What to Do Before Your Baby Arrives: The Ultimate Third-Trimester Checklist
Many checklists for preparing for a new baby are focused on the creation of a registry and purchase of goods. The most important elements, which guarantee the safety of the newborn, such as fire safety, furniture anchoring, and sleep setup, are not related to keeping the nursery cozy or choosing presents. These crucial but dull tasks have to be scheduled in a different timeframe compared to buying the cutest baby clothes. If everything is prioritized correctly, the third trimester will not be as stressful as it seems.
Why the nesting instinct only appears during the third trimester
Between the 32 nd and 36 th week, many expectant mothers experience a sudden wave of motivation to clean and prepare their homes for the baby. This phenomenon is called the nesting instinct and is characterized by an urge to create the coziest and safest nest for the little one. The nesting instinct is irrational, untimely, and exhausting. Finishing all tasks in one weekend-long marathon is not an option due to inevitable tiredness in the following 72 hours, while at 34 weeks pregnant, a woman does not have the luxury of lying in bed for three days.
Instead, cleaning and preparing the house for the baby should be scheduled in short but frequent sessions. This way, a pregnant woman can also prioritize the tasks, as there are multiple things to address while the baby is still in the womb. The nesting instinct does not motivate every task equally, as there are three types of tasks, each of which serves a different purpose. The first category covers the safety guidelines; some tasks have a higher level of importance and can save lives and prevent injuries. The second category should be put aside for preparing a comfortable space for the baby. The third category of tasks concerns the logistics and has a strict deadline.
The safety items to address before the birth
The most common safety issues have extensive research and medical evidence behind them. Most of these tasks take less time than one would imagine. Sleep safety guidelines, recommended by the AAP, are collectively known as the ABC: Alone, Back, Crib. A newborn should sleep alone, on their back, in a crib or bassinet with a firm mattress and without any other objects inside. The sleeping environment should be bare, which rules out crib bumpers, stuffed toys, blankets, and pillows in the crib. When buying the crib or bassinet, it is essential to pay attention to the JPMA certification, which shows that it meets safety standards. The water heater in the house should be set to the highest temperature suitable for a newborn, ideally 120°F, as recommended by many fire safety organizations. The temperature should be adjusted to the appropriate one with a thermostatic valve, which is normally located on the tank. In 24 hours, the water temperature should be checked with a thermometer to ensure that the setting is safe.
Any dressers, bookshelves, change tables with drawers or other openings, which can be climbed or pulled by a curious child, should have safety anchors. According to the CPSC, the number of tip-over injuries is frightening and remains high due to the negligence of the parents who opt out of spending several dollars on a safer furniture setup. An anchor kit costs less than 10$ and only takes 15 minutes per item. Dressers should be secured before placing a crib or a bassinet near them, as the task of attaching the safety straps to the furniture has to coincide with the crib setup. According to the Window Covering Safety Council, the safest option is to install cordless window treatments, as the cord of the blinds can pose a serious danger to the baby. If the budget allows for blinds replacement only in a few rooms, a short cord and tension devices will suffice for the time being, while it is worth planning to replace all the cords with a cordless solution for the future.
Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors should be checked and batteries replaced at least one month before the due date on every floor of the house. It is vital not to ignore the annoying beep of the alarm in the hall with a newborn in one’s arms and only a few hours of sleep. The same goes for other safety equipment in the house but not the nursery. A clear escape plan in case of a fire in the nursery is an extreme scenario, but a realistic one. There is no better time to go over the details than before the baby is born and the parents still have enough energy to think clearly.
