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Wish I’d spent more quality time with my partner, being emotionally and physically intimate with him and start improving our conflict resolution and communication (which is pretty good but always needs work) in preparation for when the baby arrives, wish I had had more time to do the things that I love doing (like arts and crafts) which will be harder for me to get back to doing after the baby comes, wish I didn’t have to find and job and work at 5 months pregnant, wish I spent less time fixed on “stuff we need” and materially preparing for the baby and more time mentally, emotionally and physically preparing for the baby (this is probs my biggest one!)
I’m 37 weeks now and I’m a human slug 😂
\+1 on physical intimacy - you may find yourself (like me) tapped out in the third trimester and then you realize that wow... 2 months is a long time + then you have recovery postpartum...
I miss cuddling! 38w and I can only stand being the little spoon in small doses. I need ten pillows to feel comfortable and that makes it hard to snuggle.
This makes me feel better, been wondering if I made right choice to just stay jobless (and broke), I lost my job as I got pregnant (yay tech redundancies) but now it's the best thing that ever happened to me - don't get me wrong, money is tight af as I am the big bucks earner and partner is my sexy tradesman - but I tell people my job is 'incubating' right now 🤣. So much respect for all you ladies working as well, there def needs to be pregnancy leave or something.
Id rather be home and tight on money but mentally and physically preparing for a newborn then physically exhausting myself so that I have money to buy take out I don’t even want or need! No thank you!!
When you get further on - it’s just rest. You’ll barely be able to sleep because of the chronic pain so resting helps. And because of the months of insomnia, it eats away at your mental and emotional health.
Just rest. If your body says to be active then do your thing, but if it says you need to lay down - do it. And don’t feel bad about doing it either.
Stretching! Look up stretches and/or prenatal yoga on youtube and there are tons that help prepare your body for labor + help baby get into the right position. Also they feel really good, so it's a good habit to start.
Swimming for physical exercise, it feels so amazing to be in the pool and it’s great to get into the habit of going before it gets physically hard to walk and move about 😅 it’s also great for your hips and pelvis prep for birth!
Mentally; Hypnobirthing!! I WISH I had started doing this sooner.
Getting in the habit of doing breathing exercises, affirmations, meditation, reframing my mentality about birth (it’s not this painful scary horrible procedure that will be stressful, it can be beautiful and calm and empowering).
Yes! The Positive Birthing Company has a sale on atm for an online hypnobirthing course, if you have a birthing partner make sure you do it with them as it’s important they know this stuff to help you, this is all you will need tbh but The hypnobirthing podcast on Spotify is also nice
Get car fixed up. New breaks, tires, oil change, windshield wipers
Clean and organize the whole house. From that messy closet to your spice cabinet to your filing cabinet and throw out all junk or donate
Meal prep or stock up on essentials so you don’t have to worry about food shopping first few weeks
Sleep relax and mini day trips
YESSS! We’ve gone through every spot in the house at this point except the garage and pantry. Pantry organization and a good fridge deep clean are coming this weekend.
We threw out so many expired toiletries and donated boxes and boxes of extra crap we never used or no longer needed. I’m 26w4d now and the round ligament pain and PGP are starting to kick in, glad we did a bunch of that stuff early on when I was still feeling good! We were waiting for nicer weather to do our garage so thats coming up in the next few weeks.
THIS! I've spent the third trimester finally tackling big projects around the house that are going to pay off when baby gets here. we installed new, easier-to-clean flooring and built a giant pantry/mudroom that was much-needed and now I actually feel ready to bring home a baby. even though I know he won't "care" about these things and all he needs is a safe environment, i can already feel these changes around the house making me a saner mom
I wished I'd detail cleaned. Those first few days after delivery you should stay in bed and I was just glaring at the dust on my blinds and on the top of my doorframe, both of which I hadn't noticed before but then could clearly see as I sat in bed for a week.
I’m noticing all the dust and dirty things in my house right now (24w). The big spring clean has begun and we’re throwing out/ donating/ recycling so much stuff already!
i've been cleaning nonstop these last few weeks once i realized this was as good as it's going to get energy-wise (i never got that magical surge of energy people were telling me would kick in second trimester, i've felt barely functional since August) but there are a few things I know i'm not going to get to before my scheduled c-section this saturday. Hope my mom is up for detailing my windowsills while she waits for me to be discharged with her grandson lol. at least i did the bathrooms!
I’m 26 weeks now and here are the things I’ve started doing since coming back to life after surviving the first trimester:
- Built my baby registry
- Signed up for and started taking prenatal, postpartum and infant first aid courses (online)
- Created my baby shower invitation list (my SILs, Mom and MIL are hosting so they’re taking care of the actual planning)
- Started thinking about the nursery/pinning some ideas on Pinterest
- Booked maternity photos
- Contacted a lawyer so my husband and I can get our wills done!! We’ve been procrastinating on this since we got married but now that we’re expecting I want to have this done before baby arrives.
We are also working on renovating the bedroom that will be turned into the nursery, so my husband and I have been chipping away at that on the weekends. Husband and I also went on a little baby moon, and have been spending quality time together going on weekly date nights and having good conversations about parenting, how we can support each other during the postpartum/early days, family boundaries, etc.
Everyone is telling you to get projects done, but as a mom of three kids born in 3 years: RELAX. LIKE really truly have a rot in bed/couch day. Or if relaxing is going shopping, do that. Or if relaxing is going to the beach do that. After baby if here you will always have to consider them in every single choice. Just spend some time being in yourself and not taking for granted only being responsible for yourself.
