You made it to the end of the 3rd trimester! You go mama, pregnancy is no walk in the park. Now that you are at the tail end before welcoming your new addition there are some things to consider to help you be the most prepared you can be.

I am about 4 weeks away from becoming a mom of 2 (wow that went by fast!) So I am sharing my experiences and things important to me and my family to bring home our little one.

DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links. Which means I might be compensated for purchases made from these links at no additional cost to you. I am not responsible for any actions taken from my advice, all ideas and opinions on this post remain my own.

Where will your new baby sleep?

Yes, preparing the nursery, picking out all the cute things, the paint, the crib, the bedding all that is fun and important but in reality- most babies sleep by mom for the first few months. That means the nursery decor doesn’t have to be the first priority. We are building a house (like we aren’t busy or crazy enough) while preparing for our new baby, so we decided not to fuss over the nursery at all. We have a dresser, a rocking chair and some newborn essentials in our spare room but we set up a bassinet right by our bed for baby to sleep in.

With our first baby we bought a bassinet that sat a lot lower than our bed which I decided quickly I was not a fan of. I exclusively breastfed and it was such a pain actually getting out of the bed 3-4 times a night and bringing him into my bed to feed. Also I’m crazy and would have to make sure multiple times a night that he was breathing and a super low bassinet was not helpful.

So, this time my amazing friend is letting me borrow a bassinet from her which extends up to the bed. Lifesaver! Instead of getting out of bed this time I can just reach over and get baby, which for a tired parent is a perfect setup. Here is one very similar I linked below. I also love how it has the mesh on the sides in case baby mashes their face against the side (my first did this every night and scared me to death)

Get your Breast Pump

If you plan to even try to breast feed- look into getting a pump before your baby arrives. Did you know most insurances will send you a breast pump for FREE? I have used the Aeroflow website for both pregnancies and have had great experience with them.

All you do is enter your insurance and mailing information and they give you options on what breast pumps and accessories are covered. Some are an upgrade and you might have to pay an extra cost but I have always had many free options as well!

They will usually send you your chosen pump a month before your due date. That way you can have everything cleaned and sterilized and make sure you can get all the extra accessories you might want or need. Something to keep in mind- it is possible you need a prescription from your doctor for the website but they will specify if that is the case.

Have a Plan in Place

Do you have other children? Pets? House plants or a garden? All things to consider when making your plan for the hospital. With my first, this wasn’t something I was so concerned with. We have a dog and had some people willing to let her out but she’s old and lazy and didn’t need much so it was not a huge deal if we had to leave in a hurry.

This time around is different. I have a 2 year old, a dog, and a garden (since it is the middle of summer and dry as all get out someone has to water my plants daily) All things we have to think about and plan for. Also, last time my water broke at home and we did have to leave pretty quick so that makes me want to be even more prepared for anything. TIP: make sure whoever is helping you out has an extra key!

Know Your Rights

Every hospital and birthing center has their own rules and policies. Make sure you know what to expect so you are not taken off guard when you deliver! Ask a ton of questions. It would be helpful to know their visitor policy, their rules since the pandemic (I had a pre pandemic baby the first time so all the rules are new to me!)

What they allow you to do during labor (walk around, snack, use a birthing ball, take a bath?) What to know about the recovery or mother/baby floor. The hospital where I will deliver has a massage therapist that you can utilize once a day while you’re there- how amazing? Do they have lactation consultants? Does baby go to the nursery or stay with you? What does induction or caesarian look like?

There are so many things to consider and factor in. Make sure you know what to expect before you arrive! TIP: I HIGHGLY recommend taking a birthing class! This helped me so much with the delivery of my first baby. I had no idea you could walk or do different things while in labor at the hospital to help move your baby into position for delivery. It also really helped my husband learn how to support me and help me through contractions. I know lots of people don’t want to take the time to do a birthing class but personally I feel it helped my delivery go as smoothly as possible.

