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Welcome to the third trimester! You’ve almost made it through your pregnancy! Here are 25 important things to do in the third trimester to help you prepare for your new baby plus a free printable third trimester checklist you can use so you don’t forget anything!
For many mamas, your third trimester can feel a bit overwhelming. Let’s be real, a lot about pregnancy and motherhood can feel a bit overwhelming. BUT, your third trimester is important. It’s the time you really need to spend preparing for baby’s arrival and taking care of all those last minute details.
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25 Things to do in Your Third Trimester
Here is your third trimester checklist – everything to remember to do before baby arrives! Keep reading to get your printable checklist!
Take a Birthing Class
If this is your first pregnancy, I highly recommend taking a birthing class. Many hospitals offer them and they can be extremely helpful in learning different labor techniques, pain management options, both with drugs and without, what to expect in the hospital, postpartum care, and even simple newborn care tips.
Many hospitals include a hospital tour during this class, which can be helpful in allowing you to know what to expect in the hospital.
We took a class through our hospital before our oldest was born and it helped me feel much more prepared ahead of going into labor.
That said, if you’ve already taken a labor course, I don’t think you need to take it again.
Write Your Birth Plan
Okay, in the spirit of full disclosure, I have never actually written a full birth plan.
BUT, I do think it is helpful to be sure that you and your spouse are on the same page about your birth preferences so that you can both clearly articulate those to care providers during labor and delivery.
Things to consider in your birth plan:
- Your pain medication options and preferences
- Labor positions
- Who will cut the umbilical cord (and when will it be cut)
- Whether or not you plan on breastfeeding
- Who will be in the room when you deliver
Plan for Visitors
In addition to your birth plan, it’s important to plan for visitors. Who would you like to visit in the hospital? When do you feel comfortable having visitors?
How long do you want visitors to stay?
When we had our first, I was open to visitors almost the whole time I was in the hospital. But, in hindsight, it left me exhausted and a little bit uncomfortable when it was time to feed the baby or when I just needed to rest.
When our second was born, I was still happy to see visitors, but I made sure to write down our feeding schedule on the room’s dry erase board and had my husband let guests know when they came in when I would need to feed baby next as a head’s up.
Pre-Register at your Hospital
Many hospitals give you the option to pre-register before giving birth. You’ll still need to check-in when you get to the hospital in labor, but this allows you to already have much of your information on file before going into labor.
Because I’ll let you guess how interested you’ll be in filling out paper work while you’re doubled over in the middle of a contraction.
Confirm Plans for Maternity (and Paternity) Leave
If you work outside of the home, make sure you confirm plans for maternity leave. How long will you take off of work? Will your insurance or other benefits be affected?
What is your plan for returning to work and/or handing off tasks when you leave?
How long will you souse be able to take off of work?
These are all important questions to answer during your third trimester.
Choose Your Pediatrician
Most hospitals will ask who your pediatrician is after you give birth. Our pediatrician’s office has doctors that make rounds to all the newborns in the hospital and help schedule your first office visit after being discharged.
Make sure you get references for local pediatrician’s offices and decide who you will use before giving birth.
Pay Attention to Pregnancy Symptoms
The third trimester is known for some discomforts. Your body is continuing to grow and things are getting tighter. Maybe your joints are feeling a little out of alignment.
You’ve probably got some swelling. And it’s just plain harder to do things you need to do.
But, be sure to pay attention to anything out of the ordinary – severe headaches, swelling, cramping, baby not moving as frequently, etc. And talk to your doctor about anything that seems alarming.
Also, talk to your doctor even if you aren’t sure if something should be alarming. It’s always better to check in to be sure everything is going well.
Order Your Breast Pump & Prepare for Nursing
If you plan on breastfeeding, make sure you order your breast pump in the third trimester. Many insurance companies cover this and your doctor will help you know how to order it so that it arrives before baby.
I’ve used a Medela Pump in Style with both of my boys. I also added this manual pump with our second, which was helpful especially while traveling. And I’m planning to try this Haakaa with baby #3 to catch extra milk that leaks from the breast baby is not nursing from during feedings.
Other things to have on hand for nursing include:
- Comfortable nursing bras (I live in these sleep bras during the first few weeks of postpartum)
- Nursing pads
- Nipple cream
- A breastfeeding pillow (totally optional – I used it all the time with our oldest and almost never with our second child)
RELATED: EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR POSTPARTUM RECOVERY AND NURSING
Enjoy Your Baby Shower
If you’re planning on having a baby shower – now is the time! Enjoy time with your friends celebrating the upcoming arrival of your sweet baby!
Take Inventory of Newborn Supplies
Take inventory of all the newborn supplies you have. If this is your first pregnancy, you may have received many of these things as gifts. Be sure to organize them, return any duplicates, and list anything you might still be missing.
Now is the time to get all your gear in order.
If this isn’t your first child, now is the time to pull all that gear out of storage and replace anything that might need it and get anything new that you might need.
RELATED: NEWBORN ESSENTIALS FOR THE FIRST THREE MONTHS
Declutter and Organize Your Home
There is a reason you have such a strong nesting urge during the third trimester. That’s because now is the time to clean, clean, clean!
Having a clean and organized space to come home to after giving birth will do wonders in helping you feel less overwhelmed during your postpartum recovery.
Take time to declutter now and you’ll be glad you did!
Restock Your Pantry and Household Essentials
In the spirit of organizing your home, make sure you restock your pantry and household essentials. It’s just one less thing to worry about after bringing baby home.
Things to consider stocking up on:
- Favorite snacks for siblings
- Healthy Snacks for yourself
- Paper goods – toilet paper, paper towels, etc.
- Toiletries
- Cleaning supplies – laundry detergent, dish soap, etc.