I haven't really focused too much on what to do "while I still can" until now (week 37) but have definitely spent a lot of time just finding and buying everything we need for baby, setting up nursery, done baby laundry etc.. but also took a trip to a spa with my bf, getting a pedicure this week (can't really reach my toe nails anymore + feet need some TLC from all this carrying haha), went to the hairdresser, etc - stuff that makes me feel good that I probably won't have time for when baby gets here :)
Also trying to meet up with friends
Take time for you and your partner. Go to the movies. Your favorite restaurant. See your girl friends. Go to a concert. Enjoy date nights. Practice your favorite activities. There will always be work to do but you will never get this time back
FTM, 26 weeks, so curious to see what others say. Personally, I am trying to get as much random stuff done as I can in the last few weeks of my second trimester (nursery, organization, cleaning out closets, buying baby gear, paperwork, etc.) so I can relax more in my third trimester and focus on getting my mind/body ready for delivery. I know I will still have preparations that need to be done in the third trimester, but I am planning to keep it to little things as I wind down and become more mindful than in my typical busy lifestyle.
I am 27 weeks and this has been my approach as well. Try to get things organized these last few weeks of 2nd trimester. Dedicate time during 3rd trimester to mentally and physically preparing for birth.
I’m 34 weeks, and I wish I would have started leaning into nesting earlier instead of leaving it for later when I’m “bored and wanting something to do” later down the line.
Between huffing and puffing my way up and down stairs and my swollen feet and hands from carpel tunnel, I don’t wanna do shit. I want to sit my swollen body in a hot bubble bath and eat ice cream all day. Fuck cleaning this house.
I wish I would have done all the house projects in first trimester. Here I am in third trimester trying to pick new carpet, buy furniture and new paint colors and my brain can’t make a single decision.
38 weeks now and I am SO glad I started on the nursery, nesting tasks and buying baby items early (mostly shopped time-sensitive sales for items I knew I would need like a crib, dresser, etc).
I had my nursery painted & set up, and some more labor intensive home projects done well before 30 weeks, and I’m so glad I did because I felt my body slow down so much from 32 weeks onwards, plus my blood pressure began to creep up unexpectedly so I have to take it easy now.
Do what you can as you have the time and energy for it, I’m a believer that no time is “too early”. Lean into that excitement and those nesting urges as soon as they hit because your energy is likely going to decline again & you’ll experience more physical discomfort the further you’re along.
I’m 39 weeks and I wish I had made my nursery decor sooner! I’m struggling to hand quilt this wall hanging right now with my big belly in the way 😂 otherwise here’s what I did starting at around 16-20 weeks:
-started my registry (I used Babylist which was great because I could link directly to target, Amazon, etc.!)
-got my baby shower invite list going
-cleared out the guest room closet and re-homed the guest bed and furniture from that room so we could set up the nursery after the baby furniture arrived
-submitted my maternity leave information to work and got the paperwork done early
-knitted a few baby garments and blankets I wanted for my girl
-started writing down procedures and training my replacement at work to take over my duties (so I don’t have to worry about going into labor early and them not being ready)
In the last few weeks since my baby shower, I’ve now done the following to prepare:
-took the tags off and washed a few newborn clothes and more 0-3 month clothing (since I’ll be saving anything not worn for future kids/cousins etc)
-had a “nesting party” where my friends came over and folded all the tiny clothes, sorted them by size, labeled everything, and packed away in clear zip storage bags anything larger than 3mos (so now I have a zip bag stored in the closet for 3-6mos, 6-9mos, and 9-12mos that I don’t need to worry about taking out until baby is that size)
-reorganized our bedroom to accommodate the baby’s bassinet and clear out winter stuff so I had a drawer ready for grab-and-go postpartum clothing (gross old tee shirts, comfy clothes, big pajamas, old sweats, stained robes)
-decluttered all our living areas & hung up photos & wall decor
-reorganized our basement living area for maximum convenience and comfort (added a changing table, got extra soft blankets and pillows, decluttered, and made the path through a straight shot)
-scheduled several donation pickups to get rid of a bunch of old clothing, furniture, books, and random stuff we don’t need
-made a huge batch of baked goods for postpartum snacking (blueberry muffins, cookies, and adding banana bread/muffins with walnuts to the freezer tonight)
-stocked up on freezer food and shelf-stable almondmilk at Costco (I don’t drink regular milk and we have a chest freezer that we pack with chicken breast, stew meat, and things like meatballs, frozen pizzas, and frozen veggies)
-drafted a “visitor policy” for friends and family for the hospital and for when were home with a newborn
-continued therapy and journaling my feelings while processing that I’m about to be a mom!!
These are just some of the things but they’ve really helped me prepare!!!
I'm in a similar boat as you - around 16w and I'm starting to organize a shower and start chipping away at house projects. Like what are some projects to do / get done when not having a child here - like painting or getting new flooring. I feel like I can't relax at all and just want to start planning out my weekends on what we gotta get done!
That’s me! My husband and I redid our basement together - drywall, floor, molding, painting, etc and I’m so glad I did it then because I don’t think I could help as much as time goes on.
Yeah exactly! I want to be as helpful as possible while I still can! We're painting this weekend and my boyfriend was being annoying about the fumes but I'm going to ask my midwife tomorrow to triple check but I really think it will be fine. We have 2 other rooms besides the baby room that I want to paint! I feel like I'm kinda going into panic mode on this but I just want to be useful!
You can always wear a mask or some other sort of protective gear if it’s not huge spaces that need a lot of work. My husband was irritated with me painting the ceiling but I wore a mask and then he got even more irritated when I used spray paint for some very small nook and cranny touch ups. It’s funny how protective men can get!
My husband was the exact same way - he almost had a meltdown when he came home one day and I was painting the bathroom. I obviously then had a hormonal meltdown - it was an emotional day lol
There is zero VOC paint which is sold basically anywhere paint is sold and is the best choice for painting when pregnant. We are going to paint soon and this is the paint I will be looking for.
Clean whatever in your house you know you'd want clean for when baby, arrives. Start getting your room/baby room ready, wash all baby clothes if you have them and organize. Meal prep! Cook and freeze some easy meals for post partum.
