Hawley: The Ultimate Baby Prep Checklist

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

The Ultimate Baby Prep Checklist

Nope nope nope, I am not expecting right now. You know that I just had to get that out of the way first. I’m still enjoying the newborn stage with Ellis & I’m lovin’ every minute! But I have had a TON of new mamas and mamas-to-be contact me with questions.

What do I really need?

What do I pack for the hospital for the baby? for me? What does the hospital provide?

How do I get my pets ready?

What goes in my diaper bag?

How do I get my son or daughter ready to meet the new baby?

All of these are legit questions, and questions that crossed my mind as I was getting ready for my baby peeps. When I was just days before delivering Ellis, I posted how I was getting ready for Baby #2, and I honestly tried to put it all out there and cover everything not just for y’all but for myself too. As I was talking to a new mama-to-be about the list she said that it was helpful, but overwhelming. Yes, getting ready for a new baby is definitely overwhelming, so how do I make this even easier?

How do I get ready to bring babies home? EXACTLY like I get ready for everything else…. LISTS!!!! I am a list maker and in my other baby prep posts I have listed items with explanations, reasoning, descriptions, etc. and that might be too much for ya. So I have simplified and compiled all of my previous posts into a single checklist in the hopes that it is less anxiety provoking for new mamas. I have put this in a checklist form so that you can literally check the box when it’s done and you can have that instant gratification (read: stress reduction hehe) as you get ready to bring your precious babe home. My original posts are still posted on the blog (all baby related stuff is here), but this checklist that I’m sharing today is just a quick list…. no explanations and no pictures……. just a list (but I’ve included links in case you want to click over for more of my reasoning and direct links for purchasing).

I know that there are a lot of check lists out there for you to use as you prepare. But this is the one that I made from all of my research and used for both kiddos. I didn’t feel like I missed out or forgot a single thing and I felt very prepared. Some may say I packed or prepared too much, and honestly for some I probably did, but for me when I feel prepared then I feel like I have more control and that decreases my anxiety. So it is my hope that this is a special list you can use as you get ready to bring your beautiful bundle home. You can print it off and physically put a check next to everything as you get ready :-)

This checklist includes:

What you need for labor

What you need for delivery

What to put in your hospital bags (and how many bags you need)

What to put in your diaper bag

What you need for emergencies in the car

How to prep your pets

What you need for the baby once you get home

What you need for mama postpartum

How to prep big sibling to be a big sibling Getting Ready for Baby #2-2