Third Trimester To Do List To Prepare For Baby 2024

Table of Contents

Everything To Get Done (without feeling overwhelmed)

Your third trimester to-do list is going to need some updating, especially if you want your postpartum recovery to be easier. By doing these things you will help your future self with things like: meals, baby care, your relationship ready for baby and your sanity.

Having a comfortable postpartum begins with doing the things on this third trimester to do list.

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Your Third Trimester To Do List For Weeks 28-32

1. Have ‘The Talk’ With Your Partner

Things are going to change, especially if this is your first child. You need to address some issues that may come up in your partnership after you deliver.

Here is a list of things to go over with your partner before the due date:

Will your partner take paternity leave?
Will you stay at home after baby is born?
Can you afford to be a stay at home mom?
Is your partner willing to wake up in the middle of the night to do a night feeding, or nightly diaper change? (even if they are going to go to work in the morning and you are not)
Does your partner expect household chores to rely on you while you are on maternity leave?
Can your partner use vacation or sick time to stay longer with you and the newborn?

Need a list of what to ask your partner or what to say during this ‘the talk’ time? See our Solutions Pregnancy Planner for things like this and much more pregnancy and labor printables and checklist.

2. Make Freezer Meals For Postpartum Care

Some tasks are more important than others when it comes to pregnancy obviously. This should be a high priority on your to do list during your third trimester.

By having freezer meals ready you will be able to save precious time that you can use on your newborn. You will also be able to stay healthy, increase your breast milk supply, and be one prepared mama!

This is one thing I wish I would have done longer. I planned meals for two weeks, that was not enough not when you are a ravenous breastfeeding mama.

You need to plan meals and then stick to it. You don’t have to diet, you don’t have to restrict the foods you love. Just make better choices when it comes to the meals you prep.

I highly recommend going on a shopping spree when you are around 28 -34 weeks or so, and going home to prep your meals.

Chop everything up
Buy giant zip lock bags
Spend a day or two cooking and packaging your meals
Make sure you label them so you know what you cooked
Start to make space in your freezer.

Get this book to know EXACTLY what to cook during the end of your Pregnancy.
It was a life saver (since I’m the wife that doesn’t know how to cook)

It has super easy to follow recipes, delicious and good-for-you postpartum food.

image of list of foods to try to make freezer meals before pregnancy

3. Baby Proof Your House

When you bring your newborn home you want to make sure that everything in your home is safe for baby to be around.

Here is a list of things you want to do right now (or have your partner do):

Put new batteries in fire alarms
Bolt down large furniture to walls
Put medication in high cabinets
Make sure the locks work in your home

4. Create A Birth Plan

I have to say when it comes to birth things do not always go as planned. That is why I always recommend new and expecting parents to make 3 birth plans. Yes, you read that right. Three of them.

The first birth plan can be your ideal birth plan – what you picture your labor and delivery to be like without issues or complications

The second should be your backup birth plan – change 2-3 things from your original birth plan.

The third birth plan should be an emergency type plan – of things you don’t picture happening but can still happen (emergency c-section, baby not being able to do skin-skin, needing a blood transfusion)

5. Keep Track Of Baby’s Movements

Now in the third trimester is when you want to start to take notice of your baby’s movements. This means sitting still for a few minutes while you count your baby’s movements.

You can keep a daily log for the number of kicks you feel in a 30-minute increment.

If you do not feel any kicking – always check with your OB or midwife or go to your nearest hospital to get check out by a doctor or nurse to verify the baby’s health.

6. Have Your Baby Shower

During the third trimester you want to have your baby shower – this way your guest and family can have time to get your gifts, you have time to plan it (or your host has the time).

Need some third-trimester baby shower theme ideas?

Want to stay on budget for your baby shower – check this out.

34 Hilarious Baby Shower Games (for large crowds)

7. Take A Baby Prep Class

Your hospital may have one that they do for free – but these classes are normally ‘this is our hospital, here is a tour’ kind of class. As great as they are for you to know the layout of your hospital it won’t exactly prepare you and your partner.

You can try taking an Online Prenatal Couples Class taught by an actual labor and delivery nurse.

Hands down one of the best courses we ever went through.

8. Learn About Breastfeeding

You may just have rolled your eyes on this one (especially my first-time moms). I always thought breastfeeding would be super easy and I would do it till my son was a year or older.

Then, I had my baby and I couldn’t figure out how to latch him on, how to keep my milk supply up and so many issues I never realized came with being a new breastfeeding mom.

Now it’s my mission to make sure first-time moms breastfeed. Here are my favorite things for you to read and implement to help with breastfeeding.

Take an actual breastfeeding course
Learn how to breastfeed before baby arrives
How to latch baby on correctly each and every time

9. Visit Your Doctor

During the time frame of 28-32 weeks (one month), you will have two doctor visits. Now that you are in the third trimester your doctor will like to see you every two weeks (until you are about 36 weeks then it will be weekly visits)

You can expect the usual from your doctor visits during this time frame.

