Parenting : Life With Baby : Preparation can help make the first weeks at home with an infant go more smoothly.

You ate the healthiest foods, memorized books about pregnancy and childbirth and became a regular Dr. Kildare on labor and delivery procedures.

In short, you’ve never prepared more for a single event than you have for the birth of your baby. But what happens after that? Are you ready for the transition to life with a little one?

While a car seat is required for bringing baby home from the hospital, parents should fasten their own seat belts for the changes that the little bundle of joy will bring.

“Those first few weeks are wonderful, but they can also be difficult in ways parents never even thought about,” said Tammy Yazgulian, the New Arrivals consultant at Northridge Hospital Medical Center. “Fortunately, just like there are ways to prepare for the birth of a child, there are ways to prepare that can make the transition easier.”

Perhaps the classic way to get a jump on the big change is by preparing the baby’s home environment in advance.

“Don’t wait until you’re nine months along to say, ‘Oh, let’s get the crib up,’ ” said Yazgulian, who has two children of her own. “I see it happen all the time--premature deliveries that come a week, two weeks or three weeks early.

“At the same time,” she advised, “you don’t want to get it done too early because then you’re just standing in the doorway wondering where the baby is.”

Lisa and Scott Nickerson of Woodland Hills set up a baby’s room and pre-washed infant clothes in the weeks leading up to the birth of their son, Cale, 2 1/2 years ago.

“It was really nice in the sense that I didn’t have to rush around and do that stuff after he was born,” said Lisa, who is also the mother of a 3 1/2-month-old daughter, Esme. “The house was ready to have the baby in terms of physical things.”

Along with setting up the crib, Yazgulian recommends that parents use the weeks leading up to delivery to prepare in other ways. They should start stocking up on diapers and, if the mother won’t be breast-feeding, the kind of formula they plan to use.

“By doing that, you’re preparing and also spreading out some of the expenses you are going to incur once the baby comes home,” Yazgulian said. “It’s also never too early to buy some child-proofing things like cabinet locks and electrical-outlet covers.”

In addition to the readiness of the home, there is also the mother’s post-delivery physical condition to consider. Antoinette Johnson of Northridge laughs when she remembers the weeks following the arrival of her daughter MacKenzie 2 1/2 years ago.

“I was denied so much sleep, I eventually started hallucinating,” Johnson said. “I told my husband I was seeing baby faces on the walls.” As a result, she has some pointed advice for other expectant mothers: “Rest now. Because you’re never going to rest again.”

Yazgulian said women can prepare somewhat for the disruption of their regular sleep pattern by getting in the practice of catnapping before the baby is born.

“Moms should learn to rest when they can, especially during the day,” she said. “Shade the windows, unplug the phone, put on some music or read. Basically, try and find a method that will help you relax and fall asleep when you need to.”

Aside from the physical changes, parents should also be aware of the emotional transition they are about to experience. The relationship between a woman and her partner is invariably affected once they become parents. Attention once paid exclusively to each other is now focused, sometimes almost entirely, on a third person.

Lisa Nickerson said it is important for Mom and Dad to make time to be alone.

“We’ve gotten a baby-sitter and gone out once a week since the birth of our first child,” Nickerson said. “We just go out by ourselves, maybe only for an hour or two, and have a glass of wine or a beer and talk to each other. It’s helpful to keep that relationship between a husband and wife separate.”

Yazgulian adds that all the organizing and anticipating in the world can’t fully prepare prospective moms and dads for the magnitude of what’s ahead. “It sounds overwhelming, and for most parents, no matter how much you prepare for this transition, it’s still going to feel that way,” she said.