By Gearing up for a baby can be a lot of work. If you are like me (and most expecting moms) the sudden urge to nest really hits you during your third trimester. Pregnancy brain is a real thing, and it can be hard to remember everything you need to do to prep for baby. Check out my third trimester to do list to help you stay on track!
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Finish the Nursery
If you haven’t already, finish setting up the nursery. Even if you plan on having your newborn sleep in your room, this isn’t something you want to finish after baby is born. Setting up the nursery is definitely one of the biggest projects, but also the most fun in my opinion! Let’s break this giant task down to make it more manageable.
Put Together The Crib
There are a few different types of cribs you can choose from. There are mini cribs, convertible cribs, round cribs, infant floor beds, bassinets, the list goes on. My personal favorite are convertible cribs. These start out as a standard crib, then can turn into a toddler bed, and lastly turns into a full-sized bed. This is the crib I used for both kids. It’s easy to convert into each stage and has held up great for the last 4 years.
Build the Dresser and Changing Table
You are going to need a place to put all those teeny baby clothes! Get this set up so you can complete the next step after setting up the nursery. You can usually find matching crib and dresser sets, which makes decorating a lot easier. Usually the dresser comes with a wall anchor when you buy them as a set like this, which is super important. When your little one is on the move and is into climbing, you do not want to risk them climbing the dresser and the dresser falling on them.
This is the dresser that came with the crib I have. We also got the changing tray topper, which was really nice because we did not have much room for a changing table.
Set Up The Bassinet
You are most likely going to have your baby sleep in your bedroom with you. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends doing this for at least the first six months of their life as part of ensuring safe sleep. I highly recommend reading this article on safe sleep. You will want to find a bassinet that you can keep close to your bed to make it easier to feed, soothe, and watch your baby at night.
There are several kinds of bassinets to choose from. This one is great because you can pull it right up next to your bed. It’s as close to bed sharing as you can get without them physically being in your bed. Another reason I like this one is because it’s pretty big. I had a bassinet that was smaller, and my kids outgrew it too fast and I needed something else to be able to keep them in my room a little longer.
Decorate The Nursery
Add your finishing touches! Did you pick a theme? There are so many cute ones to choose from. For my daughter I went with a light pink, white, and light grey color scheme. It was really easy to find things that matched and it looked so sweet when it was set up. For my son I went with bears, because he’s my little bear :’). You could do woodland creatures, rainbows, a color scheme, or your favorite movie franchise (I’ve seen so many cute Harry Potter themed nurseries!) really the possibilities are endless. Search through Amazon and Etsy. I’ve had so much luck finding ideas there!
Wash All Newborn to 0-3 Month Clothes
Next on our big to do list! Have these washed, folded and ready to go. You don’t want to have to do any laundry after you give birth. I like to get up to 3 months washed because you never know how big your baby will actually be until they’re born. Plus if they do fit into newborn clothing it probably won’t be for very long! (Cue the tears)
You’ll need to make sure you have plenty of onsies, pants, socks, pj’s, blankets, swaddles, hats, any bedding…wash everything you can. Fold and organize it all. In the dresser I had, I used one big drawer for the newborn sized clothes and the bottom drawer for 0-3 months. Use drawer dividers to keep everything organized. For blankets, sheets, and swaddles, I used a bin like this because I don’t have much storage space in my house.
Order Your Breast Pump
Do not, I repeat DO NOT pay full price for a breast pump! Find out what you qualify for through your insurance. There are many breast pumps you can get for FREE, or pay very little for! I got both of mine through Aeroflow. All you do is put in your insurance info and they let you know what you qualify for! It doesn’t get any easier! You also qualify for a free pump for each pregnancy! I went with the Spectra for my first pump which I absolutely loved. It’s a hospital grade pump and I had no issues with my milk supply while using it, which was so important because I exclusively pumped for my firstborn. For my second pregnancy I wanted something a little more mobile, so I went with the Elvie Stride.
Wash/Sanitize All Bottles, Pacifiers, and Pump Parts
Get this done a couple weeks before your due date. Be sure to read the instructions for each product on how to sanitize everything, but usually you can boil them for a few minutes after washing with soap and water.
Prep Freezer Meals
This was something I wish I did for my first, so you bet I made sure I did this when I was pregnant for my second! Find some easy crock pot meals that you can throw all the ingredients in a freezer bag, or put together some casseroles in disposable tin pans. Have enough meals for the first couple weeks so that’s one less thing you have to worry about while figuring out becoming a parent. Buy some crock pot liners and paper plates while you’re at it. The less clean up you have to do, the better.
Prepare a Postpartum Recovery Basket
This was key to a smooth recovery for me. I had everything I needed within reach right in the bathroom. You can get my list of recovery essentials here.
Choose a Pediatrician
Call the office you plan on using, let them know your due date and pick a pediatrician. It can be hard to choose when you don’t know how you’ll like them until you have to actually go to them, but the good news is you can always change pediatricians. I was going to the same office for my OB appointments that I was going to use for my kids, so I asked the doctors there who they recommended. When my daughter was born I also spoke with the hospital staff. I actually ended up with somebody amazing and chose to use them for my second child!
Pack a Hospital Bag
I suggest getting this together no later than 35 weeks pregnant. It’s always a possibility you have your baby earlier than expected. You can check out my list of things to pack in your hospital bag here.
Install the Car Seat
If you have an infant carrier with a base, install the base and then keep the carrier in the house until you go to the hospital. If you (heaven forbid) get into a car accident before the baby is born you won’t need to replace the whole car seat. Just replacing a base is much cheaper than the actual seat!
Set Up Child Care
If this isn’t your first child and you have other kids that will need to be looked after when you go to the hospital, you need to have someone you can call to come take care of them. Whether its a relative or a close friend, make sure they are good with being called on a whim. It’s also important that it’s someone your kids are comfortable with! If the kids are going to their house, it might be a good idea to have a couple sleepovers before the baby is born. This way they have some sort of an idea of what to expect. Get their bags packed and ready to go. If the sitter is willing to come to your house, write out a guide for them. Include where to find things, a bedtime routine, and if you have pets then how to care for them.
Another important thing to consider is if you will need to set up care for your baby after they are born. If you are planning on going back to work and need to use day care, you do not want to wait until the baby is born to start setting this up. There is almost always a waiting list, plus you want to be able to have time to research each place and visit them to see if it’s somewhere you want to send your child to begin with. Or you can do what we did and ask relatives to take care of them while you work. We were fortunate enough for our daughter that her grandmothers were able to alternate days to watch her during the week.
Set Up All Baby Gear
Put the stroller together and practice folding it an unfolding it. That way you’re a pro when you have a baby in one arm and need to do it all with one hand. Put together the swing if you have one and make sure there’s batteries in it and it’s all ready to go. Practice putting on your baby carrier too! This was honestly a life saver for me in the first few months of having both my babies. The less you have to figure out after you give birth, the better!
Hopefully this to do list will ease your mind during your third trimester. You’ll be thanking yourself later after you have a tiny human to care for 24/7 by getting as much done as possible before-hand. And don’t forget, it is ALWAYS okay to ask for help both before the baby comes to get things set up, or after! Happy nesting!
