Valentine’s Day 2019 for a New Mom: 7 Steps to Make it Unforgettable

Make Valentine’s Day for your new mom extra special this year

Hey fellow dads out there, this year I want you to have a fantastic Valentine’s Day with the new mom in your life! I am going to share with you how to make that happen step by step.

Last year was my wife and I’s first Valentine’s Day after having our baby. Valentine’s Day for new parents, is it even possible? I was unsure I could make it happen. I had no clue where to even start.

She was a new mom, I was a new dad, and we were exhausted to the max! I was adjusting to being a stay at home dad, and she was busying working, pumping and breastfeeding nonstop. Maybe this sounds familiar?

While we both were swamped and overwhelmed, I wanted to do my best to make sure she had the most amazing Valentine’s Day with three caveats:

1. We were on a budget
2. We would spend our Valentine’s Day with our baby
3. We would celebrate at home

What I did was plan a special date night with a home cooked meal for my wife. I was successful, and my wife still talks about it (and she made me write this post). So let’s get into it, follow the steps below and make your Valentine’s Day for the first time mom in your life extra special.

#1 Tease your first time mom with a message via your phone and start prepping (Valentine’s Day 2019 lands on a Thursday)

Tease your wife a bit and let her know she has a surprise waiting. There are two ways to go about this:

• If she stays home
  • Figure out a way to get her out of the house, like to visit a friend or go shopping
  • Send the message day in advance if she needs to know your plan
• If she works 
  • Send your working mom the message while she is at work on Valentine’s Day

Depending on your situation, figure out how you want to tease her about how you are going to make her Valentine’s Day special. I bring this up because you want to build up the anticipation and you want to give her a heads up that you are doing something so she can prepare. She may want to dress up or get ready in her own special way.

Here is a free image, click it and save it to your phone, then when you are ready message it to your significant other!

Also, figure out how you are going to accomplish what you need to do – it took me a whole work day to prepare because I had to take care of my daughter while prepping.

If you work, maybe take half a day and get your child out of daycare so your wife can come home immediately.

If you can’t get anything special done on the actual Valentine’s Day and you can accomplish more on the weekend, then set the date and do something special for her then.

However you decide how to go about it – plan it early and make sure your wife has an idea of what you are doing so there is no confusion. You can still make what you do a surprise, but when you have a baby open communication and setting expectations is critical.

#2 Get the house cleaned for your new mom

After you are ready and have the logistics planned it is time to prep the house. Now if you have a baby – odds are the house is not in pristine order. So take some time to give it a good cleaning.

Focus on the kitchen, restrooms, and bedrooms. You want the house to have a great clean smell so get a nice light air freshener.

Prioritize the rooms you will be in that night, so if you do not have time to clean the whole house you have the illusion of one! If your wife is a fan of bubble baths, then scrub the tub. If you think she may take a nap – wash those blankets.

#3 Make Valentine’s Day special with dinner (or takeout if your uncomfortable cooking)

My wife loves strawberries, and for our anniversaries and her birthdays, I usually make her chocolate strawberry pancakes for breakfast. But since this was an extra special occasion, I decided to take it to the next level and prepared the entire meal around strawberries.

I made her strawberry basil chicken, rosemary potatoes, and fresh strawberry lemonade.

For dessert, I made her a strawberry cheesecake, since she loves cheesecake. This year I changed it up because I usually make her chocolate covered strawberries every Valentine’s Day. 

**Do you want to make chocolate covered strawberries this Valentine’s Day? Click here to learn how I make them: How to Make Chocolate Covered Strawberries for Your Loved One

I found all the recipes I made online and went shopping the morning of Valentine’s Day so she would have no idea what I was going to make. Here are some of the recipes I used and the food came out amazing:

Strawberry Basil Chicken

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie

All Natural Strawberry Lemonade

When you start deciding on a menu and looking at recipes online keep two things in mind – what your partner’s favorite food is and if the recipe seems doable for your skillset. Do not overwhelm yourself by trying to make something overly intricate. Keep it simple but unique.