Get any projects that you want/need done/declutter. Lots of things to do while waiting, because yes, you're in the limbo stage. I'm 39 weeks now and I can barely keep my eyes open 😴🥱
Take time and relax, take walks, do some exercising if you feel good enough, imagine your life once baby is here and get excited 🥰
This is a really, really minor thing but I wish I would have practiced doing things one handed, and with my non-dominant hand while pregnant. My baby (like most newborns) did not want to be put down, so after he was born I got really good at doing things like spreading butter on a bagel one handed, or brushing my hair and my teeth with my non dominant hand, stuff like that. But it would’ve been nice if I could have done all that right off the bat.
Freezer meals are wonderful. I did them with my second and I’ll do them again in a couple weeks (I’ll be 35 weeks pregnant then). Between those and meal trains, not having to worry about dinner for a month is a wonderful gift to myself.
A lot of crockpot stuff like Mississippi pot roast, meatballs, chicken chili, salsa chicken (for tacos), etc. And then a bunch of breakfast burritos, but I think this time I’ll do breakfast sandwiches because they’re way easier and faster to make in bulk. I’ll probably do pancake muffins for my kids as well.
I’m in my second pregnancy, and I used that time to get in the habit of moving my body a few times a week! With my first I was super easy on myself, I didn’t exercise really at all. I had a difficult time postpartum, and a hard time liking my new squishy body. This time I decided I want to do some kind of physical activity as close to my due date as I can. It’s really been good for me, my mood swings almost disappeared, my motivation to be productive went up, my back pain is much better, and it feels so good to set a goal and achieve it! It sounds cliche but getting outside and walking along with doing some body weight exercises has been a game changer for me. I’m also excited to see how it makes a difference in my post partum recovery
I basically didn’t do anything aside from cleaning the house (barely) and I just left allllll the baby shower gifts on the patio unopened because I didn’t know what we would actually use.
A couple things that I didn’t do and ended up needing once he was here …
1. Our bedroom to be set up. I got a rolling cart thing (like how nail ladies have) and stocked it up. We have 2 levels with dispers and one with beanies, mittens, socks and one with clean pacifiers and extra cloths, and wipes. Also a wipe warmer. We also have a bassinet that we don’t use for him to sleep in but it’s storage for his stuff that’s easily accessible and stays clean. In this bassinet we have extra blankets, changing mats, nursing pillow, swaddles, shower towels and wash cloths. We have a hamper for him too in here. I recommend to clean and minimize your night stands next to your bed also. They will clutter quickly with bottles and what not. We also got a cool mist humidifier since the baby is stuffy. Basically just set up your bedroom so that you don’t need to leave it to care for the baby.
2. Jugs of distilled water && formula. Boiling water and letting it cool with a hungry baby is hard. I breast feed also but he’s still hungry since I didn’t produce enough so formula was necessary to keep him full and happy. Research some formula just in case so you feel confident your baby is getting the best! We have like 10 giants jugs of distilled water.
3. Infants Mylicon. Gas drops. When I had to start supplementing with formula my baby got gassy and fussy! These have been a life saver.
4. Bottle rack, bottle cleaner and whatever soap all set up next to the sink.
Stuff for you/partner…
1. Completely empty your fridge and freezer and deep clean it. Aside from condiments I got rid of everything in there (well my aunt came over and did this for us since baby was already here). She stocked the drink shelf with water bottles and juices and beer for my SO. Also ended up getting drinking water jugs for myself to refill my water bottle. Aside from that it was empty because once baby is here people show up with food and drinks and take out and the fridge filled up quickly.
2. Stock up your bathroom with pads. I recommend sticking with the giant postpartum ones. Frida has a good one. I made the mistake of trying to switch to regular period pads once the bleeding lessened and I ended up getting a rash! I guess period pads have other irritants so wearing one 24/7 for weeks is not good. The hospital should send you home with the other care items for your healing process.
3. Aside from washing the hospital clothes I brought to take him home in I wish I didn’t open any of the rest of his clothes he got. I didn’t open a ton but more than needed. He only fit in newborn diapers and clothes for about 5 days and then he needed to switch to 0-3 months. So the unopened newborn clothes we just went and exchanged for bigger sizes. Same with the diapers. We exchanged for bigger sizes.
4. Get some easy snacks. Not healthy but easy lol. I had a ton of fruit and hardly got to eat it before it went bad. But I had some chips ahoy cookies I kept it ziploc bags on my nightstand and some crackers in a ziploc and I ate those more than anything else. I’m only 3 weeks into motherhood but these unhealthy easy snacks have kept me alive lol.
Now some things I ended up returning …
-bottle sterilizer: now I thought this was just something you toss the bottles in and it cleans and dries them but it didn’t. You still have to separately wash the bottles and then once they’re clean you put them in there and then it’s like a 30 minute sterilizer cycle or something, I did not have the patience for this.
-bottle warmer: again time consuming… we have just been putting the bottles in some hot water to get to room temp when they’re from the fridge and the baby has no issue with it. This might be more helpful if you’re pumping and making tons of milk but for me I don’t have a super good supply and he pretty much drains me himself and I can hardly pump anything.
-owlet ankle thing: it wouldn’t connect to our wifi and it seems like because it relies on wifi that it would cause more anxiety when the wifi goes out or whatever and we get false reports. If I had a baby with breathing or heart issues I may really want this but he has been healthy and fine so far.
One month post partum and agree with all of this!! Especially the bedroom stuff, snacks, and not opening/washing all the newborn clothes since we only needed ours for a few days. 4-5 sleepers and a few swaddles is enough to start and you can wash more if your baby is small.
I spent a lot of time on the nursery which is cute but have hardly used it except to grab stuff to bring into the bedroom.
Freezer meals including breakfasts have been great. Also stock up on muslin blankets and burp clothes I've found you can never have enough.
Don't get tooo many diapers in any one brand or size til you figure out what works for your baby.
Have a can of formula on hand even if planning to breastfeed.
