Urban Planning
If you’ve watched the video on ‘nursery essentials’ then you know that the use of a nursery in the first three months of life is a bit of a myth. A lot of families are hanging out in their bedrooms, living rooms and kitchens rather than the nursery. Yes, that time will come, but my focus is on the first 4 weeks of baby’s life and most, if not all, of these tips do extend into month two and three.
I love the analogy of urban planning because that’s really what is going to have to happen; it’s a technical and political process regarding the development and design of land, specifically areas with high traffic or use. In particular, urban planners take time to consider how to improve transportation, communication and distribution.
You’ll be carrying these little baby around with you and in the first four weeks most parents always want to have at least someone’s eye directly on the baby. So imagine yourself in your bedroom; where can baby be so that you can actually see them and see their chest rising? If you want to make breakfast and baby is awake, where can you have them in the kitchen that is safe and within reach or gaze? Imagine that you’re snuggled up on the couch to watch a movie because baby finally fell asleep… where are they sleeping? The idea is that there are still stations set up all over the place to make transportation of your baby easier. You don’t want to be lugging around bassinets, and I don’t want you not eating because there’s nowhere to put your baby. Try your best to think like an urban planner and begin to plan out your most frequent routes, stops and how to incorporate baby into the fold.
The other part of transportation is diaper changes. Lots of families will have baskets filled with stuff, tucked under somewhere, but that’s often not very useful. You might have a cesarean or be sore in the weeks following birth so you need to make sure the basket is light enough to lift, not too low to grab, within arms reach of your favourite place to sit, and easy enough to grab with one hand if need-be so there needs to be a handle of some sort. Yes, of course, you can leave diapers and wipes out on the table and that’s just as great, but for families who are trying to keep everything in neat little boxes, I encourage you to consider how that’s going to work post-birth and often with babe in arms.
Another big part of urban planning is breastfeeding. Ideally there are two or three spots in your home where you feel comfortable to feed and you have everything within reach. Cell phone charger, bottle of water, energy bar, pillows. Everywhere. One-handed snacks are absolutely key and if they’re there, you’ll eat them (and you’re probably not eating much even if people are cooking for you so please snack when you can). Pillows are also clutch so have a few of those around anywhere you might be. Feeding happens frequently and I like families I work with to be able to have both a private place to feed and somewhere that is in the hustle bustle of the home so they don’t feel isolated or alone. Even if baby is formula fed, you’ll be there for 20-40 minutes so it’s imperative that you’re somewhere comfortable and somewhere that has everything you need.
It’s great if the urban planners know where everything is, but it is absolutely imperative that so do the other members of the home. Emotional labour is a real thing and anytime you’re asking, “Where are there more diapers?” or “I can’t find the socks” or “How do I use this sterilizing machine?” then you are doing double time. Take the time before the baby is born, even in early labour, to make sure that your partner, your mom, your nanny, your doula, whoever knows where everything is and knows how things work. That’s a big part of the communication piece for urban planning and will make the general flow of life significantly easier for everyone. Everyone should know which laundry detergent to use, where extra diapers and wipes are, which drawer of onesies is the right size, how to assemble and disassemble the breast pump, how to use the bottle sterilizer machine, and other things that are specifically important and relevant to you and your family.
It can be really great to also have a dirty laundry hamper on the first floor as well as the second floor if you live in a multilevel home so you’re not carting things up and down and up and down, or thinking... “I found this on the couch.. I wonder if it’s clean or dirty?” It’s easy to also get a box to put things in that will eventually need to go back upstairs or downstairs that your partner or family member can carry for you.
It’s important to urban plan your fridge too! Make sure there’s room for thawing casseroles, pots of soup from friends, leftovers or food from Skip the Dishes. Toss or store away things that take up room in the fridge, or just Marie Kondo the heck out of it to make sure that you’ve got lots of room for food. More food in your fridge, more chance of you eating it. But, and this is a pro-tip, big pots of pans of things are harder to eat. Have your partner make you a plate or two ready to go in the fridge so all you have to do is heat and eat.
And one last thing… I sometimes go over to a client’s home and I’m happy to wipe the counters, sweep the floors, do a little bit of help but sometimes the cleaning supplies are scattered in different places. Do your mother, your mother-in-law and I a favour and keep everything all together so we know where everything is and can help keep things spick and span without stressing you out as we try to find everything we need to do so. It won’t have to remain like that, but if the broom, mop, vacuum, surface cleaner, toilet cleaner, and everything else is close together then we can get to work and leave you to rest.
Of course your home, your family, your partnership will have its own synchronicities and needs but hopefully you can put some of these tips in place or adapt them to fit you and yours.
Down below is a short checklist that goes over everything I mentioned in the video so that you can quickly double check that everything has been taken care of before baby’s arrival. It’s helpful to share this checklist with your partner so they are in on it all too.
