I am the person who has a list for everything: grocery lists, things-to-do lists, a list of what I will buy next summer… Blah! Blah! Blah! So it is quite obvious that I made a huge pregnancy checklist for myself way before I am even pregnant! Well, you don’t need to be a listoholic like me, but if you are expecting, you should have a pregnancy checklist made. You don’t want to be running around trying to find addresses and phone numbers for the childbirth announcements or painting the nursery and arranging furniture once the baby arrives! Also, I am sure you are not going straight to the kitchen from the labor room to start cooking a nutritious 3 course meal, are you?! If you want to stay stress-free and enjoy each moment with your bundle of joy, you need to plan things beforehand!
NLT has put together a pregnancy checklist of 12 things you should do before the baby is born. This is done with the intention of keeping things hassle-free and fun, at the same time!
Here goes:
Suggested read: 30 awesomely cute maternity photo shoot ideas to show off that baby bump
1. Attend childbirth classes
Brushing up on the labor basics way in advance is a good idea! Your third trimester is the right time to tick this task off your pregnancy checklist. Practicing breathing, relaxation, and meditation techniques (under the guidance of an expert, of course) is essential. Also, if this is your first child, it is quite natural that you will have many questions you have been dying to ask. Yes, human beings existed for thousands and millions of years before they began these classes, but pulling the head and then the whole human being out must have hurt like hell back then!
2. Know the basics of breastfeeding
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If you are expecting your baby to just clasp on and start feeding themselves, you are severely mistaken! 😀 It is going to be a learning process for the two of you. You must know that some new mothers have trouble while breastfeeding because they are unaware of the right technique. We suggest you learn the ropes as soon as possible, because once they are out, they are coming for food!
3. Get the crib and nursery ready
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Every child needs a comfortable crib to sleep in, and buying one beforehand is a good idea. After purchasing and setting up the crib, you now need a beautiful, yet practical, nursery for your baby, right? Well, if you want to build it yourself, you need to start really early. And just before the baby arrives, make sure all the last minute touches are completed. I know you want the best room in the world for your baby, a room which will become their home, and this is why we are suggesting you to do it yourself. No other joy (apart from the baby itself!) like building furniture and painting the room for your baby!
4. Pack the backpack!
You need to be certain that you have packed all the basics you will need before you get admitted to the hospital. You will need two backpacks, one for you and the other for the little one. Your hospital bag should contain essentials like:
- Insurance papers and hospital forms
- A warm robe
- 3 pairs of maternity bras
- A towel
Your baby’s bags should have items like:
- An approved car seat
- A homecoming outfit, maybe the one you knitted
- Warm blankets
- Something to cover the head because newborns are extremely sensitive to cold
- Diapers (lots of them!)
5. Choose birth announcements
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While you wait for the labor signs to ‘kick’ start, take some time to decide with your partner how you will announce your darling’s homecoming. You could design a picture card and save it as a draft. Once the baby comes, just insert the picture and the contact info of the recipient. You are ready to mail it!
6. Freeze some of the meals
This is an important item on the pregnancy checklist. While getting ready for a baby, it is a great idea to stock your fridge (as if a storm is coming!) with yummy and nutritious food. If you are a high-achieving mommy-to-be, you can bake and freeze casseroles or even lasagnes. These are easy to warm meals. The frantic first few weeks with the baby will require a lot of energy. So better prepare in advance! However, if you are already too busy with the preparations, it is absolutely okay to collect the menus of all the restaurants that deliver to your place!
Suggested read: Pregnancy pampering for expectant mothers: what is safe and what isn’t
7. Get everything washed once
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We suggest that you wash all the drapes, crib sheets, blankets, and any such item which will come in contact with the baby’s skin. Do it before the baby arrives. While it is not necessary to pre-wash every single thing in the ‘baby’s wardrobe’ just yet, it is definitely a great idea to be ready with at least a week’s worth of clothing. If this is not done, this will be the biggest headache later! It is impossible to get the cleaning done when you are recovering from childbirth. You also need to be careful that you use baby-friendly gentle detergent that is free from any kind of perfumes or dyes while washing your clothes.
8. Create you preggy playlist!
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Some mothers say that listening to music that calms you down or music that you love can be a great help in getting through the third trimester. It is absolutely worth a shot! Just assemble a playlist of your favorite tracks. Just don’t forget to pack the portable speakers to the hospital!
9. Choose your pediatrician
You should start talking to your friends who are already mommies or have a due date closer than yours about the pediatrician they have chosen. Only listen to those whose advice you can blindly trust and those who give sound recommendations. Before you take the plunge and start dialing numbers and setting up consultations, which are usually free, check that they belong to a proper academy. Also prepare a questionnaire for each doctor. Do not stress about all this because if you have this sorted in advance and see that the pediatrician isn’t good enough, you have enough time to dump and move on to the next!
10. Select your baby’s name
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Some people know from their own childhood what they will be naming their children. Well, for ordinary souls like us, we need to make use of the last trimester. Naming babies would have been way easier if husbands gave their usual response to this one too, “whatever you feel like, Honey”! However, here he has an opinion, and you need to include at least a part of it (minus the last name of course!). You can brainstorm with your partner and prepare a list which then needs to be narrowed down to four names! Lot of work, eh?! Worth it though!
11. The bottles and breast pump supplies need to be sterilized
Even if you have no plans of pumping and plan to breastfeed, we suggest that you have a breast pump by your side because labor is pretty unpredictable. Jackie Cravener, a mother of two says, “I was unable to breastfeed my son with his birth defect so I pumped and with my daughter I had all intentions of fully breastfeeding but she had high blood sugar so they ended up supplementing formula, after that she ended up having latching problems so I pumped.” Start sterilizing them before they are needed.
12. Get the car seat installed
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Install the car seat well before the baby arrives. Once you are in labor, you and your hubby will be too stressed to read the instructions carefully; do it now so that you are all set when the due date arrives!
Suggested read: 10 cute ways to tell your husband you are pregnant!
After reading through this checklist, we have a fun task for you too: Write your baby a funny letter! You can keep a record of everything crazy that has happened throughout your pregnancy. Include things like eating four packs of ice cream all by yourself! Lyla Gleason of Massachusetts, kept a journal while she was pregnant: “It had all my funny observations, like the day my bump was finally bigger than my husband’s potbelly! He didn’t think that was funny, though.” It will be fun when you let your kid open the letter in 2030!
We have not arranged them in any particular order, so if you have any suggestions to make, feel absolutely free to do so in the comments section below. We look forward to your contributions!
Featured image source: Google, copyright-free image under Creative Commons License
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