The Ultimate List of Things to do Before Baby

  1.  There is seriously SO much to do before having a baby.  It can be overwhelming, especially with pregnancy brain, which just makes you THAT much more stressed out.  & that’s the last thing you need to be during your pregnancy!  As a list making, over-analyzing, perfectionist, first time Mom I was on the hunt to find the ultimate list of things to do before baby arrived.  I looked & looked, but I just couldn’t find a helpful, concise list of things to do before baby. So, I decided to create my own.

This list of things to do before baby arrives literally kept me sane.  I had something tangible to refer to that put me at ease about what seemed to be a looming to do list. It is so rewarding to check something off as completed, knowing you are that much closer to being prepped for babe!  There is no way I would have gotten everything completed without a game plan.  Hopefully, it will help you just as much!  Disclaimer: the time frames are my “at the latest” dates; most are pretty flexible!

Always

  • Prepare your pets — randomly play crying baby sounds while they’re sleeping, tug on their hair a little, kick them out of the room for a night.  Basically, just give them the clue that they aren’t going to be the center of attention anymore!
  • Ramp up your diet — if you’re nursing what you eat directly correlates to what babe will eat.  Even if you’re not, what you have in the pantry is what babe will be grabbing for before you know it.  & it’s much easier to try to adapt to a healthier diet now than it is tending to a newborn.

Five Months to Go

  • Gender Reveal Party — while the party itself is not a necessity per se, I highly recommend it!  You may at least want to do a cute reveal for friends and family.gender reveal

Four Months to Go

  • Babymoon!! — doesn’t have to be exactly four months to go, but definitely sometime in your second trimester.  This was the best thing we did.  It was so wonderful to enjoy each other for the last time as just “us”.    Our last opportunity to be care free & spontaneous (at least for a little) before we had a little babe 100% dependent on us.babymoon

Seven Weeks to Go

  • Birth Plan, Labor Playlist & Birthing Classes –– No pain meds or GIVE ME THE DRUGS?  Quiet & serene or blaring music & visitors? Intermittent monitoring & movement or the comfort of your bed?  Personal birth affirmations or assisted confidence?  Figure out how you want your birthing experience to go & prepare for it.  Of course, you need to be flexible because nothing is going to go 100% your way, but decide on your mindset & prep for it daily!   Also, as first time parents, our birthing class was an absolute MUST.  It was perfect preparation for us to work as a team through labor.  Hubs got tons of tips of how to assist me through the those freight train contractions!
  • Family Plan, Life Insurance & Wills — we wanted to have our family purpose & goals in line and documented with plenty of time before babe arrived.  The last thing you need is another stressor of not agreeing on a parenting technique at the most inopportune time.   Life insurance & wills are definitely not “fun” things to have to accomplish, but things you want prepared & out of the way!
  • Complete the Nursery — At least the bare minimums.  Paint if you’re painting, decorate if you’re decorating, and relish in the silence of it while you can!   If you haven’t had a shower yet, prep your organization ideas so it’s easy peasy to put everything away once you get it!

Five Weeks to Go

  • Prewash Items —  get those baby items washed & ready to go!  I went a little crazy & washed literally everything we got.  Definitely not necessary, lol.  But go ahead & at least wash the newborn & 0-3 month clothes, bath items, burp cloths & blankets, because laundry is the LAST thing you’re going to want to do when you bring babe home.
  • Maternity Pictures — I don’t care how swollen you feel or how sick of being pregnant you are.  Take some pictures!!  We did a few professional ones and a DIY at home photo shoot.  I would have so regretted not having these pictures (regardless of how big my nose got) and LOVE looking back on them, reminiscing on those sweet baby kicks.
  • Pick a Name — You may already have this done, if so, YGG!  It was NOT that easy for me.   I refused to commit 100% to a name until I saw him.  Hubs was sold on “Easton” way before hand, but he had to wait, lol.

Three Weeks to Go

  • Household & Baby Health Supplies —  You DO NOT want to have to send Hubs to the store at 3am for a NoseFrida while babe is screaming because he’s stuffed up.  Nope.  Having the supplies on hand makes it so much easier.  So, stock up now.  Toilet paper, paper towels, baby Tylenol, a flexible thermometer.  Go ahead & get it, if for no other reason than to put your mind at ease over the “what ifs”.
  • Pick a Pediatrician — Not being from the area, we relied heavily on our friends’ recommendations.  If you have many options, start interviewing.  It’s better to have a doctor who is aligned with your parenting views than one you’re going to awkwardly disagree with every other month at appointments until you find a new ped.
  • Hospital Bag &  — Have your hospital bag prepped AND IN THE CAR.  We had ours all set up in a pile ready to go & then labor hit fast and hard.  Poor Hubs was having to try & make trips to the car in two minute increments before I needed him back to apply counter pressure to my back.  Funny story now, but not so much in the moment.   Luckily, we had already installed our  or we really would’ve been in for it!
  • Waterproof Bed — I had this fear that my water was going to break in the middle of the night.  Don’t ask me why.  (& no, it didn’t happen.)  We used one of the crib waterproof mattress protectors under my side of the bed.  This was beneficial for during my recovery, as well!
  • Baby Book — If you didn’t get one at your shower, be sure to purchase one!   This is something you will definitely want to be able to pass down to your little one someday.  Plus, you can go ahead & prep some of the sections.  Pro Tip:  Get them to do babe’s prints in the hospital straight on the book.  I brought ours for this exact purpose & then forgot all about it…. O_o

One – Two Weeks to Go

  • Freezer Meals — This was seriously our saving grace.  We spent a day picking meals, grocery shopping, & cooking.  I was so ready for bed by the end of it all but it was SO worth it.  Life was so much easier not having to worry about what we should eat or having to cook it.  If you don’t do anything else DO THIS.
  • Pedicure — Do I really need to give an explanation on this one??  Treat yo’self, you’ve earned it.

When Babe Arrives

  • 401K, Beneficiaries & Health Insurance —  Many companies only allow you a small window of time to update these things. The hospital was hectic for us so I did it the day we came home. Just do it asap, that way it’s one less thing on your overflowing plate of things to do!

So, there you go!!  My ultimate list of things to do before baby.  Did I miss anything you other mama’s have done?  I would love to hear about your baby prepping experiences!

2 thoughts on “The Ultimate List of Things to do Before Baby”

  1. In the section “When Baby Arrives,” another thing to include is begin saving for the baby’s college tuition as he grows up. That is a later process to worry about after the child is born, but having money saved as soon as possible for child’s college can keep them more out debit when they go and probably when they come out of college. It can be challenging to prioritize especially when you are on a tight financial, but your child at the end will thank his parents’ support. It is worth the time.

Comments are closed.