You guys know how much I love lists! During my third trimester, we were in the midst of a Covid-19 surge, and I was working pretty much solely from home and in full-on nesting mode. I created a list on my phone of all the things I wanted to get done during this time before Carson came, and it really helped me stay on track and be prepared for his arrival. I wanted to share that here for first-time moms and anyone who might find the information useful:
- Create a labor playlist with songs that will relax you or make you feel strong and encouraged.
- Make your own birth affirmations with notecards, sharpie, and a metal loose leaf binder ring – see this post where I talked a little about them. They can include Bible verses, tips, words of encouragement, etc.
- Practice breathing and labor meditation. For me, this looked like: lights dimmed, my labor playlist playing, lavender essential oils in my diffusor, and reading birth affirmations while doing my breaths. I also practiced “mind over matter” and visualization of somewhere that makes you happy and relaxed, which for me was an infinity pool on our honeymoon. I like to think that doing these things prior to being in labor will help your mind be prepared and more relaxed when you are actually in labor.
- Clear photos off your phone if you’re running out of storage space. Your child will take up more storage space than you ever planned!
- Make arrangements for your children and/or pets during your hospital payment.
- Contact your benefits coordinator at your company and/or your insurance company to see if there are any benefits available to you as new parents. I was paired with an insurance agent specializing in pregnancies who set me up on a great pregnancy app and was there to answer any questions that I had related to insurance. You typically have 30 days to add your child to your insurance after they are born, so I would also recommend putting the number to call + a list of any info that you will need in a safe and accessible place for after your baby is born (because you will be a zombie and this will seem like a lot of work, so make it as easy as possible on yourself!).
- Complete all maternity leave forms, and if your job requires you to notify them of the baby being born, go ahead and identify who you will need to contact at your company and put that person’s contact info in a safe and accessible place.
- Pack your hospital bag (I posted what I packed in my bag here) and make a list of day-of items that you will need to add.
- Take any classes that you plan on taking before the baby is born. Jamie and I took an online class from our hospital, this free Pampers birthing class, and the Taking Cara Babies Newborn class, which we would highly recommend for helping your baby get in an awesome sleep routine.
- Set up any apps on your phone that you might use once the baby is born. I found BabyConnect to be extremely useful for tracking feeding times, length of nursing sessions, frequency of diapers, etc. There are two main reasons that these are helpful: 1.) because feedings are so frequent and the time between feedings will pass so quickly that you will be shocked that it’s already time for the baby to eat again, and 2.) because your pediatrician will ask you every time you go how many times they eat in a day, how many times they have a wet diaper, and how many times they have a poopy diaper, and it’s so much easier when you can just check your app. I also got set up on TinyBeans, which is an app that you can use to post photos on every day that only the people you choose will be able to view. It’s perfect for family members who live far away, and I didn’t know it at the time, but I love it for helping to organize my photos on a calendar, since any time I airdrop photos from someone else’s phone or edit them on an app and save the edited version to my photos, they appear out of order on my iPhone. TinyBeans used to be free, but unfortunately started requiring a monthly subscription recently. However, even though I now have to pay, it was worth it for me to continue using the app because my family members love it and I love having it. (Family members do not have to pay to view the photos you post, just FYI.)
- Purchase any postpartum recovery products that you might want (if you haven’t already done so) – check out this post for a list of the ones that I found to be most useful.
- If you know you are having a boy and are getting him circumcised (or if you are waiting to find out the gender but know that you want a little boy to be circumcised), go ahead and buy some Vaseline/petroleum jelly and gauze squares to put at your baby’s diaper station, as this will be part of the baby’s care during his recovery. Using a tube of petroleum jelly is easier than the plastic container where you dip your fingers in for this application, in my opinion.
- If you’re planning on breastfeeding, make some lactation cookies or lactation energy bites to freeze for when you’re needing a little boost in your milk production. You can also buy Mother’s Milk Tea for this purpose.
- If someone is setting up a meal train for you, make sure you provide any details like any food allergies or dislikes, what time you would prefer for the meals to be dropped off, etc. Whether or not you will be having a meal train, it’s a good idea to have some meals prepared in your freezer for the first few weeks. You can make some to freeze, or even buy some prepared healthy meals from a grocery store or restaurant to put in your freezer.
