Your new baby will be entering into a household unlike the one your first child entered. First of all, you have probably already battled all of the laundry challenges, designated areas for play, learned to cook "fun" meals and developed many other parenting skills that make your house a home. In short, your place is already "kid-friendly." However, it may not be baby friendly.

First, examine the noise level of your house on a typical day. Do you and your toddler have a habit of yelling across the room to each other? Does dad like to play loud music on the weekends? Does the play group usually meet at your house? If your house is bustling with activity on most days, you will need to determine how well the newborn will adjust to this and make changes.

If you can, start introducing quieter activities while you are pregnant. In fact, use the pregnancy as the primary reason for the new changes. You are bound to be more tired toward the late stages, so let your body lead the way. These changes aren't aimed just at your toddler – but at your entire family.

Scheduling conflicts are also bound to arise once the baby is born. Try to anticipate these issues and find ways around them. For instance, if you normally run a lot of errands on one day each week, think of how you can minimize that. Perhaps you could mail some of the bills from home, do your grocery shopping in the evening when your partner can help with the kids or space errands out so that both you and your partner can share in the responsibility. Remember, feeding your baby is your first (and most important) job in the first few weeks of your newborn's life. You will need to make time for it.

Household chores might also need rearranging. Instead of doing laundry every day, try doing more loads on the weekends. Pick a day to make two dinners that can be frozen for use later in the week. If you can afford it, hire a teenager to come once a week and care for your lawn in the summer or help clean your house in the winter.

If you haven't been doing so already, it may be a good idea to start shopping frugally and giving up certain luxuries if you are concerned about the finances. If you plan to breastfeed, you will not have to worry about the cost of formula, bottles, nipples and other accessories – and using cloth diapers and an inexpensive diaper service can save money as well. The bigger expenses come later in baby-hood, but it still pays to take advantage of watching where you can save while baby is young – like using hand-me-downs from your toddler. Each family is going to have different financial needs, so be sure to talk to your partner about your situation before Baby comes.

Preparing yourself and your home can be easy with the right support and care. Talk to your family and friends, and make solid plans and goals with your partner. In the end, you will be able to keep all of the focus on the new baby and your new family.

Content on this site is not a substitute for professional medical or healthcare advice, diagnosis or treatment, and may not be used for such purposes. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical question or condition. Reliance on information presented on this site is at your own risk. This site contains the opinions and views of other users. Given the interactive nature of this site, we cannot endorse, guarantee, or be responsible for the accuracy, efficacy, or veracity of any content generated by our users.