For instance, I barely finished making the cheesecake; it was a lot of work. But it was worth it and it was her favorite part of the meal. However, the reason I barely finished it was because I messed up. So leave room for error and pay attention to the recipe.

Now, if making the food is overwhelming for you, order some food to go from her favorite restaurant and get her favorite dessert (even if it is from another restaurant). Set up the same way and put the food on plates.

Get her a special drink as well, whatever is her favorite. Do what you can to make it extra special. I put fresh strawberries in my homemade lemonade and garnished the glass with strawberries.

Whatever you put on the table as her meal make it look good and taste good!

#4 Decorate a little or make your environment special for your new mom

I went to the local dollar store and bought a few essentials to give our Valentine’s Day dinner a romantic décor while on a budget.

This included:

• Red table cloth
• Pink decorative glasses for her lemonade
• Pink and red flower pedals I spread all over the table
• Red napkins
• Red candles that I put in a candle holder we already had

Everything I bought was under $10, but they were nice finishing touches that brought everything together.

To make it extra special, I grabbed a picture frame and put one of our baby’s 8×10 photos in it and had that on the table while we ate (we have a large kitchen table, so there was space). Of course, our baby was in her high chair looking festive as well.

My wife was extremely impressed!

#5 Since you will be celebrating Valentine’s Day with baby – match your clothes and look good

Another thing I did to make my wife’s Valentine’s Day special was dress my daughter and me in color-coordinated outfits. I wore a red shirt, and she wore a red dress. We were both bathed, our hair was brushed, and we smelled extra good for mommy.

We kept it simple and used what we already had in the closet, regardless, my wife loved it! When she got home, she just had to take a picture, and that was her phone’s wallpaper for the rest of the month.

To make it even more special, when I heard the garage door opening, my daughter and I greeted her at the door with hugs and kisses. She got the VIP treatment as she walked into the house.

I also played one of her favorite songs as she walked into the house, immediately putting her in a good mood and ready for our evening!

To this day she still looks at the pictures she took of my daughter and I and gets teary-eyed remembering our special Valentine’s Day.

#6 Give her a meaningful gift or card

To make our first Valentine’s Day as new parents special, one thing I did ahead of time was get some paints and make a homemade card for my wife from my daughter and I. We got a piece of thick paper and shaped it into a card. I used gold paint and dipped my daughter’s hand in it and put her handprint on the card.

Then I wrote a special note about her being a great mom and how much I loved her (and how amazing she was during her pregnancy and while giving birth). I may have gotten a little sappy, but she loved it, and it came straight from the heart.

My daughter and I did this as an alternative to giving gifts because my wife and I decided not to buy each other anything for Valentine’s Day last year.

But if you have some money to spend, I recommend getting her something that is just for her, not for the house or baby. I know my wife appreciates Sephora gift cards, massages, and spa days.

#7 Give her some “me time” and then spend time together

After her dinner, I told her to enjoy herself however she wanted and that I would take care of the baby. I did this because usually when she gets home, our daughter is all over her.

So I planned to keep my daughter distracted that evening as best as I could. I had a few new bath toys to keep her occupied while mama rested. She loves taking baths, so it worked out well.

My wife ended up taking a short carefree nap and had time for herself. She relaxed in her lovely clean bedroom.

I also cleaned the kitchen and did my daughters night time routine – my wife did not lift a finger the entire evening.

It took hard work – but I put my daughter to sleep so my wife and I could have some alone time…

Final thoughts

You do not have to spend much money to make Valentine’s Day special! When you are a new overwhelmed parent, you learn to enjoy the little moments. You also learn to appreciate everything your partner does for you and your child. Working extra hard to make your first Valentine’s Day as new parents extra special is worth it.

Remember, all you have to do is prepare a little in advance how you are going to make the day happen, get the house cleaned, cook some food or buy it, decorate a little and give your partner some time to herself.

Although, I try to make my wife’s life easier every day – it is fun to go that extra mile a few days a year. We both enjoy it, and it helps keep our romance alive. Trust me, between diapers and tantrums this can maintain your sanity and your marriage!

Do you have any ideas on how to make Valentine’s Day special? Share them in the comments below – all advice is greatly appreciated!