Adoption Stork Drops: How to Prepare for a Baby Quickly!

During adoption, it might seem there are times when you’re waiting weeks or months. Then, everything can fall into place quickly. For all your planning and preparation, you might still find yourself days from a new baby’s arrival with more to do!

When you need to get ready for a baby quickly, the first tip is: Don’t panic!

You don’t have to get everything planned down to a “T” to provide the loving, safe, and nurturing environment a baby needs. In fact, no amount of reading or planning can make someone feel totally prepared to be a parent. There is always something new, and that holds true here.

It might seem there are a million things on your “to-do” list. When you simply can’t do it all, it’s important to pare down to essentials. Once baby is safe and sound at home, you’ll have a whole lifetime together where you can fix up anything that isn’t quite perfect.

Let’s look at some ways to get ready fast:

Stock Up on Foodstuffs

Whether baby is a newborn or a bit older, be sure you know what type of food is appropriate and have plenty of it. A newborn eats about 8-12 times every 24 hours, usually in small meals around 2-3 hours apart. Intake starts at just a few ounces in the first days of life, but it quickly goes up to one or two ounces per feeding, increasing further to 2-3 ounces around 14 days of age.

Have Plenty of Diapers

No matter whether you’re going with disposable or reusable diapers, you will need plenty of them. In the first month alone, you can expect to use 10-12 diapers per day. This goes down to about eight per day after the first month – or from 320 diapers down to 240. Yikes! If reusable diapers will be a part of your plan, be sure you have a workflow planned for getting them clean.

Make a Nest

No matter whether you have a dedicated nursery or will sleep baby somewhere in your own bedroom, you want to be sure of safe and secure accommodations. A crib is a must-have. Convertible cribs can transform from a toddler bed to a daybed using the same mattress, which could make them much more convenient as the baby grows and sleeping needs change. But this can wait until you are home with the baby as the baby could have other accommodations for a short time (few days) so ask your pediatrician for what is safe for a newborn before obtaining a crib.

Prepare for Your Own Needs

You’ll still need to eat and sleep after baby’s arrival, so one of the best ways to keep yourself healthy is to pre-package two weeks of meals in advance. You could make and freeze fresh meals or use a mix of frozen meals. Whatever the case, make things as simple as possible. You may end up with less than ten minutes to get food ready and eat it. Cleaning up will usually have to wait!

Get Other Supplies Ready

It’s time to make a grocery list, but be creative. On this list, you want to be sure you include everything you simply can’t afford to run out of – toilet paper should be near the top! At the same time, be sure to fill any prescriptions as early as you can, even if you already have a supply of medications on hand. If you have pets, also be sure all your pet supplies are available and easy to access.

The last thing to do? As difficult as it might sound, take some time for yourself and relax. Peace and quiet could be in short supply soon, but it will all be worth it!