How to Prepare the Whole Family for a New Baby’s Arrival

Expecting a new baby? Congratulations! But here’s the thing most parents forget… A new baby doesn’t just arrive for mum. It arrives for everyone. Spouses, kids, parents, and even your pets are about to have their lives flipped upside down. After everyone is prepared, life during the first few weeks will feel calmer, happier, and much easier.

Photo by Kaushal Amrutiya

Family support is crucial when it comes to breastfeeding readiness.

Here’s how to get everyone ready…

What’s inside this guide:

1. Why the whole family needs a game plan
2. Preparing for breastfeeding as a team
3. How to get older siblings ready
4. Setting up your home for week one
5. Getting grandparents & friends on board

Why the whole family needs a game plan

A new baby disrupts every household member’s daily routine. Sleep becomes abbreviated. Meals are simplified. Attention is divided. Without a plan, small problems pile up fast.

The older child is jealous. The partner feels helpless. Grandma shows up with unsolicited advice. Sounds like someone you know?

Here’s the good news:

Most of this stress can be eliminated with some simple preparation. If you make sure everyone understands their responsibilities ahead of time, the new parent will only have to worry about two things:

• Recovering from birth
• Bonding with the baby

Everything else? That’s what the team is for.

Preparing for breastfeeding as a team

Breastfeeding is natural… But that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. Breastfeeding is harder than a lot of new parents expect. There’s a lot to learn about latching, positions, cluster feeding, and sore nipples. In fact, the UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates. Over six in ten moms stop before they plan to.

For that reason, breastfeeding preparation should begin well in advance of your due date AND involve your entire family. Learn about how feeding works, what a good latch looks like, and where to find lactation support should feeding become painful, or your baby begin to drop weight. When you know who to call before you have an issue, help can come quicker than you realise when baby and the new parent need it most.

But actually there’s some good news. Exclusive breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks rose to 55.6% in 2024-25 in England – the highest figure since records began.

Pretty cool, right? And support at home is a huge part of that.

What partners can do before baby arrives

Think of the partner as the breastfeeding parent’s personal pit crew. Partners can have a huge impact on how feeding goes. In one study, mothers were 1.8x more likely to attempt breastfeeding if their partner attended a two-hour breastfeeding lecture.

That’s a big result from just two hours!

Here’s what partners can do to get ready:

• Go to classes together: You learn the fundamentals in antenatal classes so you’ll be able to catch issues.
• Recognize feeding cues: rooting, lip smacking, and hand sucking are all signs that baby is hungry. Crying is a late sign of hunger.
• Take on the “bonus” tasks: Diapers, burping, bath time, and skin-to-skin snuggles are all amazing bonding experiences.
• Be the gatekeeper: Limit visitors while feeding is still new.

And the most underrated job of all?

Bring water and snacks to every single feed. Breastfeeding is thirsty, hungry work.

Simple… but it makes a real difference.

How to get older siblings ready

Already have kids? Then this part is important. Having a new baby can be experienced as a huge invasion of your little person’s territory. Yesterday they were the centre of the universe. Today someone else is hogging all Mum’s lap and time.

The key is to include them early.

Start discussing the baby a couple of months before your due date. Be honest and casual. Allow them to feel the baby kick, pick out a few small outfits, and pick out a special toy to gift their new brother or sister.

Here are 3x more tips that work well:

1. Make large transitions ahead of time. Change your bed to a new one? Start nursery? A couple of months before the baby arrives so they don’t feel like the baby stole theirs.
2. Give them a job. Fetching nappies or singing baby nursery rhymes makes them feel needed.
3. Schedule one-on-one time. Even fifteen minutes per day with one parent can make a difference.

And here’s a clever trick…

Create a “feeding basket” full of books, stickers, and snacks just for the older child. They can only have it when the baby is feeding. Feedings become something they WANT to do!

Setting up your home for week one

Your first week home will be hectic. You will not have time to look for stuff, so have everything laid out beforehand. Begin with a cushy feeding station. Choose one or two areas in your home and set up each station with:

• A water bottle
• Healthy snacks
• Burp cloths
• A phone charger
• Nipple cream and breast pads

Then stock the freezer. Make big batches of easy meals like soups and stews in your third trimester. You’ll be happy you did!

Lastly, make a basic ‘who does what’ list and post it on the fridge.  Who walks the dog?  Who does the school run?  Who does laundry?

It sounds basic. But it stops a lot of arguments.

Getting grandparents & friends on board

Grandparents and friends want to help. They really do.

Here’s the problem:

They sometimes don’t provide assistance that is useful to the new family. Tips on baby care have evolved drastically in the past 30 years. So have the chat early.

Before the baby arrives, discuss your feeding/sleeping visitor plans.  Share that you plan to breastfeed and that the best thing they can do is support you, the new parent ~ DON’T take the baby away to “give mum a break”.

Then give them real jobs to do:

• Drop off a home-cooked meal
• Take the older kids to the park
• Put a load of washing on
• Tidy the kitchen

Easy, right? Now the new parent can rest and feed without stress.

One last tip: Establish visiting guidelines and enforce them. Brief visits, wash hands, and no visit if sick. Send a nice text before the baby’s arrival. It will be SO much easier to enforce your rules later.

Bringing the whole team together

Preparing for a new arrival involves far more than purchasing an infant pram. Preparation also means mentally aligning everyone.

To quickly recap:

• Start preparing for breastfeeding early and get your partner involved
• Know where to find help before you need it
• Include older siblings and give them a role
• Set up your home and freezer in advance
• Give grandparents and friends clear, practical jobs

Now that the whole family is ready, the new parent can focus on what matters… Getting to know the newest member of the family.