You’ve been planning to have a child for a long time, and anticipating it with excitement for an even longer time. You’ve been to doctors’ appointments, you’ve been taking fertility vitamins and you’ve been trying to get pregnant for months. The results are in and finally, yes! It’s positive! Oh the ecstasy of that moment. But what next? You have nine whole months to wait for the little stranger. Here are a number of things you might want to think about during the long wait…
Names
Choosing a name could take up the whole nine months if you let it. Some people even wait until the child is born, believing that they will know once they have seen their baby. After all it will be a long time before they can ask junior to complete his or her own personality quiz to help them decide on a name to suit. The best thing to do is sit down right after you find out you’re pregnant and choose a few names between you. Then, try them out for a month – on each other, on friends – and see how you see them over time. Then, sit down again the following month and discuss developments. This way, you’re sure to pick a name you both like.
Decorating
This is another essential part of the process of becoming a parent. Giving your new child their own space really hammers home the fact that a new person will be arriving. Therefore, it’s very good for your psychology to get this done early on. It’s also great to be prepared so that when the baby’s back from the hospital there’s no additional stress of sorting out sleeping arrangements. You can also store all of the gifts and baby-related paraphernalia you buy over the months in here.
Baby proofing
This is a slightly less creative process – there are no colour swatches and trips to furniture stalls here. But making your whole house safe for a little one is equally if not more important than having their room ready. Think of everything where little fingers could pry – toilet seats, plug sockets, ovens – and block it up. You should ask the advice of people who have recently had children – they’ll know all the tricks and might even have second-hand proofing devices to give you.
Help-hiring
Another useful pastime to devote some time to in your long nine-month wait is queuing up a list of likely babysitters for when it all gets too much. Your parents, cousins, siblings and other relations should almost definitely be on the list. But you might also want to look for professional help, just to take the edge of those first harrowing months.
Party-throwing
Finally, organise a big party to celebrate the occasion – you’re bringing a new life into the world, it’s a pretty big deal! Make sure the party is baby-themed and encourage others to bring lots of baby- related presents! These pastimes will help distract any couple from the long wait for their first child, whether they met through friends or on a dating website such as eHarmony. To find out more about eHarmony click here.