If you’ve watched the video on ‘nursery essentials’ then you know that the use of a nursery in the first three months of life is a bit of a myth. A lot of families are hanging out in their bedrooms, living rooms and kitchens rather than the nursery. Yes, that time will come, but my focus is on the first 4 weeks of baby’s life and most, if not all, of these tips do extend into month two and three.
I love the analogy of urban planning because that’s really what is going to have to happen; it’s a technical and political process regarding the development and design of land, specifically areas with high traffic or use. In particular, urban planners take time to consider how to improve transportation, communication and distribution.
You’ll be carrying these little baby around with you and in the first four weeks most parents always want to have at least someone’s eye directly on the baby. So imagine yourself in your bedroom; where can baby be so that you can actually see them and see their chest rising? If you want to make breakfast and baby is awake, where can you have them in the kitchen that is safe and within reach or gaze? Imagine that you’re snuggled up on the couch to watch a movie because baby finally fell asleep… where are they sleeping? The idea is that there are still stations set up all over the place to make transportation of your baby easier. You don’t want to be lugging around bassinets, and I don’t want you not eating because there’s nowhere to put your baby. Try your best to think like an urban planner and begin to plan out your most frequent routes, stops and how to incorporate baby into the fold.
The other part of transportation is diaper changes. Lots of families will have baskets filled with stuff, tucked under somewhere, but that’s often not very useful. You might have a cesarean or be sore in the weeks following birth so you need to make sure the basket is light enough to lift, not too low to grab, within arms reach of your favourite place to sit, and easy enough to grab with one hand if need-be so there needs to be a handle of some sort. Yes, of course, you can leave diapers and wipes out on the table and that’s just as great, but for families who are trying to keep everything in neat little boxes, I encourage you to consider how that’s going to work post-birth and often with babe in arms.
Another big part of urban planning is breastfeeding. Ideally there are two or three spots in your home where you feel comfortable to feed and you have everything within reach. Cell phone charger, bottle of water, energy bar, pillows. Everywhere. One-handed snacks are absolutely key and if they’re there, you’ll eat them (and you’re probably not eating much even if people are cooking for you so please snack when you can). Pillows are also clutch so have a few of those around anywhere you might be. Feeding happens frequently and I like families I work with to be able to have both a private place to feed and somewhere that is in the hustle bustle of the home so they don’t feel isolated or alone. Even if baby is formula fed, you’ll be there for 20-40 minutes so it’s imperative that you’re somewhere comfortable and somewhere that has everything you need.
It’s great if the urban planners know where everything is, but it is absolutely imperative that so do the other members of the home. Emotional labour is a real thing and anytime you’re asking, “Where are there more diapers?” or “I can’t find the socks” or “How do I use this sterilizing machine?” then you are doing double time. Take the time before the baby is born, even in early labour, to make sure that your partner, your mom, your nanny, your doula, whoever knows where everything is and knows how things work. That’s a big part of the communication piece for urban planning and will make the general flow of life significantly easier for everyone. Everyone should know which laundry detergent to use, where extra diapers and wipes are, which drawer of onesies is the right size, how to assemble and disassemble the breast pump, how to use the bottle sterilizer machine, and other things that are specifically important and relevant to you and your family.
It can be really great to also have a dirty laundry hamper on the first floor as well as the second floor if you live in a multilevel home so you’re not carting things up and down and up and down, or thinking... “I found this on the couch.. I wonder if it’s clean or dirty?” It’s easy to also get a box to put things in that will eventually need to go back upstairs or downstairs that your partner or family member can carry for you.
It’s important to urban plan your fridge too! Make sure there’s room for thawing casseroles, pots of soup from friends, leftovers or food from Skip the Dishes. Toss or store away things that take up room in the fridge, or just Marie Kondo the heck out of it to make sure that you’ve got lots of room for food. More food in your fridge, more chance of you eating it. But, and this is a pro-tip, big pots of pans of things are harder to eat. Have your partner make you a plate or two ready to go in the fridge so all you have to do is heat and eat.
And one last thing… I sometimes go over to a client’s home and I’m happy to wipe the counters, sweep the floors, do a little bit of help but sometimes the cleaning supplies are scattered in different places. Do your mother, your mother-in-law and I a favour and keep everything all together so we know where everything is and can help keep things spick and span without stressing you out as we try to find everything we need to do so. It won’t have to remain like that, but if the broom, mop, vacuum, surface cleaner, toilet cleaner, and everything else is close together then we can get to work and leave you to rest.
Of course your home, your family, your partnership will have its own synchronicities and needs but hopefully you can put some of these tips in place or adapt them to fit you and yours.
Down below is a short checklist that goes over everything I mentioned in the video so that you can quickly double check that everything has been taken care of before baby’s arrival. It’s helpful to share this checklist with your partner so they are in on it all too.