Getting Ready for the Baby

Many women report a strong urge to get ready for the baby as they approach the third trimester. This is the ideal time to think about what you will need to buy, or ask to be given.

You are likely to find that you don’t need as much as advertisers might like you to believe. You may want to have fun decorating a room for the baby, buying beautiful furniture, soft carpets, and an army of stuffed animals. This is not a requirement, however, and many of us will find it easier to hold off on too many purchases until we have had the baby and know more about what works best for us.

Many of us will do something most of our parents wouldn’t have dreamed of: sleep with our babies. One of the main reasons for this shift toward cosleeping (defined as the baby being in the same room, or in a sidecar-style crib), or the family bed (where infant and parent share a bed), has to do with breastfeeding. More and more women are breastfeeding their babies now, and they find it is easier if the baby is next to them during the night.

Women who sleep with their babies are following a well-established practice. In 67 percent of cultures around the world, babies and children sleep either in the same bed as their mother or both parents, or in a separate bed in the same room, until they are at least one-year-old¾and many go well beyond that age.

The United States has consistently varied from the norm. Here infants are given their own beds and their own rooms right from the start.

Mothering.com contains a wealth of information about cosleeping and the family bed. Here are just a few reasons to cosleep:

• Cosleeping reinforces the practice of breastfeeding and all the benefits that go along with it.

• Babies’ brains are not fully developed, and they are not adept at managing the shift between conscious, controlled breathing and unconscious, automatic breathing until they are three- or four-months-old. Cosleeping seems to help babies with this because of the influence of the sound of parental breathing and the external stimulation of being right next to another body. When babies and mothers are monitored while cosleeping, their brain-wave activity, heart rates, muscle movements, and breathing align.

• Research suggests that infants who sleep in the same room with their mothers have significantly lower rates of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Japan, for example, where cosleeping is the cultural norm, has the lowest rates of SIDS in the world.

• Cosleeping is reassuring to both baby and parents and may help secure their bond. Parents who work all day find this to be particularly helpful in promoting that feeling of closeness.

• Most children seem to grow out of the family bed arrangement entirely on their own. At some point, children feel they would like to have their own space and are ready to sleep alone. This may be reassuring to parents who would like to try cosleeping but fear their children will never want to leave their beds.

If you are considering cosleeping, there are a few simple safety guidelines to follow.

Decorating Baby’s Room
Regardless of the type of sleeping arrangements you and your family decide on, you may feel you want to do some work on your home. Perhaps you’d like to repaint your bedroom, or create a special playroom for the baby. While you are pregnant, you need to be cautious about exposing yourself to environmental contaminants, including those used in most home improvement projects.

It is best to avoid painting while you are pregnant. Many types of toxins, including paint fumes, can cross the placenta, exposing your baby to their effects.

First and foremost, be aware of the hazards of lead contamination. If you live in a home built prior to 1978, there is a good chance that underlying paint layers contain lead. If you sand the walls, and particularly the decorative moldings, you will breathe in lead dust. Have your home tested before you do anything, or buy a lead test kit at the hardware store.

Avoid using oil-based paints. All paints contain solvents, but those in oil-based paints are particularly dangerous. Latex-based paints can also contain hazardous chemicals that off-gas, or create fumes, which you can breathe in.