You’ve heard of wedding planners. (There are even movies about them!) You know there are also event planners who are experts at putting together festive soirees for hundreds of people — like graduations, retirement parties, charity benefits, and even high-end baby showers. Financial planners can help you prepare for your future to ensure you have enough money to last through those blissful golden grandparent years. But did you know you could hire a baby planner?
It’s true. “Baby planning” is quickly becoming a pretty lucrative industry — and it doesn’t just mean sneaking under the sheets when you’re ovulating anymore. A baby planner is a pregnancy and postpartum coach, consultant, and concierge. They’re like a wedding planner with an earpiece and a thousand spreadsheets who runs around handling everything for you. Only they’re not planning your wedding. They’re planning for the arrival of your baby.
Baby Planner Changes the Game When It Comes to Parenthood
While preparing for the arrival of our first son, my husband and I were overwhelmed. There was so much to do and so many things he’d need. A crib. A changing table. What kind of breast pump should I buy? Should I register for a wipe warmer? Do tiny babies really need socks and shoes? And what about my baby shower? My family and friends are all over the country — where and when should I have it? Who would even be able to come?
I had nine billion questions and worries about how I would become a mom and bring a new human into the world that I’d be sent home with to keep alive. And while yes, we figured it all out, now that I’ve heard there are baby planners out there to help overwhelmed pregnant women get it all sorted out before the stork arrives, that sounds dreamy.
What Does a Baby Planner Do?
A baby planner gets to know you and helps you prepare for the new baby in the best possible way based on your wants, needs, and how you live your life. They are pregnancy and postpartum coaches, meeting with expecting parents to offer education, resources, and support while recommending products and services.1
Working mom planning on returning to the office in a few months? SAHM, who might never get out of sweatpants? Crunchy mama who plans on making homemade baby food and breastfeeding exclusively? Formula mama who needs a top-of-the-line bottle set? First baby? Fifth baby? Whatever your story is, a baby planner can help.
This is a person who knows all the things. All your nine billion questions? They’ll have the answers. And if they don’t, they’ll figure it out. Having a baby is a huge, life-changing moment like a wedding or retirement. Hiring a baby planner makes sense.
Baby Planners Help With All Those To-Dos
A baby planner could have told us the crib and dresser set we were buying was low quality and we’d be disappointed in it within a year. They could have helped me plan my “shower by mail” that I ended up having since so few of my loved ones lived local to me and wanted to wait and save their flight for after the baby was here. They could have done the homework for me on breast pumps. On daycares. On swings and bouncers. They could have told me there’s no such thing as “too many” onesies or burp cloths but that other things — like that wipe warmer — were unnecessary.
Because when you read about all that a baby planner does, you realize that, of course, parents still have a say and make the big choices (like planning a wedding), but the baby planner might handle some of the nitty-gritty tasks like tracking down Aunt Edna to see if she’s coming to the baby shower or gently putting a reminder in your calendar that you have an OB appointment tomorrow morning and make sure your bladder is full so you can pee in that cup.
Who Can Be a Baby Planner?
The ultimate baby planner might be a mom who’s been there and done that and got the T-shirt. She knows the basics of what you need and how to cut out the clutter of the things you don’t. A baby planner knows how to talk to an emotional pregnant woman and ensure that, above all else, Mama is seen and heard. She also ensures Mama gets some rest and stops worrying about which company has the best organic cotton blankets.
According to the International Parenting and Health Institute, baby planners empower expecting parents to make the right decisions for themselves and their babies by offering non-biased and tailored support.1
As a mom of three, I say baby planners FTW! If I could go back and hire someone to help me sift through my anxiety over what the best car seat/stroller combo was based on safety features, style, and MY budget, I absolutely would. I can remember the hours I pored over websites, articles, and even the number of episodes I watched of The Baby Story. I was desperate to get it all right, so I was stuck in an information overload at a time when I needed sleep. It was a time when I needed someone to say, “Here are some great options for safe, high-quality baby swings with rave reviews. Check them out and let me know your top choice.”
And now, if someone could be my “raising-a-teenager planner,” that’d be great. Thanks.