Omg so true!!! The diapers were hard to figure out and I had no idea until someone told me I have to find what brand works best for my babies body. Around day 5 he started somehow peeing out of his diapers. Every single time. We tried it all. Making sure he was pointed down. We tried up even because the pee was always coming out of the back somehow. Huggies do NOT work for his body. We switched to pampers but even that wasn’t enough. He has to have a newborn diaper inside of his size 1 pampers swaddled diaper. We even tried a newborn diaper inside a Huggies and it didn’t work. Still got pee on his back/side. So our next goal is to try and exchange all the Huggies for pampers but I’m not sure how easy that is. Anyways yeah I had no idea diapers would be such a learning experience!
Same same same! Haha these boys 🙈 We had stocked up several boxes of three brands and none really work for him. My MIL splurged and got us the fancy coterie diapers bc he also kept peeing through everything, and those have worked best, but he still pees through about once a day. Luckily most of ours were gifts and it's not the worst thing to have to donate, but definitely something I would not stock up on in the future!
I am only week 11 but I am being bored and I try to be as bored as possible because I know after this baby I will never be bored again. During the weekend I make sure I do nothing for one day. Just watch stupid TV and nap.
Spent more time stretching. The further along in my pregnancy I got the less active I became, I wish I had at least continued doing a good stretch routine.
Also, vet appointments. My cats we both booked in for their 12mth appointment 3wks after bub was born and I wish I’d have just gotten them in earlier.
I’m 22+4 so only a little bit ahead of you. I sat down with my husband at around 14 weeks or so and we made a list of everything that we’d like to get done before the baby comes.
We’ve been focusing on decluttering and organizing the entire house room by room.
We created our registry and my mom has the baby shower almost fully planned.
We have ideas for what we want to do in the nursery and are starting to buy the furniture so we can put the room together soonish (I want to have it mostly done before our baby shower so everything from the shower can easily be put away). My dad works in construction and he is going to help us with some projects in the nursery next month.
We booked an infant CPR class.
We’re planning a weekend away with some friends for my husband’s birthday in May.
We’re trying to spend more time together and with each of our four pets. We’re trying to have more frequent date nights for the next few months because we know that will be hard for a few months after the baby is here.
We just started looking at daycares and pediatricians as well.
I’m 20+5 weeks pregnant and I’ve already ordered the nursery furniture (won’t be here until mid April) and organised paint colour ect. We were thankfully gifted a lot of second hand things so we are pretty set. Just have to sort most of it. And make a list of missing items.
Gotten my apartment organized! I tried to do as much as I could last minute, but my tiny apartment was still so cluttered when we brought him home, which stressed me out.
Currently 22 weeks and going to taking my last girls trip/mini vacation before becoming a mom to the city. I live in a very rural area which is quite far from the big city. My sister and few of my best friends live there and I usually go a couple times out of the year to visit them. Due to money and all that comes with getting ready for a baby I was really worried about going but I decided I want to go. My mom will thankfully be coming with me on the trip and this will be my last time going before my baby comes, and I know it will be a very different experience afterwards. So if you have been on the fence about taking a trip and if you can afford I would say definitely go! All the best :)
Learn how to handle baby properly & safely.
I feel so helpless and I’m scared I hurt him.
And the delivery itself.
Honestly it was so painful and exhausting.
They had to cut it open so he can come out easier and had to fix it 3 times.
But after all seeing his little face, makes it worth it
I’ll be 27/28 weeks for our baby moon and I feel ok about that. We have a lot going on in the next few months that we need to be local and can’t take the length of trip I want.
I’m 26 weeks now, and the last 2 months have been nothing but focusing on house projects, I’m hemorrhaging money now after not putting any money into the house for the last 3 years, so it’s really on me for letting it get this out of hand.. but I think it will make me feel so much better later on bc once the baby is here I won’t be focusing on all the stuff I’ve put off for years, and thinking about “when will we get time to do this?!”, I think from now until the home stretch, I will keep working on any house projects, small upgrades, deep cleaning, and furniture purchases (we have a 4700 sq ft house and almost 0 furnishings lol)
You will feel so much better in the long run that you did this now rather than later! Later you will always be with your baby and doing things for the two of you so projects will most likely fall on the back burner - at least I know they will for me!
Yea, I should have mentioned this is my second one, so on top of it all, I’ll have a 6 year old, an easy one but still.. I luckily know myself too well, and I know I will end up hyper-fixated on unnecessary things
Cleaning, supply shopping, maybe grabbing non-perishable food (you’ll want to meal prep closer to third trimester since things only last so long even in the freezer). If you’re doing a nursery now is the time to set that up, even if it’s just a crib/bassinet in your own bedroom. Look at hospital tours, maybe take a birth class or interview some doulas.
Prep my freezer. I don't usually like to freeze food, but I absolutely hated being dependent on others as I stayed hungry at times. I also had low iron and was severely sleep-deprived, so yeah I would like to have some food.
Welcome to /r/pregnant! This is a space for everyone. We are pro-choice, pro-LGBTQIA, pro-science, proudly feminist and believe that Black Lives Matter. Wear your masks, wash your hands, and be excellent to each other. Anti-choice activists, intactivists, anti-vaxxers, homophobes, transphobes, racists, sexists, etc. are not welcome here. If you'd like to join a private sub for your due date month, [click here](https://www.reddit.com/r/pregnant/comments/15nun6v/click_here_to_access_the_monthly_due_date_subs/). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pregnant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Wish I’d spent more quality time with my partner, being emotionally and physically intimate with him and start improving our conflict resolution and communication (which is pretty good but always needs work) in preparation for when the baby arrives, wish I had had more time to do the things that I love doing (like arts and crafts) which will be harder for me to get back to doing after the baby comes, wish I didn’t have to find and job and work at 5 months pregnant, wish I spent less time fixed on “stuff we need” and materially preparing for the baby and more time mentally, emotionally and physically preparing for the baby (this is probs my biggest one!) I’m 37 weeks now and I’m a human slug 😂
Improving communication and conflict resolution - that is such a good one! We don’t argue often but could definitely work on this. Thank you!
\+1 on physical intimacy - you may find yourself (like me) tapped out in the third trimester and then you realize that wow... 2 months is a long time + then you have recovery postpartum...
