Becoming a mom requires a whole new set of skills. Besides the obvious skills like changing diapers, feeding and bathing the baby, you have to relearn how to do all sorts of things for yourself, too. Just for fun, here are some things you might want to learn in advance, before you bring your baby home.
Speed Eating
A newborn’s needs are urgent, yet unpredictable. You never know when they will wake up and suddenly need to be fed. You might be in the middle of dinner, but they won’t care! To make sure you get to eat, you have to learn to eat very fast. Prepare meals while the baby is asleep and store them in the fridge in single servings so you can always grab something and pop it in the microwave when you have time. Once you have your meal in front of you, waste no time in eating it. Your family will be amazed by how quickly you can polish off an entire dinner in just minutes. It’s a skill that will come in handy for many years to come.
Doing Everything With One Hand
Some baby’s simply must be held or nursed around the clock. You will go crazy if you never get off the couch, so it’s essential to learn how to do anything with one hand. I could do laundry, load the dishwasher, type an e-mail and apply makeup with one hand, all while holding my son like a football.
Meal Planning
There’s no time to stand in front of the pantry and mull over what you want to make for dinner when you have a baby. It’s best to sit down at the beginning of the week and plan out your meals. You can write them out on a calender and hang it on the fridge. Use your meal plan to go grocery shopping and avoid buying food you won’t use. When dinner time comes around, you will know right away what you need to pull from the pantry and you won’t have to worry when your family asks you, “what’s for dinner?”
Speed Showering
There’s nothing worse than stepping out of the shower and hearing your baby wail. You wonder how long they were crying and you begin to stress about taking showers in the first place. The answer is to shower at the speed of light. If you can shave your legs, soap up your back and rinse the conditioner from your hair all at the same time, you’re doing it right.
Navigating Your House In The Dark
It doesn’t matter if you plan on breastfeeding or bottle feeding, you’ll still have to find your baby in the dark to feed her. If you stub your toe in route to her crib, it will only make the midnight feeding session that much more difficult. It’s hard enough dragging yourself out of bed at 3am! Make a habit of clearing the floor before you go to bed so you don’t trip.