Having a kid in the middle of renovations is a source of incredible stress, with two very important situations in our life happening near the same timeframe. Surviving a situation like this will always require a lot of planning. Some tips do not go amiss though, as they can help us understand what we should pay attention to.
1. Conform to the timeframe of your pregnancy
Make sure to establish the date of your renovation and your delivery date. If you can afford some flexibility to the deadline of the renovation do so, doing it before the baby comes will resolve the potential issues of having no baby room to put them in.
This can also heavily depend on the season and your region’s climate. Some areas have harsh climates leading to harder renovations, as the weather gets in the way of construction, make sure to take that into account as well when planning.
Giving birth during very cold or very hot months can be exhausting enough without the added worry of household renovation stacked on top. Depending on how close the two dates are you may need to employ a different approach to accomplishing your renovation rather than trying to work around the established date.
2. Segmenting construction
If it’s granted that not all of your house will be finished by the time baby comes you should plan out your renovation in stages. Segment the renovation by priority of areas.
For example, the bedroom and baby’s room come first while the kitchen can be done in later stages. The importance of properly staging your construction assures everything will be done in order of necessity. After all, it’s not impossible to remodel or add items at a more comfortable date.
Those items that aren’t finished by the time baby is out can usually be supplemented with little issue. If a kitchen is still not done you can eat out or prepare simple meals at home. A portable, electric burner can also offer a proper solution for meals, as it can be plugged in anywhere.
3. Limit your workload depending on the time of pregnancy
Another important aspect to consider when choosing the order in which to renovate rooms is your available time and energy. While it’s easy to accomplish most of the necessary renovation tasks early in the pregnancy by the last few weeks you may feel exhausted from both pregnancy and renovation.
You should complete more difficult tasks early, such as replacing flooring and keep simple tasks for those last few weeks. Those weeks are also a great time for scouting out some new furniture.
4. Ensure Safety
Of course, if you intend to stay in a house that is being renovated you have to ensure the whole place is stable enough. Consult the construction workers when you lay out the plans for the segmented renovation. Ask them about the stability of your plan and check if there will be adjacent renovation efforts that could endanger or compromise other rooms.
This doesn’t have to be something as serious as second story floor caving-in, far smaller issues can cause problems to you and your family. One such example would be residue from construction materials coming into the rooms you are staying in, potentially causing health issues. This can be exceptionally harmful to the baby so it’s best to know beforehand if you’ll encounter such troubles. To resolve it you can take many steps.
For starters, you could ask for less harmful materials to be used. This can result in a price increase but nothing is as important as your and your baby’s health. Taking protective measures, such as putting plastic sheets on the doors or other passages from the room that’s being worked can stop the troublesome materials from getting in. Lastly, if you can’t protect or replace them it’s best to leave until that job is finished. After the house has been aired out you can continue living in it while the rest is being renovated.
5. Take some time away
Speaking of leaving the house while it’s being renovated, you should always have some time away from the work. Constant dust and debris can cause health issues or strain your organism. Go out for a picnic or a weekend trip.
Visiting friends and family is also a viable option, giving you the much-needed respite from stressful renovation work. Unwinding in this manner also helps restore energy, as acute fatigue will be washed away from comfortable rest.
As the delivery date gets closer, rest becomes more important. Consider going away more often in the latter weeks of pregnancy. While it’s good to finish all of the renovation work before the baby comes, your health comes first.
6. Stay level headed
Renovation is very stressful especially when you get buried in choices every time a different room is brought up. Kitchen elements, furniture, style of tiles, room color, windows, and so many other questions keep requiring an answer. It’s important to avoid getting fried by all the overbearing choices that keep piling.
One of the ways to do so is by planning forward and discussing details before the renovation even begins. However, this doesn’t rectify the issue by much because you’ll just be relocating the stress. To ensure stress doesn’t get the better of you consider taking frequent breaks away from the place. Talk to your partner about subjects that are unrelated to the renovation.
Excessive stress isn’t good for health or pregnancy. Another way to reduce stress is by engaging somebody else to do the design of your renovation for you. Professional services that provide a design-build system are lifesavers for these situations.
One such would be design build Los Angeles, which offers a slew of options for your home’s renovation. Check out www.koflerdesignbuild.com for more details.
7. Renovating after the baby is born
This is the worst-case scenario you can find yourself in. Although the baby will spend the initial few weeks in the hospital, it’ll eventually end up coming to its new home. If a baby lives in the house during renovation pay extra attention to its surroundings.
In case the remaining renovations contain a lot of loud sounds make sure the baby’s room is isolated. Loud noises aren’t good for the baby and will disturb it a lot. Take every possible preventive measure to stop excessive dust or harmful substances from getting near the baby. Converse with the workers to adjust the remaining jobs to this new situation, make sure they know what’s off-limits and when.
Going away during intense tasks where drills, angle grinders, or other loud noises are present is a very valid choice. You can combine multiple of the aforementioned tips into one by taking your baby out for a picnic in the park and resting from the stressful environment of home renovation.
Conclusion
While difficult, the task of balancing both the birth of your child and house renovation isn’t impossible. It’s also important to note that the situation is highly subjective so you may not even have as many issues as to require all of these tips. However, it’s always best to be safe rather than sorry so take care to follow these steps regardless.
