregnancy. The idea here is to create the ideal environment to welcome the baby.

Choosing the bed

The first essential piece of furniture for the baby's room: the crib. Although it's not necessary right from the return from the maternity ward, it's better to have it ready and assembled. To opt for a more durable and economical piece of furniture, why not choose an convertible baby bed? This is a baby bed that transforms as your child grows. The convertible baby bed is indeed a crib, a classic baby bed that will become, after transformation, a child's bed, like our Evidence convertible baby bed for example.

You can also opt for a Montessori baby bed, which is a baby bed closer to the floor to facilitate getting up and going to bed autonomously.

Storage and changing table

The baby's room should be completed with storage for your child's belongings and preferably a changing table. You can opt for a dresser equipped with a changing top to benefit from a two-in-one piece of furniture.

The decoration

Once the room is furnished, you can decorate it according to your wishes with curtains, a nice armchair, decorative objects like a stuffed animal, a music box, etc. It's up to you to choose what your future child's room will look like according to your own tastes.

The essentials for baby's first days

More than just the baby's room, there are many other pieces of equipment that will be necessary from the moment you return home. You can easily find online baby registries that will help you see things more clearly. Most often, the essentials from the return from the maternity ward are the following items:

  • A bassinet or a co-sleeping baby bed to be placed in the parents' room for the first 6 months
  • A bathtub and care products
  • A car seat for the return journey
  • A stroller for walks
  • A bouncer and a play mat for daytime and awake moments
  • Necessities for breastfeeding or bottle-feeding

If in doubt, you can certainly seek advice from your midwife or a pediatric nurse. Many PMIs (Maternal and Child Protection centers) in French cities offer free home support to help care for the baby from the first days and assist parents.

Anticipating parents' daily life

More than the baby's needs, it's also the parents' needs that need to be anticipated for the return from the maternity ward. Therefore, several tips will help you feel good while preparing for the return home:

  • Do a thorough cleaning and organizing of your home, because you may quickly find your interior turned upside down, and you'll appreciate coming back to a tidy and clean living space after the maternity ward.
  • Prepare good meals to freeze, you'll save time in daily life and be able to enjoy comforting homemade dishes.
  • Think about an organization that suits both parents, while keeping in mind that things won't go exactly as planned.
  • Prepare yourself to let go, you won't always be able to do things as you wanted, and that's okay, it's also part of sharing your daily life with a baby.
  • Make a list of resource people in your circle, those you can call if you feel too overwhelmed and whose help will be effective.

Regulating upcoming visits by notifying loved ones

With the return from the maternity ward often comes a parade of relatives wanting to meet your baby. While these visits can be appreciated, be careful not to let yourself get overwhelmed. Try as much as possible to set a framework to maintain control of events by, for example, asking to be notified in advance, setting schedules, and limiting the number of people in the house. Your loved ones' desire should not come before your well-being; if you're too tired to welcome them, make them wait.