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Adding a new family member to the household is a big transition. Of all these “move-ins”, nothing is more life-changing than adding a new baby to your family. Babies bring a lot of joy and meaning to your household, but they also need a long list of essentials and space.

This can be daunting to new parents who are working with a home of any size. Preparing your home for a new baby requires a delicate balance of baby gear, space, and safety. How do you prepare a space to make raising your new baby a fun and safe experience? This guide will show you the basics about creating a home that is kid-friendly and logical for new parents to navigate.

Set up the Nursery

In the first few months of caring for your new baby, you’ll spend much of your time in the nursery. Babies don’t sleep through the night like adults, so parents should expect to get up in the middle of the night to feed and soothe the baby. Though at first newborns don’t move around much, they soon gain interest in rolling and scooting about the room. Then, in no time, they learn to crawl and start to investigate the surrounding items. Since babies are innocent and extremely curious, they gravitate to the most unsafe objects, like power cords, electric outlets, sharp kitchen objects, and bottles of cleaning products.

As they get more mobile, the more sophisticated their explorations become, too. They start to grab on furniture and cruise about the nursery and are eager to open every drawer and find out what’s inside. As a parent, you are endlessly vigilant to take away small choking hazards anything else unsafe that your fast baby can get their hands on. Baby proofing in the nursery is essential to survive the early months and beyond.

For the first four to six months, your baby-proofing to-do list is rather simple. Here are the items that should be in place before your baby comes home with you:

• Install outlet covers in the nursery.
• Mount all bookshelves and tall furniture to the wall.
• If the nursery has a hard floor, bring in a memory foam area rug so that baby has a safe place for tummy time.
• Use a crib and bedding set that meets all current safety standards for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
• Do not use infant sleep positioners or inclined sleepers, especially those that have been recalled for safety reasons.

When the baby starts moving around independently, it’s time to baby-proof the rest of the house. This is when your home really starts to feel like it’s turned upside down. However, this season will be over before you know it as your baby matures into a preschooler who knows basic safety rules.

• Put foam covers on the sharp corners of furniture.
• Install outlet covers in the rest of the house.
• Install gates at the top and bottom of the stairs.
• Baby-proof any doorknobs to rooms that baby shouldn’t play in, such as the home office or basement gym.
• Install drawer protectors for any drawer that contains small items.
• Install child locks on main entryways.
• Install a gate around your entertainment center or purchase a media center that has lockable cabinets.
• Install gates at the top of deck stairs.
• Install a robust and sturdy gate around the pool.

Keep a Clean Kitchen

Feeding your baby is a time-consuming task that requires an efficient kitchen. Whether you plan to nurse or bottle-feed, a functional kitchen is a key to your success. Nursing mothers need a clean and sensible place to prepare healthy foods and drinks to keep up a good supply, while bottle-feeding parents need an efficient bottle prepping area. Bottle feeding parents need a spot for a drying rack, bottle brush, more bottles than you think you need (trust us, you will need them all), and on-the-go containers, so you can feed the baby when you go out.

When your baby starts to eat solids, then you need to have enough storage space for your baby food jars. Whether you make your own food or buy from the store, you need to get adequate supplies for blending food, storing, and freezing baby’s purees. This means you may need to clear out your freezer or a segment of your pantry for your baby’s food supply for a season.

Declutter with Extra Storage

If you live in close quarters or just want to make your living space more efficient for a season, store your belongings in a storage rental unit. A gaming chair or extra futon can cramp the nursery, so take them to storage to make the nursery more functional. Extra cooking appliances that take up space for bottle storage and prep can also come into this wave of storage items. Then, as your baby gets older, you can swap out your gliding rocking chair and diaper changing station for that futon that your toddler will love. It’s also an excellent place to store boxes of diapers, toys, and clothes that arrive at your door from loved ones.

A storage unit is also a great place to keep old baby items until you decide to grow your family again or donate to a person in need. If you need to store other items that you may not need for a while, your storage unit will become a convenient drop-off place, so you can avoid clutter at home.

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