Here are a few tips to reduce the stress in advance. 

Get organised

Don’t wait until the final weeks to get the car seat, buggy or baby clothes arranged. According to Parents magazine, only around 5% of women deliver when they expect to, so always prepare for an early arrival in case. Practicing how to use such equipment will save time after your little one’s arrival--you’ll be glad you did when leaving hospital. 

It also helps to organise baby clothes with drawer dividers labelled by size (0-3, 3-6 months, up to a year or beyond), so you can quickly find what you’re looking for as you deal with all the fun little mishaps that come with new parenthood.  

Meal plan

The last thing you’ll want to do when your newborn arrives is make elaborate meals or grocery shop. Plan on doing batch cooking well in advance, which you can then freeze into smaller portions so your family will have healthy, time-saving meals after birth. Alternatively, enlist your friends to help cook for you, if they’re up for it. (Or stockpile delivery menus in your junk drawer--we won’t judge.)

Hospital bag checklist

Hospitals tend to offer a packing checklist outlining which items they’ll provide during a stay versus which items you should bring. Once you’ve remembered the baby clothes, toiletries, paperwork, camera, and the rest, consider adding a few “luxury” items, whether those are comfy socks or a sneaky bar of chocolate you hide during the nightly nurse visit.

Digital planning

Ask other parents which apps have been most useful. There are pregnancy apps to help monitor fetal development, breastfeeding apps to keep track of feeding schedules, and plenty of apps that provide white noise which may come as a welcome relief to help colicky babies fall asleep.  

Relax!

Keeping up with mild physical exercise can keep mums limber and positive, but also consider meditation or prenatal courses, from yoga to hypnobirthing, to help connect with the little one before birth. This won’t just help with labour, it’ll be a great way to practice snapping into a relaxed state for the many years of patience-testing ahead… good luck!

This article first appeared in the print version of the Delano Expat Guide 2019-2020.