Make a Plan for Meals
I’m a big fan of meal planning in general around here, but meal planning is especially important to think about during your third trimester.
Now is the time to stock your freezer with easy to prepare freezer meals, grab-and-go breakfasts, and other things that can be easily prepared.
Another thing to consider is having friends and family bring food to you after baby is born. There are lots of websites that help create a calendar for friends and family to sign up to help out.
We have had lots of success with Meal Train before, and there are several other great sites out there. This is a great way to allow friends and family to help during the initial weeks back home.
Wash and Organize Baby Clothes
Baby clothes are so cute, am I right? But they can also be overwhelming if you don’t get them organized. Use the third trimester to wash and organize all those baby clothes you’ve gotten (or pull out the hand-me-downs from older siblings)!
As a general rule, I tend to pull out seasonally appropriate things in newborn-3 month sizes to have on hand with 3-6 month clothes also clean and easily accessible before baby arrives.
This helps me be prepared and know exactly what we have for those first few months at home.
Buy and Install the Car Seat
They won’t let you leave the hospital without it. If you haven’t already done it, go ahead and buy and install your car seat now.
Prepare a Safe Sleeping Space for Baby
Or finish setting up the nursery. Frankly, after having two kids already, I haven’t done much to “prepare the nursery” for our third baby.
I’ll make sure the baby clothes are organized. Make sure I can easily access diaper changing things, and make sure he has a safe sleeping space – which will be in our room for the first few months anyway.
If you are working on a nursery, this is the time to add those final details. If you don’t have the space for a separate nursery right now, make sure that you have a safe place for the baby to sleep once you bring them home.
Pack Your Hospital Bag
Don’t wait on this one. Really, I think you should have your hospital bag mostly packed by about 36 weeks, but definitely by 37 weeks.
I went into labor 5 days late with my first and 11 days early with my second and if it taught me anything, it’s that babies will come when they’re ready whether or not your bags are packed or not.
Save yourself some stress and pack that bag early.
I’ve written a whole post about what to pack for Mama, Daddy, and Baby here – with a printable hospital bag checklist.
My recommendation is to pack your clothes, etc. and have toiletries that you use everyday easily accessible so you can toss them in the bag when it’s go time.
(And print out that checklist so you don’t forget anything in the moment!)
Pack the Diaper Bag
You don’t need your diaper bag in the hospital since the hospital will have everything you need for baby right there, but save yourself sometime once baby gets here and go ahead and have it packed for when you get home.
If you’re not sure what to pack in your diaper bag, be sure to check out this post. (I’ll plan to update it soon with what I’m carrying for all three boys once we settle into a routine with everyone!)
But, the very basics for your bag include:
- Diapers
- Wipes
- Burp cloths
- Extra Clothes
- A clean swaddle blanket
Download a Contraction Timer App
Save yourself a headache and download this before your contractions start to be sure you know how to use it. There are so many free contraction timer apps out there – so just pick one you like and download it!
Prepare for Postpartum
In case no one told you, childbirth does a number on your body. Prepare for postpartum recovery by stocking up on some essential recovery tools. Some things to include:
- Peri Bottles (You’ll get one of these at the hospital, but I like to have them in each bathroom in our home for convenience sake.)
- Flushable wipes – because no, I do not want to put dry toilet paper down there for a while.
- Sitz bath + epsom salts and witch hazel.
- Pain reliever
For a full list of things I use for postpartum recovery, see this post.
Arrange Childcare for Older Siblings
Unless you plan to be induced, labor can happen at any moment. Make sure to finalize and arrange for childcare for any older siblings. Who will you call to watch your older children? Will your children stay home or go to someone else’s house?
Make sure all these details are finalized before you go into labor.
Prepare Older Siblings for the Arrival of the New Baby
Adding a new child to the family is a major adjustment – especially for older siblings who are used to their regular routines, attention, activities, etc. Use the third trimester to really prepare them for the arrival of the new baby.
If you need some ideas, here are 10 tips to help you prepare older siblings for a new baby.
Finalize Your Baby Names List
To be fair, we haven’t named either of our boys before they were already born and it’s not looking like we’ll have a final decision on the name of our third before his birth either, so there’s that.
BUT, you do need to make sure that you have at least finalized your short list for baby names during your third trimester so you’ll be able to give that sweet baby a name ASAP!
Go On a Date With Your Spouse
This is easy to overlook in the hustle and bustle of preparing for a new baby – especially if you already have children at home. But, taking time to prepare your relationship for a new baby is something I think is really important.
Take some time to go on a date or do something special with your spouse.
With each of our pregnancies, we’ve made a point to go on a special trip during the second trimester (you can see our trip to Boston before our second here!), which has been really fun.
But, even if you aren’t able to get away, take some time during your third trimester to soak in this season with your spouse. Adding a new baby always adds a new stress at least for a while and even though it’s for good, it will be helpful to be in the best spot you can be in in your marriage before that happens.
RELATED: HOW TO STRENGTHEN YOUR MARRIAGE AFTER KIDS
Do Something for Yourself
Finally, take some time to do something for yourself. After having 2 kids already, I am convinced that so much of the “preparing to have a baby” needs to be about preparing myself.
As a stay-at-home mom, I already have little ones that demanding my time and attention. So as I get ready to add one more, I want to be mindful to take some time to be by myself, rest, and do things I want to do that will most likely be put on the back burner for a while after giving birth.
Some ideas:
- Get your hair done
- Get a pedicure or manicure
- Go shopping
- Grab coffee with a friend (or by yourself)
- Read a book
- Sleep in
Whatever refreshes you, take some time to do that.
Don’t forget to grab your Third Trimester Checklist! You can download it for free here, or click the image below!
Did I miss anything? What’s on your third trimester to-do list? If you already have kids, what is something you wish you would have done in your third trimester?
