Preparing for Your Wife to Come Home from Hospital

Men are not always in their comfort zone when it comes to taking care of the daily routine at home, and if your wife needs to go into hospital it can be a daunting task to keep up with the chores, like cleaning and grocery shopping.

However, the need to help take care of the home doesn't always end when your wife returns home, especially if she has been in hospital for some time and needs to take things easy for a while as she recovers.

Almost all hospital patients long to be allowed to go home, and it's essential to make the coming home experience the best that you can. This not only makes her feel welcomed back, but will help her to get well again sooner as well. The last thing she will want is to come home to a home that looks like a tornado hit it.

So here is a quick list of things that it is useful to do in preparation for your wife coming home from hospital. If you are lucky, a friend or relative can always help, but even if that is possible, there is a gratification in knowing that you managed to take care of things at home yourself, and to prepare the home ready for her return.

Make Sure The House Is Clean And Tidy

Nobody likes coming home to a dirty house, with dust everywhere, and dirty dishes in the sink. A dirty house can also harbor germs, which might not be the best thing for a recovering patient to come into contact with.

Prior to your wife coming home from hospital, run the vacuum around the whole house, making sure that you get into the corners where dust bunnies lurk. If necessary, move chairs and tables out of the way so you can get to those awkward places more easily.

If you have pets, pet hair can accumulate rapidly, especially if you have not been able to keep up with vacuuming as well as going to work and visiting your wife in the hospital, so running the vacuum around will make a huge difference to what she sees as soon as she walks through the door.

If you have children, make sure that their toys and books have been picked up and tidied away, and depending on their age, they may enjoy helping you to tidy up the house ready for Mommy to come home.

Make Sure The Kitchen Is Clean And Germ Free

Take care of the washing up, making sure that the kitchen sink is not full of dirty dishes, or if you have a dish washer, make sure that you run this so that everything inside is clean. If possible, empty the drainer or dish washer and put everything away where it belongs as well.

Remove clutter from the kitchen worktops, and wipe them over with a cleaning cloth to make sure that they are germ free.

If you have carpet in the kitchen, make sure this has been well vacuumed, and it you have a hardwood, linoleum or tiled floor, make sure that you wash and/or polish this to remove dirty marks.

Clean The Bathroom And Toilet

Since your wife will almost certainly be feeling dirty after being in hospital, and using a shared bathroom and toilet, she will undoubtedly be looking forward to a good bath or shower, or at least a nice wash down in her own bathroom.

The last thing that she will appreciate is a dirty bath or shower, and certainly not a dirty toilet.

It's not only the look of a clean bathroom that will make her feel better though. Baths, showers and most of all toilets harbor millions of germs, so be sure to clean these thoroughly before she gets home.

Finally, be sure to change the towels in the bathroom so that when she comes to use it, she can feel that she is being pampered and is truly loved.

Clean The Bedroom

Few people find it easy to sleep properly in hospital, with the constant noise, lights, and nurses checking on you are they do their rounds, so when your wife does come home, she will almost certainly be very tired, and looking forward to a good night's sleep in her own bed.

The last thing that she will want to see is a dirty bedroom with dirty sheets and an unmade bed, so make sure that you change the bedding and put clean sheets, pillow cases, duvet cover etc on the bed, and if you slept in the bed since you changed them, make sure that the bedding is pulled straight so that she can assume it has been freshly made.

If there are any piles of dirty clothing around the bedroom, make sure that these are put into the laundry hamper, and if there are piles of clean ones, make sure that these are put away as well.

Do The Laundry

Your wife won't be pleased to find that there are piles of laundry that need doing, so taking care of this is also very important. It takes a long time to wash and dry things, but it doesn't take long to load the washer or drier and to set the laundry going.

Assuming that you have had to go to work each day, then to visit your wife in the hospital, before coming home in the evening, make sure that one of the first things you do is to set the laundry going, and then it will be finished before it is time to go to bed.

If there is an empty laundry basket and she doesn't have to worry about having to wash loads of things as soon as she returns home, your wife will feel a lot better.

Stock Up On Groceries

When your wife returns home from hospital, she is likely to feel tired, and might not feel like spending hours preparing a full meal for when you come home from work, in fact you might have prepare the meals yourself for a while.

Before she comes home from the hospital, make sure that the essentials are stocked up on, things like Bread, Milk, Juice, Eggs, Coffee, Tea and other things that you use daily.

Cereals, Muffins etc are good for a quick breakfast, so it's good to get some of these in so she can get something nice that she enjoys.

For a meal in the evening, there are plenty of pre-prepared meals that can be heated in the oven or microwave, and if you have vegetables peeled ready to cook in the fridge that also saves time.

Don't forget to make sure you have enough of other essential items as well, like Toilet Paper or Kitchen Towels.

That Special Touch

Your wife just might appreciate that special touch when she arrives home, and you can achieve this in many ways, depending on the situation.

If you have children, have them make a WELCOME HOME MOMMY sign or banner to put outside, maybe with some balloons. They will enjoy doing this, and she will get a huge kick out of it as well.

Put some candles in the living room, bedroom and maybe bathroom, and if someone if in the house waiting for her to return home, have them light the candles as she arrives. Candles will make her feel pampered and loved, and add a romantic touch to show her how much you have been longing for her to come home.

A fancy box of chocolates is also a nice gesture, and while these may not be that healthy to eat, after having to face hospital food for a while, she just might enjoy sampling these while relaxing on the couch and enjoying an evening with you after her return home.

Well fellow husbands, I hope you found this guide useful, and if your wife does need to go into hospital, just follow these suggestions on how to make her life easier when she returns home, and you will be almost certain to reap the benefits of this as she returns the love that you have shown her during this difficult time.

If you have any other suggestions or would like to add your experiences, please feel free to leave a comment.

Sources:

Personal Experience

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