Pregnancy Weeks 32-36

10. Sort Your Baby Shower Items

Once you have your baby shower items sorted you can see what you still need and you can make sure to grab it using a 15% off completion coupon from Amazon. (that’s if you made your baby registry with them)

11. Start Nesting Your Home

You may already be in the nesting phase if you are feeling you need to get everything ready for baby and you can’t quite figure out what you still need to get done.

Don’t worry we have you covered. You can check out the top 45 things to do while you are nesting and get your home ready for baby a week at a time.

12. Finish The Nursery

Right now before you start seeing your doctor every week is the time to start finishing the nursery. Painting, setting up the crib. Whatever you need to do.

If you are going to be room sharing with the baby make sure you have a designated space for the baby to sleep in.

13. Pack Your Hospital Bag

Make sure you pack your hospital bag and I don’t want to freak you out. You really don’t need everything to fit in your hospital bag.

What you really want to make sure is that you have clothes for you and your partner. As well as snacks for both of you.

Here is a quick list of the MOST essential things to pack in your hospital bag:

Phone chargers
Clothes for partner (undies, shirts, socks, pants)
Lose fitting clothes for mom
Nipple pads
Snacks
Insurance card, ID
Change for vending machine
Camera
Camera charger
One going home outfit for baby

I’m serious I took so much stuff that I didn’t even use at the hospital. Things like diapers, wipes, and so many outfits for the baby. None of that was used because the hospital provided diapers and wipes and he was in the hospital onesie the whole time.

You can also see what I packed in my hospital bag for my second birth.

14. Install Car Seat In Your Car

This should be done now, and you can even take it to your nearest fire station and ask that they check to make sure you have installed it correctly.

You were want to make sure you have the car seat installed before you go into labor. The hospital will not let you leave with your baby without having a secure car seat installed in your car.

15. Do A Fake Out Hospital Run

Before you go into labor, have your hospital bag packed, your health info ready, your car seat installed, and do a fake hospital run.

Time yourself, how quickly were you able to get everything in the car and how long did it take you to get to the hospital.

Did you know where you needed to park and do you know the fastest route to the entrance?

Now that you know how long you need, make sure you really have everything you need.

Did you pack your phone charger, did you make a change for the vending machine, did your partner pack some clothes.

Even if it is just a fake-out hospital run. Treat it as if it were the real thing.

*I did my fake hospital run, all while yelling at my husband and shouting “the baby’s coming” even though I was just 35 weeks and not in labor lol*

This way anything you did forget you can jot down, or maybe the entrance to the hospital was on the opposite side of the parking.

16. Settle On A Baby Name

Or at least settle on a few top baby names that you can think of. This way when you get to the hospital you’ll have a few options you love.

17. Group B Strep Test

Normally done during the 35th – 37th week, your doctor may perform the test or send you to a lab where they will perform the group b strep test.

Weeks 36 – Delivery

18. Pick A Pediatrician For Baby

You can do this a few ways. The first is asking your OB or midwife which pediatrician they work with. Chances are if your OB works with them they are covered by your insurance.

The second way you can find a pediatrician for your baby is by calling your insurance and seeing which pediatrician around your area is on your list of providers.

You can also do further research by looking up reviews of which ones you may want. After the baby is born your hospital will ask you who your child’s doctor is and you can give them a name and not feel like ‘holy crap I never chose one

19. Wash Baby’s Clothes

You can start doing this after your week 36 mark. You can also skip this step and only wash a few of the smaller size newborn items. You may find that if you wash all of the items (baby may not wear everything and grow out of it really quickly) if this happens you can return the clothes they never wore.

20. Prepare A Postpartum Kit

I have so much to say on this subject that I wrote a whole post on how to create a postpartum care kit super easily.

After having a baby you need to take care of yourself, your body, and your mind just as important as you are taking care of the baby.

21. Visit Your Doctor Weekly

From now on you will have weekly doctor visits to make sure everything is going according to plan. During this time you should tell your doctor your birth plan as well as tell them you plan to breastfeed (if you plan to do that of course)

22. If Needed To A Non-Stress Test

It is actually not stressful but your provider may ask that you get this done if you are showing signs of preeclampsia or distress.

It is when an ultrasound tech or nurse monitors your baby via ultrasound as well as your blood pressure and checks the amniotic fluid and all vitals for you and your baby.

23. Have A Baby

Yay! By the end of the third trimester, you will have a beautiful little babe that is ready to learn from you as well as you’ll be learning how to navigate motherhood.

In conclusion, you can see that if you break it down month by month you do not have to do a billion things but little tasks that you can do every week or once a day if you’d like. This way you do not feel overwhelmed.

If you have anything you’d like me to add to this list that helped you during the third trimester, feel free to leave a comment.

Third Trimester To Do List To Prepare For Baby