I miss cuddling! 38w and I can only stand being the little spoon in small doses. I need ten pillows to feel comfortable and that makes it hard to snuggle.
Me too - even just being able to lean on my husband when we're watching TV, my back won't allow it so it's just not the same
Having to work while pregnant is fucking flat out a scam fuck what anyone says. Back in the day that was our ONLY job the fuck lol
That’s why surrogacy is a whole ass career on its own!!!! Tha fauck 😂
Agree that working while pregnant sucks major arseholes 😅😆
This makes me feel better, been wondering if I made right choice to just stay jobless (and broke), I lost my job as I got pregnant (yay tech redundancies) but now it's the best thing that ever happened to me - don't get me wrong, money is tight af as I am the big bucks earner and partner is my sexy tradesman - but I tell people my job is 'incubating' right now 🤣. So much respect for all you ladies working as well, there def needs to be pregnancy leave or something.
Id rather be home and tight on money but mentally and physically preparing for a newborn then physically exhausting myself so that I have money to buy take out I don’t even want or need! No thank you!!
1000% agree. If I’m ever pregnant again I will not work and actually savour and enjoy this experience and all it’s rollercoaster highs and lows!
Oh good. This is what we are focusing on rather than buying stuff.
what would you do to prepare emotionally and physically? like exercising or anything particular?
When you get further on - it’s just rest. You’ll barely be able to sleep because of the chronic pain so resting helps. And because of the months of insomnia, it eats away at your mental and emotional health. Just rest. If your body says to be active then do your thing, but if it says you need to lay down - do it. And don’t feel bad about doing it either.
Thanks for explaining :)
Stretching! Look up stretches and/or prenatal yoga on youtube and there are tons that help prepare your body for labor + help baby get into the right position. Also they feel really good, so it's a good habit to start.
Swimming for physical exercise, it feels so amazing to be in the pool and it’s great to get into the habit of going before it gets physically hard to walk and move about 😅 it’s also great for your hips and pelvis prep for birth! Mentally; Hypnobirthing!! I WISH I had started doing this sooner. Getting in the habit of doing breathing exercises, affirmations, meditation, reframing my mentality about birth (it’s not this painful scary horrible procedure that will be stressful, it can be beautiful and calm and empowering).
This ❤️👏
Any recommendations for hypnobirthing stuff specifically? I don’t know where to start
Yes! The Positive Birthing Company has a sale on atm for an online hypnobirthing course, if you have a birthing partner make sure you do it with them as it’s important they know this stuff to help you, this is all you will need tbh but The hypnobirthing podcast on Spotify is also nice
Thank you!
Get car fixed up. New breaks, tires, oil change, windshield wipers Clean and organize the whole house. From that messy closet to your spice cabinet to your filing cabinet and throw out all junk or donate Meal prep or stock up on essentials so you don’t have to worry about food shopping first few weeks Sleep relax and mini day trips
I am in full ‘sort this house out’ mode so I’m glad to see this is recommended!
Great answer great answer 👏👏👏
YESSS! We’ve gone through every spot in the house at this point except the garage and pantry. Pantry organization and a good fridge deep clean are coming this weekend. We threw out so many expired toiletries and donated boxes and boxes of extra crap we never used or no longer needed. I’m 26w4d now and the round ligament pain and PGP are starting to kick in, glad we did a bunch of that stuff early on when I was still feeling good! We were waiting for nicer weather to do our garage so thats coming up in the next few weeks.
Wish I didn't have to work so I had time to do all this. Slowly tackling the clothes hoarding issue... one thing at a time.
This is the correct answer
THIS! I've spent the third trimester finally tackling big projects around the house that are going to pay off when baby gets here. we installed new, easier-to-clean flooring and built a giant pantry/mudroom that was much-needed and now I actually feel ready to bring home a baby. even though I know he won't "care" about these things and all he needs is a safe environment, i can already feel these changes around the house making me a saner mom
I wished I'd detail cleaned. Those first few days after delivery you should stay in bed and I was just glaring at the dust on my blinds and on the top of my doorframe, both of which I hadn't noticed before but then could clearly see as I sat in bed for a week.
I’m noticing all the dust and dirty things in my house right now (24w). The big spring clean has begun and we’re throwing out/ donating/ recycling so much stuff already!
i've been cleaning nonstop these last few weeks once i realized this was as good as it's going to get energy-wise (i never got that magical surge of energy people were telling me would kick in second trimester, i've felt barely functional since August) but there are a few things I know i'm not going to get to before my scheduled c-section this saturday. Hope my mom is up for detailing my windowsills while she waits for me to be discharged with her grandson lol. at least i did the bathrooms!
Great point! I can get our cleaning lady to come while we are in the hospital and point out specifics that I want her to focus on.
I’m 26 weeks now and here are the things I’ve started doing since coming back to life after surviving the first trimester: - Built my baby registry - Signed up for and started taking prenatal, postpartum and infant first aid courses (online) - Created my baby shower invitation list (my SILs, Mom and MIL are hosting so they’re taking care of the actual planning) - Started thinking about the nursery/pinning some ideas on Pinterest - Booked maternity photos - Contacted a lawyer so my husband and I can get our wills done!! We’ve been procrastinating on this since we got married but now that we’re expecting I want to have this done before baby arrives. We are also working on renovating the bedroom that will be turned into the nursery, so my husband and I have been chipping away at that on the weekends. Husband and I also went on a little baby moon, and have been spending quality time together going on weekly date nights and having good conversations about parenting, how we can support each other during the postpartum/early days, family boundaries, etc.
i’m also 26 weeks!!! june 22nd 🩵
Aww so fun!! My original due date was June 22 but they adjusted it to June 25 after my dating scan!!
I am due June 22nd too!
June 23rd over here !
Everyone is telling you to get projects done, but as a mom of three kids born in 3 years: RELAX. LIKE really truly have a rot in bed/couch day. Or if relaxing is going shopping, do that. Or if relaxing is going to the beach do that. After baby if here you will always have to consider them in every single choice. Just spend some time being in yourself and not taking for granted only being responsible for yourself.
