Making room for baby: more than just space

You’ve probably noticed that, when you’re expecting a child, a kind of magic happens: little by little, space opens up for your baby at home, in your relationships, at work and even in your mind. These changes and preparations can happen without you even realising it! So let’s take a closer look at this first step towards parenthood. 

1 - Making room… at home

This is where the expression ‘making room’ takes on its full meaning and makes your baby’s arrival feel real. Whether you live in a house or a flat, at some point this little baby still growing in the womb calls for changes to your home. 

At Charlie Crane, it’s fair to say we know this area pretty well! We’ve been helping expectant parents through this stage for over ten years, and we’re beginning to know their questions by heart: How do you arrange the sleeping space? Where do you put a changing table in a small home? That’s how the NOGA changing table was born! How can you let baby sleep wherever you are in the house, at any time? Our collection of carrycots and cradles meets the needs of every family.

Making room at home means rearranging rooms, clearing shelves or setting aside space for a new chest of drawers, organising storage and thinking about your baby’s safety… But getting organised also means having a clear-out! Sorting through your belongings, your knick-knacks, your books… and that’s symbolic too. You’re letting go of what you don’t need to make way for the child to come. Parents often describe it as preparing a proper nest. Because however tiny your baby may be, their needs will be anything but small! 

2 - Making room… in our minds and daily lives

Every parent will tell you: it helps to plan how you’ll manage your time in advance so events don’t overwhelm you. Your relationship, friendships, work and even family ties, as well as time for yourself – all those moments that make up everyday life – will be somewhat disrupted for a while. Knowing this and preparing for it already puts you in a better position to welcome your baby with peace of mind.

So, to make room for your baby during their first weeks at home, take some time together beforehand. Think about whether family or friends could help, how you’ll share household chores and arrange childcare, how you’ll make time together now and then so you don’t lose sight of yourselves as a couple, and how each of you can have time alone and come home feeling more at ease.

Finally, food plays a crucial role after birth. Why not plan some healthy, nourishing meals, broths and soups to store in the freezer for the long weeks ahead, when shopping and cooking with seasonal ingredients may be difficult to manage? 

Did you know? A pregnant woman’s brain literally prepares for the arrival of a child – it’s commonly called ‘mommy brain’. Pregnant women often find themselves struggling to find the right words or forgetting things… These symptoms are linked to the profound tiredness that comes with pregnancy, but also to neurological changes. Nature really does know what it’s doing, doesn’t it?

3 - Making room… symbolically 

Finally, how could we not talk about making room in a symbolic sense? Even before a baby leaves their mother’s womb, changes are already under way. As we’ve seen, the expectant mother is nurturing the baby day and night, which takes mental and physical energy. The couple’s relationship is inevitably affected: this is when they begin the transition from partners to parents. Pregnancy can also mark a change across the generations, bringing other family members together or bringing relationships and conflicts to the surface. And if you already have a child, you’ll be preparing your older child or children for a completely new role. 

Ultimately, making room, step by step, both practically and symbolically, is a way to prepare for your new role as a parent, knowing that your baby will find their own place – not necessarily the one you had dreamed of or imagined. That’s the beauty of parenthood!