Get your Home ready for a Newborn

As I said earlier, we are not really messing with putting together a nursery right now since we won’t be in our house for too much longer. But- we still have to have a place for some newborn essentials. We have a dresser with the changing pad on top, (love having it this way because as baby grows and no longer needs a changing area we don’t have to change furniture, just remove the changing pad. So much more cost effective than a changing table) the diaper pail, laundry basket and 3 tier rolling cart for diapers, wipes, ointment, etc.

We also have our rocking chair and all baby’s clothes put away in our spare room that will act as a small space to go with baby for changing diapers and getting dressed.

In our bedroom is the bedside bassinet, basket with middle of the night changing supplies, video monitor, sound machine, nursing pillow and glider rocker.

Set up your bottles, bottle warmer or breastfeeding supplies so they will be ready to go. Also, if you have a wrap or handsfree carrier, have it handy! Especially if you have other kids. There are a ton of YouTube videos out there if you don’t know how to use your specific wrap.

Get your cleaning done. I personally will do one deep clean of every room and then just maintain until baby arrives. Being a mom and wife of an outdoor family my floors STAY dirty, I literally sweep daily. It might even be worth it to you to hire a cleaning service for even a one time deep clean.

TIP: I prefer to have a safe place to put baby down in every room. I have a swing, a rocker, a snuggle me pillow, and an infant bouncer I can move around and use outside if necessary. With a toddler I need to be handsfree A LOT!

Stock up and Meal Plan

Life with a new baby is chaotic and tiring a majority of the time and you don’t want to be scrambling trying to worry about what to feed your family every day. For the first few weeks it is extremely helpful to have some meals pre cooked and frozen you can pop in the oven and will last a few days!

There are a ton of great recipes online, I love this huge list from A Taste of Home of make ahead meals, there is something for everyone!

Another thing I have been doing is grabbing a few extra cans of vegetables, frozen foods, pantry essentials and non perishable snacks (especially for my toddler) every time I go to the grocery. I will be off work for at least a couple of months after baby arrives and I don’t want to have huge weekly grocery bills while on maternity leave. Even with the high price of literally everything these days, I mainly shop at Aldi and check my local grocery store for sales to help me keep the cost low!

Check out my post about saving money during maternity leave! I have grocery ideas listed there as well.

Don’t Forget about Mama!

All this prep for your new addition plus taking care of your family can wear a mama out! Don’t forget to take some time for yourself before you don’t have as much free time. Even if you can’t get out for a whole day of you time- schedule a pedicure or prenatal massage. Do something for some rest and relaxation. You are about to be the caretaker of a little somebody’s every need and although you hear it all the time, it’s true- you can’t pour from an empty cup!

Some other helpful checklist items to make sure are done before baby arrives:

• Pick a pediatrician
• Finalize your birth plan
• Give your insurance company a heads up- You probably can’t do much here until you have a birth certificate and social security number for your baby but they can at least tell you what they will need to add a new family member to your plan
• Pack your hospital bag (see my blog post about what to pack for helpful tips!)
• Secure car seats and bases in any vehicle baby will be riding in- I love the chicco keyfit 30 travel system for a newborn. We have one infant seat and 3 bases for my car, my husband’s and my mom’s. Getting just one car seat saved us a ton of money!
• Schedule a newborn photographer
• Wash your baby clothes- who knows what touched those clothes at the store or who handled them. Baby’s skin is so delicate I prefer to wash all things baby will use. I personally love this lavender laundry soap made from goat’s milk you can find on amazon! Along with these all natural dryer balls– friendly for the enviornment and super cost effective!

Don’t forget to soak in the last weeks of feeling your sweet baby in your belly. It seems to go on forever but also be over in a blink of an eye. Soon they will be on the outside and you’ll have a whole new set of tasks on your hands! Leave me a comment with your tips for gearing up for baby, I always love a good, new idea!