If you’ve got a baby on the way, you’re likely filled with all types of emotions right now. From excitement and happiness to fear and apprehension, it’s perfectly normal to feel literally all the feelings prior to bringing a new life into this world and a new person into your home. Luckily for most new parents, there’s quite a bit of time between when you find out you’ll be having to a baby to when that baby actually arrives. So to help ensure that you’re using these few months wisely, here are three tips for preparing your home for the arrival of a new baby.

Make Safety A Priority

Arguably the most important thing that you should do before your baby arrives is to make your home a safe place for him or her to live. There are so many things within a home that can be dangerous for a little one, and it seems like they always want to go after the things that could be most harmful to them. This is why it’s your responsibility to keep all the scary things away from baby at all costs. According to Liz Krieger, a contributor to Parents.com, this includes locking up your medicines and cleaning products, securing furniture to your walls, ensuring that batteries work in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, plugging up those electrical outlets, and more. To know where best to start, get down on the floor yourself to see all the hazards that you may not have noticed otherwise.

Get Your Home Clean

Babies generally spend a lot of time on the floor. In addition to this, they also are known to put almost anything in their mouth, whether it fits or not. Because of this, it’s crucial that you have your home as clean as possible so your baby can start healthy while exploring. To ensure that you’re not actually causing more problems with the cleaning you’re doing, Steve Schiff, a contributor to Father.ly, recommends going with green cleaning services, especially for things like your carpets and other flooring.

Prepare Your Pets And Other Kids

Aside from prepping your actual home for the arrival of your baby, you also need to make sure that anyone else who’s living in your home with you is ready for this new addition. According to HealthyChildren.org, the biggest concerns with this usually come from pets and other children. But by speaking with your other kids or slowly introducing your pet to a new routine or way of life prior to baby arriving, the transition should be a lot smoother for everyone involved.

If you’ll soon be bringing a new baby home, consider using the tips mentioned above to help get your space ready.