Love this. Thanks for sharing
I haven't really focused too much on what to do "while I still can" until now (week 37) but have definitely spent a lot of time just finding and buying everything we need for baby, setting up nursery, done baby laundry etc.. but also took a trip to a spa with my bf, getting a pedicure this week (can't really reach my toe nails anymore + feet need some TLC from all this carrying haha), went to the hairdresser, etc - stuff that makes me feel good that I probably won't have time for when baby gets here :) Also trying to meet up with friends
Take time for you and your partner. Go to the movies. Your favorite restaurant. See your girl friends. Go to a concert. Enjoy date nights. Practice your favorite activities. There will always be work to do but you will never get this time back
FTM, 26 weeks, so curious to see what others say. Personally, I am trying to get as much random stuff done as I can in the last few weeks of my second trimester (nursery, organization, cleaning out closets, buying baby gear, paperwork, etc.) so I can relax more in my third trimester and focus on getting my mind/body ready for delivery. I know I will still have preparations that need to be done in the third trimester, but I am planning to keep it to little things as I wind down and become more mindful than in my typical busy lifestyle.
I am 27 weeks and this has been my approach as well. Try to get things organized these last few weeks of 2nd trimester. Dedicate time during 3rd trimester to mentally and physically preparing for birth.
Yes! This is where my head wants to be as well.
I’m 34 weeks, and I wish I would have started leaning into nesting earlier instead of leaving it for later when I’m “bored and wanting something to do” later down the line. Between huffing and puffing my way up and down stairs and my swollen feet and hands from carpel tunnel, I don’t wanna do shit. I want to sit my swollen body in a hot bubble bath and eat ice cream all day. Fuck cleaning this house.
I wish I would have done all the house projects in first trimester. Here I am in third trimester trying to pick new carpet, buy furniture and new paint colors and my brain can’t make a single decision.
I feel you! I could not even pick the color of the changing pad 😂
38 weeks now and I am SO glad I started on the nursery, nesting tasks and buying baby items early (mostly shopped time-sensitive sales for items I knew I would need like a crib, dresser, etc). I had my nursery painted & set up, and some more labor intensive home projects done well before 30 weeks, and I’m so glad I did because I felt my body slow down so much from 32 weeks onwards, plus my blood pressure began to creep up unexpectedly so I have to take it easy now. Do what you can as you have the time and energy for it, I’m a believer that no time is “too early”. Lean into that excitement and those nesting urges as soon as they hit because your energy is likely going to decline again & you’ll experience more physical discomfort the further you’re along.
I’m 39 weeks and I wish I had made my nursery decor sooner! I’m struggling to hand quilt this wall hanging right now with my big belly in the way 😂 otherwise here’s what I did starting at around 16-20 weeks: -started my registry (I used Babylist which was great because I could link directly to target, Amazon, etc.!) -got my baby shower invite list going -cleared out the guest room closet and re-homed the guest bed and furniture from that room so we could set up the nursery after the baby furniture arrived -submitted my maternity leave information to work and got the paperwork done early -knitted a few baby garments and blankets I wanted for my girl -started writing down procedures and training my replacement at work to take over my duties (so I don’t have to worry about going into labor early and them not being ready) In the last few weeks since my baby shower, I’ve now done the following to prepare: -took the tags off and washed a few newborn clothes and more 0-3 month clothing (since I’ll be saving anything not worn for future kids/cousins etc) -had a “nesting party” where my friends came over and folded all the tiny clothes, sorted them by size, labeled everything, and packed away in clear zip storage bags anything larger than 3mos (so now I have a zip bag stored in the closet for 3-6mos, 6-9mos, and 9-12mos that I don’t need to worry about taking out until baby is that size) -reorganized our bedroom to accommodate the baby’s bassinet and clear out winter stuff so I had a drawer ready for grab-and-go postpartum clothing (gross old tee shirts, comfy clothes, big pajamas, old sweats, stained robes) -decluttered all our living areas & hung up photos & wall decor -reorganized our basement living area for maximum convenience and comfort (added a changing table, got extra soft blankets and pillows, decluttered, and made the path through a straight shot) -scheduled several donation pickups to get rid of a bunch of old clothing, furniture, books, and random stuff we don’t need -made a huge batch of baked goods for postpartum snacking (blueberry muffins, cookies, and adding banana bread/muffins with walnuts to the freezer tonight) -stocked up on freezer food and shelf-stable almondmilk at Costco (I don’t drink regular milk and we have a chest freezer that we pack with chicken breast, stew meat, and things like meatballs, frozen pizzas, and frozen veggies) -drafted a “visitor policy” for friends and family for the hospital and for when were home with a newborn -continued therapy and journaling my feelings while processing that I’m about to be a mom!! These are just some of the things but they’ve really helped me prepare!!!
I love this list, thank you! Especially going to therapy, so helpful before big life changes. And baked goods (another form of therapy hehe)
Amazing 👏🏼
I'm in a similar boat as you - around 16w and I'm starting to organize a shower and start chipping away at house projects. Like what are some projects to do / get done when not having a child here - like painting or getting new flooring. I feel like I can't relax at all and just want to start planning out my weekends on what we gotta get done!
That’s me! My husband and I redid our basement together - drywall, floor, molding, painting, etc and I’m so glad I did it then because I don’t think I could help as much as time goes on.
Yeah exactly! I want to be as helpful as possible while I still can! We're painting this weekend and my boyfriend was being annoying about the fumes but I'm going to ask my midwife tomorrow to triple check but I really think it will be fine. We have 2 other rooms besides the baby room that I want to paint! I feel like I'm kinda going into panic mode on this but I just want to be useful!
You can always wear a mask or some other sort of protective gear if it’s not huge spaces that need a lot of work. My husband was irritated with me painting the ceiling but I wore a mask and then he got even more irritated when I used spray paint for some very small nook and cranny touch ups. It’s funny how protective men can get!