- On the subject of your freezer, if you are planning on breastfeeding and pumping, you might want to evaluate your freezer storage. If you’re trying to keep a frozen milk stash, it can take up quite a bit of space, and it is necessary to keep it organized so you’re able to always pull the oldest bags first. I bought these freezer organizers that are the perfect size for breastmilk bags. We also had our fridge/freezer go out a few days before Carson’s due date, which felt like a nightmare at the time, but actually was a blessing in disguise because we purchased an inexpensive garage fridge/freezer to get us through until we got our indoor one fixed, and because we thought it would come in handy even after our regular one was fixed (and it totally did!). We might not have bought the extra one if our other fridge hadn’t have gone out, but in the end, I don’t know how I would have stored all of my breastmilk without it. If extra freezer space isn’t an option, you can certainly make it work, but just be sure that your freezer is cleared out as much as possible and organized.
- Register with the hospital where you will be delivering the baby and do a little research on the hospital’s website to get a map, policies and things to know if you are giving birth there, or any other info that might be helpful for you. We didn’t do a hospital tour because of Covid-19, but we did drive there with our map to see where we’d park, what door we would go through to get checked in, etc.
- Do your kegel exercises!
- Print out several copies of your birth plan and discuss with your OB.
- Choose your pediatrician. You will have to provide this information to the hospital when you get there to have the baby.
- Wash your baby’s newborn and 0-3 month clothes in gentle detergent so they are ready when your sweet babe arrives.
- Make sure you have everything you need for your baby’s arrival. I know that I’m the queen of “trying to be prepared,” but the reality is that if the nursery isn’t finished yet, it’s really not a big deal. As long as you have a safe place for you baby to sleep, diapers and wipes, some clothes and basics, and formula or breastfeeding supplies, you should be good for the first couple of months!
- Eat lots of dates! There is some research that shows that eating dates every day within the last four weeks of pregnancy significantly reduced the need for induction and augmentation of labor. There have been some other studies more recently that also had favorable results with eating dates in the late stages of pregnancy, and although the studies might be too small to be extremely conclusive, it’s certainly worth a shot! I was finding all kinds of ways to incorporate dates into my meals during those last four weeks!
- Go for lots of walks. It’s healthy and good for you and the baby.
- Take belly photos. Even though you feel like a whale and (if you’re like me) are living in sweatpants and t-shirts in the third trimester, you’re going to love looking back on the sweet pictures of your bump. You’ll realize how fast it all went once your baby turns a year old (like mine just did!), and you’ll be glad that you have photos to reminisce on as you were growing your babe.
- Do squats against a wall. I was trying to do these most days to prepare for labor.
- If you’re planning on breastfeeding, check with your OB about a lactation consultant. I’m hoping to do a breastfeeding post soon, but I think my breastfeeding journey would have been a lot easier at the beginning if I would have met with a lactation consultant after I left the hospital.
- Catch up on any shows or movies you’ve been wanting to watch! When I think about my third trimester, I just think about Jamie and me watching a ton of movies and shows, which is somewhat out of character for me (I’m notorious for never watching TV!), but it was such a calm, relaxing time.
If you reach the week of your due date, here are a few additional items:
- Purchase some hydration drinks for labor, or buy the ingredients for switchel (I found this to be such a refreshing drink during labor). You can also go ahead and make the switchel if you feel like you’re close to labor, as it should last up to a week in the fridge. I made a Ginger Lemonade Switchel without the mineral drops and “Bach Rescue Remedy” a few days before my due date. I mentioned it in this post, but it was incredibly refreshing and delicious during labor. I really feel like the ginger helped me have very little nausea throughout labor as well.
- Have your partner clean the bathtub. It will be nice to bathe in a very clean tub when you come home from the hospital (as soon as you’re allowed to bathe).
- Drink Red Raspberry Leaf Tea – it’s another old wives’ tale, but what the heck. At this point in pregnancy, we’re all getting pretty desperate to just have that baby and will try anything!
- Purchase some healthy snacks to have on hand when you get home with the baby. If you plan on breastfeeding, you will be burning a lot of calories and will likely be very hungry!
- Do some curb-walking, which supposedly can help your body go into labor.
- Rest, take naps, and enjoy the peace and quiet. Life is about to get busy (but for the better!). Almost there Mama!
Do you have anything to add to this list? Please share in the comments!
P.S. My third trimester, and my son’s birth story.