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To Do List As Your Due Date Approaches
You are pregnant with your first baby. The third trimester is here and you will be new parents soon. You are attending your doctors appointments and starting to plan for your baby’s arrival. But you have no idea if you have done everything that you should before the baby comes!
It can be overwhelming trying to figure out if you have done everything you should and the reality is, if you forgot something, it’s not a big deal!
But when you are embarking on a new journey, like welcoming a new baby into your life, it can be a little less scary if you are feeling prepared. Here are 15 things that are a good idea to do before the baby comes!
Get Some Rest
I know I’m giving you this big to do list, but this is actually one of the most important things to do. When you have a newborn baby in the house, sleep and rest is going to be tough to come by.
At the end of your pregnancy, you are tired from providing the best home you possibly can for your new baby. Put up those feet, and relax. Binge a Netflix show. Take a nap. These will all help you in the long run.
Another great way to relax is to get a prenatal massage. This can help with any lower back pain you may be feeling late in your pregnancy.
Buy the Essentials
There are a million little things that you can think of that you feel like you need for the baby. But there are really only a few essentials that you need before the baby arrives – diapers, wipes, some sleepers and onesies, a place for the baby to sleep and a car seat. Everything else can come later.
And if you really do forget something, you can always send family members to a grocery store or other baby store to get it for you!
Meal Prep
When you come home with the baby, the last thing you want to do is cook a meal. You are exhausted and could even be recovering from major surgery if you have a C-section.
A great way to be prepared is to prep some meals and put them in the freezer before hand. Or if you have a local place that has some great freezer meals, get some and keep your freezer stocked.
Pack Your Hospital Bag
You never know when the little one is going to come so it’s important to make sure our hospital bag is ready for when your water breaks! Not sure what to pack? Here are some ideas!
Decide on a Birth Plan
Before you are ready to check in to the hospital, you need to make decisions about your birth plan. Will you use a midwife or a doctor? Do you plan to get an epidural? Who is going to be in the room with you when you deliver the baby? It’s good to think about these things and share your plan with your healthcare provider.
Set up the Nursery
You certainly don’t need everything set up, but nothing can make you more excited as a new mom than decorating the nursery for your little one! It makes everything seem so much more real!
One thing you do want set up is where you will do diaper changes because those happen the minute you get home from the hospital!
Decide Where Baby Will Sleep
For the first couple weeks or months of the baby’s life, you will need to decide where your baby will sleep. Will you get a bassinet next to your bed or will you co-sleep?
Decide How to Handle Visitors
While this decision is likely to change depending on how your delivery goes, but it’s good to have an idea going in. With your first pregnancy, everyone is going to be anxious to meet your new baby.
Who do you want to visit you in the hospital? How soon do you want visitors once you are home? Everyone is going to be anxious to see the baby but it’s better to get some rest if you can space out the visits!
Make a Decision about Work
This one is a biggie – and again, you can and may change your mind once the baby comes. You can’t imagine how your life and feelings will change once that baby comes into your life. But planning wise, you should decide whether you will return to work full time after your leave, part time or stay home.
And if you do decide to go back to work, who will be watching the baby? If you plan on daycare, you should plan to look a while before the baby arrives.
Wash and Put Away Baby Clothes
You will likely get a whole lot of clothes for the baby at your baby shower or just from well wishers. It can be overwhelming at first but trust me, your baby will go through a LOT of clothes!
There are diaper explosions and spit ups that happen at all hours of the day so take the time to wash, organize and put away the clothes you have before your baby comes so when it’s 3am and you need a new onesie, you know where they are!
It is also important to use a gentle laundry detergent. A baby’s skin can be sensitive and you do not want any rashes in those early days!
Set Up a Baby Swing
I know both of my kids absolutely loved their baby swing! And even though you can’t imagine putting your baby down much at first because you are so excited that they have finally entered your life, your arms might get tired.
A great place for the baby is a swing, but they can also be a little tough to get set up so it’s a great idea to do that before the baby comes!
Book a Newborn Photo Shoot
Your baby will never look the way they do the first week or two of life. They are so small, sleepy and innocent. The pictures from those days are ones that you will treasure for a lifetime!
Getting a photo shoot booked before the baby arrives assures that tat time is captured. Most photographers who book newborn photo shoots will work around your due date, obviously knowing that it can vary.
Take a Tour of the Hospital
It is a great idea to take a tour of the hospital that you will be delivering your baby at prior to your due date. Then you know where to go once you get there, what to expect from your delivery room and what policies the hospital may have on visitors.
It also gives you the opportunity to ask questions about your impending delivery.
Find a Pediatrician
It will be important for your newborn to visit their pediatrician a few days after you are released from the hospital. It will take a big weight off if you are able to find your pediatrician before the baby comes.
It will also give you time to visit a few pediatricians and see which you think will be the best fit for your family.
Install the Car Seat
This is a biggie! You will not be able to bring your baby home from the hospital without a car seat and you don’t want that to happen!
Since you’ve never done it before, it can take a little time since every car seat is different. If you are worried about how you installed it, most local police or fire stations have times where you can bring your car to make sure the car seat is properly installed by someone who has been trained in installing car seats. It is usually free of charge.
And that’s it! Not too much, right?
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These are great tips for new mom. I know when I was pregnant I was more ready and loaded with a lot of baby before our daughter even arrive. I think being ready is excellent. Love your baby room by the way.
Meal prepping is so important. It is the one thing I did not do well with for all my pregnancies.