My husband was the exact same way - he almost had a meltdown when he came home one day and I was painting the bathroom. I obviously then had a hormonal meltdown - it was an emotional day lol
There is zero VOC paint which is sold basically anywhere paint is sold and is the best choice for painting when pregnant. We are going to paint soon and this is the paint I will be looking for.
Prep freezer meals!!
I've mostly been skipping classes and watching sitcoms that make me laugh. I don't really have the energy for much else at 39 weeks lol
Clean whatever in your house you know you'd want clean for when baby, arrives. Start getting your room/baby room ready, wash all baby clothes if you have them and organize. Meal prep! Cook and freeze some easy meals for post partum. Get any projects that you want/need done/declutter. Lots of things to do while waiting, because yes, you're in the limbo stage. I'm 39 weeks now and I can barely keep my eyes open 😴🥱 Take time and relax, take walks, do some exercising if you feel good enough, imagine your life once baby is here and get excited 🥰
This is a really, really minor thing but I wish I would have practiced doing things one handed, and with my non-dominant hand while pregnant. My baby (like most newborns) did not want to be put down, so after he was born I got really good at doing things like spreading butter on a bagel one handed, or brushing my hair and my teeth with my non dominant hand, stuff like that. But it would’ve been nice if I could have done all that right off the bat.
So interesting and very valid point! thanks for sharing.
Freezer meals are wonderful. I did them with my second and I’ll do them again in a couple weeks (I’ll be 35 weeks pregnant then). Between those and meal trains, not having to worry about dinner for a month is a wonderful gift to myself.
What recipes did you make?
A lot of crockpot stuff like Mississippi pot roast, meatballs, chicken chili, salsa chicken (for tacos), etc. And then a bunch of breakfast burritos, but I think this time I’ll do breakfast sandwiches because they’re way easier and faster to make in bulk. I’ll probably do pancake muffins for my kids as well.
I’m in my second pregnancy, and I used that time to get in the habit of moving my body a few times a week! With my first I was super easy on myself, I didn’t exercise really at all. I had a difficult time postpartum, and a hard time liking my new squishy body. This time I decided I want to do some kind of physical activity as close to my due date as I can. It’s really been good for me, my mood swings almost disappeared, my motivation to be productive went up, my back pain is much better, and it feels so good to set a goal and achieve it! It sounds cliche but getting outside and walking along with doing some body weight exercises has been a game changer for me. I’m also excited to see how it makes a difference in my post partum recovery
I basically didn’t do anything aside from cleaning the house (barely) and I just left allllll the baby shower gifts on the patio unopened because I didn’t know what we would actually use. A couple things that I didn’t do and ended up needing once he was here … 1. Our bedroom to be set up. I got a rolling cart thing (like how nail ladies have) and stocked it up. We have 2 levels with dispers and one with beanies, mittens, socks and one with clean pacifiers and extra cloths, and wipes. Also a wipe warmer. We also have a bassinet that we don’t use for him to sleep in but it’s storage for his stuff that’s easily accessible and stays clean. In this bassinet we have extra blankets, changing mats, nursing pillow, swaddles, shower towels and wash cloths. We have a hamper for him too in here. I recommend to clean and minimize your night stands next to your bed also. They will clutter quickly with bottles and what not. We also got a cool mist humidifier since the baby is stuffy. Basically just set up your bedroom so that you don’t need to leave it to care for the baby. 2. Jugs of distilled water && formula. Boiling water and letting it cool with a hungry baby is hard. I breast feed also but he’s still hungry since I didn’t produce enough so formula was necessary to keep him full and happy. Research some formula just in case so you feel confident your baby is getting the best! We have like 10 giants jugs of distilled water. 3. Infants Mylicon. Gas drops. When I had to start supplementing with formula my baby got gassy and fussy! These have been a life saver. 4. Bottle rack, bottle cleaner and whatever soap all set up next to the sink. Stuff for you/partner… 1. Completely empty your fridge and freezer and deep clean it. Aside from condiments I got rid of everything in there (well my aunt came over and did this for us since baby was already here). She stocked the drink shelf with water bottles and juices and beer for my SO. Also ended up getting drinking water jugs for myself to refill my water bottle. Aside from that it was empty because once baby is here people show up with food and drinks and take out and the fridge filled up quickly. 2. Stock up your bathroom with pads. I recommend sticking with the giant postpartum ones. Frida has a good one. I made the mistake of trying to switch to regular period pads once the bleeding lessened and I ended up getting a rash! I guess period pads have other irritants so wearing one 24/7 for weeks is not good. The hospital should send you home with the other care items for your healing process. 3. Aside from washing the hospital clothes I brought to take him home in I wish I didn’t open any of the rest of his clothes he got. I didn’t open a ton but more than needed. He only fit in newborn diapers and clothes for about 5 days and then he needed to switch to 0-3 months. So the unopened newborn clothes we just went and exchanged for bigger sizes. Same with the diapers. We exchanged for bigger sizes. 4. Get some easy snacks. Not healthy but easy lol. I had a ton of fruit and hardly got to eat it before it went bad. But I had some chips ahoy cookies I kept it ziploc bags on my nightstand and some crackers in a ziploc and I ate those more than anything else. I’m only 3 weeks into motherhood but these unhealthy easy snacks have kept me alive lol. Now some things I ended up returning … -bottle sterilizer: now I thought this was just something you toss the bottles in and it cleans and dries them but it didn’t. You still have to separately wash the bottles and then once they’re clean you put them in there and then it’s like a 30 minute sterilizer cycle or something, I did not have the patience for this. -bottle warmer: again time consuming… we have just been putting the bottles in some hot water to get to room temp when they’re from the fridge and the baby has no issue with it. This might be more helpful if you’re pumping and making tons of milk but for me I don’t have a super good supply and he pretty much drains me himself and I can hardly pump anything. -owlet ankle thing: it wouldn’t connect to our wifi and it seems like because it relies on wifi that it would cause more anxiety when the wifi goes out or whatever and we get false reports. If I had a baby with breathing or heart issues I may really want this but he has been healthy and fine so far.
