End-of-Pregnancy 101: Preparing For Birth

Congrats on your pending arrival! Are you ready? This checklist will help you prepare for the big day, and includes some things you might have forgotten!

Stocking up on swaddles, receiving blankets, and diapers. Putting the finishing touches on the nursery. And, of course, waiting (im)patiently for your labor pangs to begin. Yup, no question about it – if you’re doing these things, then you’re probably preparing for birth and excited to become a parent.

If you’re in the final nesting stages and your due date is drawing near, then your excitement is no doubt accompanied by trepidation. The birth of your firstborn is a joyous event marked by the fact that your life will never quite be the same again. Your days will be filled with a beautiful bundle of joy who you will love unconditionally for the rest of your days. You now have another human being to care for, to nurture and to shower with love. You want to get things right, be a responsible parent, and protect your little one.

An astonishing number of manuals, how-to guides, and personal memoirs exist to guide you along this path. Each advocates a different parenting style, and each offers its own suggestions on the best way to prepare for Baby’s arrival. However, nothing can really prepare you for a baby entering your life.

But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t things you CAN do before Baby comes to make your first few weeks of parenthood just a little easier. Hence, this post; how many of these are already on your list, and which do you need to add?

Congrats on your pending arrival! Are you ready? This checklist will help you prepare for the big day, and includes some things you might have forgotten!

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Preparing For Birth: Your Pre-Birth Checklist

1. Personalize Your Birth Plan

Even though you may be the most laid-back person ever, it pays to write a birth plan. It’s up to you to inform your medical team of your wishes when you’re in labor. You need to detail whether you want an epidural, other forms of pain relief, a natural birth, or a water birth. Write down your preference for skin-to-skin contact or your partner cutting the umbilical cord.

Although these are your wishes, you must remain flexible. Often, labor doesn’t go according to plan, meaning that your birth plan will go out the window – for your well being as well as your child’s. Head onto any birth injury lawyer website, and you’ll see some scary statistics for the sorts of defects that can affect new families. A clear yet flexible birthing plan tries to ensure a safer birthing experience. (For what it’s worth, neither of the girls’ births went according to my careful plans. With Kimmie, my preeclampsia negated pretty much everything from start to finish, and Essie arrived less than 15 minutes after I arrived at the hospital, before I was even in my birthing room! Needless to say, the world did not end and we all survived! But I was glad I’d taken the time to detail what I wanted anyway, since it gave us a starting point for things like skin-on-skin ASAP.)

Congrats on your pending arrival! Are you ready? This checklist will help you prepare for the big day, and includes some things you might have forgotten!2. Talk To Friends And Family

Nearly everyone knows somebody with kids. It doesn’t matter whether you end up talking to your sister, mom, best friend or neighbor. Having someone who’s already given birth to use as a sounding board will help you work through any concerns about birth and afterward. Even the most trivial worries can take over the thoughts of an expectant mom. Your “sounding board” can put your mind at ease about how best to soothe your newborn, managing you get home, or even coping with “baby blues.”

3. Cook, Freeze, and Repeat

When you bring your little bundle of joy home, the last thing on your mind will be cooking nutritious and healthy meals. All you will want to do is stare at your little miracle for hours on end. Before your due date, get into the kitchen and start cooking plenty of your favorite meals. These can then go straight into the freezer, ready for reheating when you don’t feel like cooking after your newborn’s arrival.

Your little one has it easy for the first few months, enjoying nothing more than breast milk or formula. While you are taking care of your little cherub, don’t neglect your own health and well being. It’s also worth seeing if there are local parenting networks you can join; some will arrange new meals for members giving birth. Or see if your church, synagogue, or mosque offers this service. Ours does, and it was such a blessing for us. We’ve been happy to pay back the kindness to others, including a church friend of mine who is scheduled for induction with her fourth little one tomorrow.