The comfort tasks: the nursery and the nesting instinct
After the most crucial safety-related tasks have been completed, the creation of a safe and comfortable space for the baby is the next on the list. When preparing the nursery, it is essential to remember that paint is not safe until it is fully cured. To avoid off-gassing, which can be harmful to a newborn’s lungs, the painting should be done at least a month before the due date. It is necessary to ventilate the room for a few weeks after to ensure it is safe for the baby to spend time there. At this point, many expectant parents realize that it is impossible to complete all of the nesting-related tasks during the 3 rd trimester. The nesting instinct is a powerful motivator, one might even call it a hormone rush. However, it is not a sustainable source of energy. It is impossible for a pregnant woman to clean the entire house, paint, assemble the crib and the nursery furniture, and prepare meals in advance during the last weeks of her pregnancy.
It is important to delegate tasks such as house cleaning and assembly to available helpers and services. Smartchoice offers its assistance in house cleaning as well as crib and furniture setup, which allows the expectant mother to focus on the tasks she can do herself. It is necessary to keep the laborious tasks for outside help or family members with spare time during the third trimester to maximize the nesting instinct’s potential. The last thing to do is to prepare the parent recovery station and freeze meals for the first weeks after the baby is born.
The parent recovery station and the frozen meals
The ability to provide good care for the newborn is only possible when the parents are well-fed and well-rested. It is vital to prepare a few meals in advance to ensure that the parents have healthy food available within easy reach. A recovery station can also be set up in a comfortable place, such as a corner of the living room or beside a fireplace, where the mother can sit to breastfeed, nap, and have access to water and nourishment without straining. The station should contain water, snacks that do not require manual preparation, a phone charger, nipple cream or padsicles if planned, and other items required to relax and take a break during the first weeks after childbirth.
The station is complemented with a collection of meals that have been prepared in advance and are waiting to be eaten out of the freezer. Many new parents realize too late that they underestimated the amount of food they need during the first weeks with an infant. The most nutritious meals for the mother and the baby can be frozen in advance in appropriate containers. Even a dozen frozen and ready-to-eat meals will be a lifesaver when both new parents are too tired to think about food. If it is impossible to prepare meals in advance, it is possible to ask for outside help. Alternatively, a meal train can be organized if friends or family members are willing to bring some hot meals on a regular schedule for a span of two to three weeks.
The logistics to plan before the birth
The final set of tasks that need to be addressed before the birth have specific deadlines due to their importance. The car seat inspection, pediatrician interview, and hospital bag preparation are the three crucial tasks, which require careful planning and sufficient time to be completed before the due date.
The car seat inspection
The car seat inspection does not come with the car seat purchase, which many parents learn the hard way. The statistics state that 46% of the car seats have at least one serious installation error, which makes the car seat unsafe. NHTSA-certified stations offer free car seat inspections and the process only takes half an hour. An appointment should be set at around 36 weeks with a two-week backup plan in case of unexpected labor.
The pediatrician interview
An interview with the pediatrician is the task that needs to be scheduled way before the baby is born but no one tells the expectant parents that. Both sides, the parents and the pediatrician’s office, understand that an interview is a non-binding meeting for the discussion of options. As a result, the parents have a thirty-minute appointment in the late afternoon to ask any questions and express their concerns. The most common questions include the availability of a nurse to answer parental calls after hours and the recommendations for unscheduled cases, such as a fever or a feeding issue at 11:30 PM. Either way, a first-time parent has too many questions to research on the day of childbirth and the pediatrician’s Yelp page is not the right tool for critical questions in the middle of the night.
The hospital bag
Packing the hospital bag is a task for the 34 th week, at the latest. Having everything packed and within reach eliminates additional stress in the situation when labor can start any day. The parents should pack for themselves and the baby: going-home clothes and a phone charger for them, the baby’s necessities, and any other personal items for both. Along with the hospital bag, there should be a house-ready checklist, to ensure that everything has been completed with a little room for the unexpected. The items on this list include the car seat installation, crib setup, and detector test.
In summary, the three categories of tasks, which should be addressed before the baby is born, are the safety items, comfort tasks, and logistical arrangements with a deadline. All of them can be completed well in advance to give the parents much-needed rest before the birth. The preparation process will be seamless and less stressful for the parents if the time is scheduled wisely and the tasks are completed in short but frequent bursts of progress.