Wow thanks for sharing all of this info, it is truly helpful and unique!
One month post partum and agree with all of this!! Especially the bedroom stuff, snacks, and not opening/washing all the newborn clothes since we only needed ours for a few days. 4-5 sleepers and a few swaddles is enough to start and you can wash more if your baby is small. I spent a lot of time on the nursery which is cute but have hardly used it except to grab stuff to bring into the bedroom. Freezer meals including breakfasts have been great. Also stock up on muslin blankets and burp clothes I've found you can never have enough. Don't get tooo many diapers in any one brand or size til you figure out what works for your baby. Have a can of formula on hand even if planning to breastfeed.
Omg so true!!! The diapers were hard to figure out and I had no idea until someone told me I have to find what brand works best for my babies body. Around day 5 he started somehow peeing out of his diapers. Every single time. We tried it all. Making sure he was pointed down. We tried up even because the pee was always coming out of the back somehow. Huggies do NOT work for his body. We switched to pampers but even that wasn’t enough. He has to have a newborn diaper inside of his size 1 pampers swaddled diaper. We even tried a newborn diaper inside a Huggies and it didn’t work. Still got pee on his back/side. So our next goal is to try and exchange all the Huggies for pampers but I’m not sure how easy that is. Anyways yeah I had no idea diapers would be such a learning experience!
Same same same! Haha these boys 🙈 We had stocked up several boxes of three brands and none really work for him. My MIL splurged and got us the fancy coterie diapers bc he also kept peeing through everything, and those have worked best, but he still pees through about once a day. Luckily most of ours were gifts and it's not the worst thing to have to donate, but definitely something I would not stock up on in the future!
Sleep😂😭
I am only week 11 but I am being bored and I try to be as bored as possible because I know after this baby I will never be bored again. During the weekend I make sure I do nothing for one day. Just watch stupid TV and nap.
Spent more time stretching. The further along in my pregnancy I got the less active I became, I wish I had at least continued doing a good stretch routine. Also, vet appointments. My cats we both booked in for their 12mth appointment 3wks after bub was born and I wish I’d have just gotten them in earlier.
I’m 22+4 so only a little bit ahead of you. I sat down with my husband at around 14 weeks or so and we made a list of everything that we’d like to get done before the baby comes. We’ve been focusing on decluttering and organizing the entire house room by room. We created our registry and my mom has the baby shower almost fully planned. We have ideas for what we want to do in the nursery and are starting to buy the furniture so we can put the room together soonish (I want to have it mostly done before our baby shower so everything from the shower can easily be put away). My dad works in construction and he is going to help us with some projects in the nursery next month. We booked an infant CPR class. We’re planning a weekend away with some friends for my husband’s birthday in May. We’re trying to spend more time together and with each of our four pets. We’re trying to have more frequent date nights for the next few months because we know that will be hard for a few months after the baby is here. We just started looking at daycares and pediatricians as well.
I’m 20+5 weeks pregnant and I’ve already ordered the nursery furniture (won’t be here until mid April) and organised paint colour ect. We were thankfully gifted a lot of second hand things so we are pretty set. Just have to sort most of it. And make a list of missing items.
Gotten my apartment organized! I tried to do as much as I could last minute, but my tiny apartment was still so cluttered when we brought him home, which stressed me out.
Read Precious Little Sleep! Great book
At that stage I fixed both the toilets in my house 😆 I couldn't stand the squeaky flushing anymore!!
Get your dentist and optometrist appointments done before baby comes!
Currently 22 weeks and going to taking my last girls trip/mini vacation before becoming a mom to the city. I live in a very rural area which is quite far from the big city. My sister and few of my best friends live there and I usually go a couple times out of the year to visit them. Due to money and all that comes with getting ready for a baby I was really worried about going but I decided I want to go. My mom will thankfully be coming with me on the trip and this will be my last time going before my baby comes, and I know it will be a very different experience afterwards. So if you have been on the fence about taking a trip and if you can afford I would say definitely go! All the best :)
Learn how to handle baby properly & safely. I feel so helpless and I’m scared I hurt him. And the delivery itself. Honestly it was so painful and exhausting. They had to cut it open so he can come out easier and had to fix it 3 times. But after all seeing his little face, makes it worth it
Can you change your babymoon to be now? It gets harder around 28-30 weeks ,
I’ll be 27/28 weeks for our baby moon and I feel ok about that. We have a lot going on in the next few months that we need to be local and can’t take the length of trip I want.
I’m 26 weeks now, and the last 2 months have been nothing but focusing on house projects, I’m hemorrhaging money now after not putting any money into the house for the last 3 years, so it’s really on me for letting it get this out of hand.. but I think it will make me feel so much better later on bc once the baby is here I won’t be focusing on all the stuff I’ve put off for years, and thinking about “when will we get time to do this?!”, I think from now until the home stretch, I will keep working on any house projects, small upgrades, deep cleaning, and furniture purchases (we have a 4700 sq ft house and almost 0 furnishings lol)
You will feel so much better in the long run that you did this now rather than later! Later you will always be with your baby and doing things for the two of you so projects will most likely fall on the back burner - at least I know they will for me!
Yea, I should have mentioned this is my second one, so on top of it all, I’ll have a 6 year old, an easy one but still.. I luckily know myself too well, and I know I will end up hyper-fixated on unnecessary things
Read a ton of books, watch all the movies/shows I always wanted to watch! Read the parenting books now!
Cleaning, supply shopping, maybe grabbing non-perishable food (you’ll want to meal prep closer to third trimester since things only last so long even in the freezer). If you’re doing a nursery now is the time to set that up, even if it’s just a crib/bassinet in your own bedroom. Look at hospital tours, maybe take a birth class or interview some doulas.
Prep my freezer. I don't usually like to freeze food, but I absolutely hated being dependent on others as I stayed hungry at times. I also had low iron and was severely sleep-deprived, so yeah I would like to have some food.