4. Get Your Car Serviced

If your birth plan includes driving to the hospital, you can’t afford unexpected surprises from your car. Make sure you or your partner does these standard maintenance checks regularly. Check the oil levels, the fluid levels, the tire pressures, and (especially if it’s the middle of winter) your car’s battery.

And if you’re due for an oil change or other service at the shop, get it out of the way several weeks before your due date. There’s nothing worse than enduring the sheer panic of the car not starting as your contractions become closer and more intense.

Congrats on your pending arrival! Are you ready? This checklist will help you prepare for the big day, and includes some things you might have forgotten!5. Do the Laundry

While newborn clothing is made from soft and delicate material, your new baby’s skin will be ultra-sensitive. Therefore it’s wise to wash Baby’s new onesies, bibs, bedding, and sleep’n’plays in a baby-friendly detergent.

Yes, this may seem like a pain; but from a parent who’s been there, trust me on this one. This strategy will prevent irritation to your baby’s skin, and will save you all a lot of unnecessary grief, rashes, and tears.

Preparing for your firstborn’s arrival can be daunting, exhilarating and memorable. Your mind may be full of worries and your tummy churning with nerves. However, if you follow this advice, talk to your family and friends and write a comprehensive birthing plan, you can be sure of a birthing experience that is as stress-free as possible.

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Congrats on your pending arrival! Are you ready? This checklist will help you prepare for the big day, and includes some things you might have forgotten!

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24 thoughts on “End-of-Pregnancy 101: Preparing For Birth”

  1. This is all very sage advice for new moms. Especially making sure that the car is serviced, you don’t wanna have a baby in your car. That stain never comes out.

  2. Ah this blog post came at the most perfect time! My fiancé and I are hoping to conceive immediately after our wedding next month!

  3. Step three, cook, freeze, and repeat is fantastic. I never would’ve thought of being that prepared, but when the time comes, I can’t imagine how hectic and exhausting it will be.
    Having homecooked meals ready is perfect.

    1. I’ve been known to plan ahead for lots of stressful/time-consuming life situations (not just births) like this – I love home-cooked meals but I also love being able to (mostly) eat out of my freezer for months at a time! This + meals from friends were sooooo helpful when our girls were born!

  4. This is such a great list of things to do to prepare for a new baby! I wish I had a list like this when I needed it 🙂

  5. Getting your car serviced is such a good item to add. My oil change came due a week after my son was born – in December. I wish I had this list 2 years ago. Lol.

    1. Seriously! It wasn’t around her birth, but around another hospitalization one year for one of our daughters that I totally spaced on getting my inspection/emissions done and was driving around with expired stickers for something like a month. Hard to stay on top of the basics at not-business-as-usual times, so these reminders are SO useful if only for that!

  6. So many things to do before baby comes. I didn’t have much time to prepare for either. My first I was induced at 37 weeks and my second was an emergency cesarean. I was not at all prepared for surgery and recovery. It also helps to have your husband/significant other knowing exactly what you want because sometimes he may have to advocate for you if you’re in too much pain or too emotional (been there).

    1. YES – you always need to have your partner lined up to advocate on your behalf – excellent point to add to this conversation!!! Thanks for the perfect suggestion!

    1. YAY! Proud of you, Gigi! Seriously – they’re all so helpful. Especially lining up the food, one way or another. 🙂

  7. What a timely post for me. We are expecting our twins next week. This is our second, so I’m not as anxious, but adding two at the same is definitely scary. I agree with everything mentioned above – especially the food. Parents will be like zombies those first few weeks – having food is a great idea! One thing I would add is to schedule a cleaning service for overall house keeping or deep cleaning before you bring the baby home. It feels so good to walk into a clean house, and you just won’t have the energy to clean.

    1. Aiyiyi – best of luck with the twins! (who may well be here by now!) I LOVE the cleaning idea! My mama totally helped with this, but it is a great idea for those whose parents aren’t able (or willing) to chip in with toilet-scrubbing and such!

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