Baby preparation: TypeCteacher style

Here is a sneak peak of my nursery

If you follow me on Instagram, then you know I am beyond thrilled to be a mom. However, there are so many things new moms can do to prepare to have a baby. I wanted to share thing things I am most happy about that I did before I have my child. Let me first say, I am an older mom. I am having a “geriatric pregnancy”. I didn’t plan on having a baby past 35, but it happened this way. However, no matter your age, I hope you can benefit from this blog.

The most important thing to me was paying off my student loans. I am a stereotypical millennial who had way too much debt after college. However, I used the debt snowball method to pay off my debt. I was fortunate to understand the importance of investing and began investing in a 403b during the recession. I’m fortunate to live in a state where I can afford a house on a teacher’s salary. In 2013 I was able to use that money for a down payment for a house. I know many financial advisors will say not to invest when you are in debt, but I personally don’t agree. If I waited until I was out of debt, I wouldn’t be able to afford a house when I needed to. This also led me to have the down payment of my second house before the housing market began to get insane. Learning to budget is a life skill, and I’m glad I made wise choices at the beginning of my teaching career so I can be a mother without student loan debt.

Secondly, I am glad I learned about freezer meals. My mother and brother lived with my husband and me for the first couple of years of our marriage. I soon realized that cooking for a family every night is not something I would do or enjoy. I also didn’t want to spend the money on eating out. I began exploring Pinterest and discovered freezer meals were the perfect option for me. Freezer meals keep me on a budget and let me focus on developing new habits. The first couple of months of having a baby is extremely hard, and I want to concentrate on keeping a tiny human alive. After five years of searching free recipes on Pinterest, the recipes were beginning to repeat, and cookbooks were an easy fix. I rotated between two freezer cookbooks this summer to get a good variety. I feel ready to rely on freezer meals when my baby is born.

My most surprising baby preparation was ordering from Stitch Fix. After The Limited closed down, I no longer had a place I could buy work pants and my wardrobe switched to dresses quickly. I was very hesitant to buy from Stich Fix because I live close to an outlet mall. I also started shopping at a local boutique that was geared towards my body shape. Why did I need another place to shop? My husband is 6’4 and has an extremely hard time shopping. He decided to order both of us a box. A friend had already tried it so we knew the free shipping wasn’t a scam. I ended up loving it, but it didn’t work out for my husband. He ended up going for another subscription box. There were tons of boxes I returned because they were too expensive or not really my style (I think I’m one of the few anti skinny jeans millennials on the internet.). Then I became pregnant, and all my weight gain went to my belly. I had to buy maternity jeans and Stich Fix became a lifesaver.

The only place I knew had maternity clothes in the store was Target. I tried the pants that extended on the side, but I lost so much weight at the beginning of my pregnancy they were too big, and ending up buying maternity pants with a belly band. I then bought two pairs of maternity shorts but that purchase would not help me during the school year. I was extremely happy when my Stich Fix box came in at the end of July because I didn’t know I was pregnant when I interviewed for my new school, and I didn’t want to share with my coworkers immediately. My box had two shirts and jeans I could wear to work and could grow in. It also came with one shirt and one dress I would only wear on the weekends to continue to conceal my pregnancy in the early stages. I paid $160 and was happy to not have to go to the store to do so. All items were more of my style than the options I had at Target. My second box included two short sleeve shirts, two long sleeves shirts, and maternity pants. I wash my clothes after one use because of COVID and other respiratory diseases going around in Texas and decided to get a box each month instead of every other month. If you would like to try it please feel free to use my $25 credit link. (I don’t get paid for referring you, and I promise to always be clear on any discount codes I give in this blog)

As I have been getting older, I began getting serious about having a less toxic lifestyle. I have mild rosacea, so I have been paraben-free for years. I know there is much debate about how harmful they are. However, the research is clear that rosacea and parabens don’t mix. This led me to start doing my research on beauty products. I download the ThinkDirty and EWG Healthy Living app to help me make better choices. I take their ratings with a grain of salt because I know some ingredients are to make sure bacteria doesn’t get in the product. I try to buy Cruelty-Free as much as possible and in the last two years, I have been spending more money on Black-owned businesses because of their use of “less toxic” ingredients and guarantee of being cruelty-free. When I found out I was pregnant, I didn’t have to make any changes to my beauty routine. (Feel free to check out my Instagram for reviews on clean beauty.) Always consult with your doctor if you are unsure about using any beauty products.

One of the best things that came out of Quarantine 2020, is I finally had the time to dedicate myself to the Clean Mama routine. I had discovered her on Pinterest years ago but didn’t really follow the routine. I had more time to clean than before, and I realized I could commit to the routine. Slowly, I was able to buy the cleaning tools I needed to clean my house properly. A major factor for me was creating less waste in my home. I love using fewer paper towels and having reusable solutions. I have dogs and there will always be paper towels in my house, but I use them much less. I don’t think I will use anything but Clean Mama’s microfiber cloths in my bathroom. The ease of picking up hair is worth the price. After I was able to get the routine down, I began making my own cleaning products. One of the reasons, I absolutely love Clean Mama is she uses science. I was very skeptical of using hydrogen peroxide to clean my toilet, but then I looked at the EPA website and felt comfortable using it to clean the bathroom. I didn’t have to stop cleaning my house when I got pregnant.

However, I did need help physically cleaning. I had to separate cleaning the toilettes from the shower and bathtub because my back just couldn’t handle it starting at eight weeks. I then stopped cleaning my shower and bathtub completely by having my husband do it. I’m currently in the beginning weeks of my third trimester and have been able to clean with breaks. If you would like to try Clean Mama products, feel free to use my referral link. This will give you 15% off products and I will get 20% off products. Even if Clean Mama isn’t your thing, I really recommend getting a cleaning routine that fits your lifestyle. Balancing work and life is often a struggle with getting help from a professional, which can improve your life and save your weekends! If you are an expecting teacher mom, it will only help you to get on a cleaning schedule that can be easily adjusted to your life.

Lastly, I am happy I had years of couponing experience. I appreciate every dollar I can save with couponing. If you don’t want to keep up with paper coupons, most stores have apps with coupons. Finding your local coupon blogger is a good way to start couponing. I have three coupon bloggers I follow on social media. I truly feel everyone can benefit from couponing.

The benefit of being an older mother, is most of your friends and family have already had a baby. You can ask them what worked for them and know what brands you want to stockpile. I began my diaper stockpile in July. I used my first set of coupons and bought my sister two different diapers so she could give me a review. Then I used my second set to buy the ones I wanted. I am currently planning on using hybrid cloth diapers and disposable diapers. TikTok has provided me with websites for cloth diapers. I plan on sharing my stash with my readers before the baby is born.

I would love to know what other teacher moms did to prepare to have a baby. Please feel free to comment below.