The Last Trimester: Preparing to Have Your Baby
Congratulations! You’ve made it to the third trimester. Such an exciting milestone that at times may have felt like it would never arrive!
As exciting as the third trimester is, it can also be nerve racking and even overwhelming. But, don’t worry. In this post, we’ll go over some quick and easy tips to help you prepare to welcome your sweet child into the world.
Preparing to Have Your Baby
As you’ve likely learned by now, ‘preparation’ changes entirely when we enter motherhood. Gone are the days of throwing some clothes in a bag last minute for a weekend getaway. Instead, all details need to be planned to a T.
Here’s some recommendations for when you are beginning to plan as your third trimester starts — or even before!
- Review symptoms of labor. Strong contractions, belly, and lower back pain, and your water breaking are all signs that it’s go time!
- Make and review a preparation checklist. This will help you stay organized and allow you to accomplish a few things per day to prepare instead of cramming it all in after your water breaks.
- Pack your hospital bag. Fill your bag with,diapers and onesies for baby. For yourself, pack your favorite snacks, a few outfit changes, phone and charger, breast pads, a nursing bra, breast pump and nipple cream and ointment.
- Finalize and study your birth plan. This helps ensure things go as smoothly as possible on the day of and that everyone is on the same page as far as expectations and execution.
- Get any family requests sorted, including who will take care of other children or pets while you’re in the hospital.
Preparing Mentally for Baby
Mental health is something to be taken seriously. Here are some things to consider that can improve your mental health as you prepare to become a new mother:
- Try to get outside as often as possible for fresh air and sunshine. A few short, laid-back walks around the block per day will do wonders for your mood and anxiety levels.
- Connect with other new moms. The hospital will probably have information about new moms' groups that you can join for support. You can also find these groups online.
- Make time for yourself. We know how hard it is to leave the baby in the first few weeks and months. But, you have to take some time for things you enjoy. Start with an hour manicure and pedicure or a 45-minute run or bike ride.
- Ask for help. If you start to feel overwhelmed, depressed, or overly anxious, there is nothing wrong with asking for help — whether it’s your partner, mother, best friend, or a healthcare professional. You do not have to go through your postpartum experience alone. Plan ahead so you know who you can reach out to when you need help!
Our most important tip is to take advantage of the joys of the third trimester, like unlimited foot rubs and late-night dessert runs, always having an excuse to take a nap or sit down. But, most importantly, you are one step closer to meeting your little bundle of joy — focus on that when the stress starts to overwhelm you.
Remember, your baby won’t know if you packed the wrong going home outfit or the birth plan changed at the last minute.
For more parenting advice, from milestones to bonding, visit our blog — it’s full of must-know tips and tricks for new parents.
Also in Our Blog
What’s the Difference Between a Swaddle and a Sleepsack
Five Questions about Early Morning Wakeups for Baby
The team at NAPS helps you tackle the issue of early wakeups. *BONUS* NAPS is hosting a webinar on February 24th. Register here and use the extra-special code MAGICMERLIN and you can join the webinar FREE of charge!
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The sound of cheery calls of “MAAAAMAAAAA” from the next room may be lovely at 7am. At 4am, or 5 am, not so much. Your baby may be up and ready to start the day, but you probably aren’t.
Answering the questions below may help you get there.
- Is your nap schedule mucking up your baby’s overnight sleep?
This might seem like an obvious question, but your baby’s sleep needs will change fast in the first few years of their lives. A quick look at the average nap number and duration might give you an idea:
- For babies from 3-6 months old, it’s normal to take 3-4 hour-long naps per day.
- For babies 6-15 months old, expect 2 naps with 3-3.5 hours of total sleep.
- For one and two-year-olds, you should expect a single 2-hour nap.
Part of the reason you might be seeing earlier wakeups is that your baby has graduated from one nap cycle to the next.
- Does your baby have enough time between their last nap and their bedtime?
We call this an “awake window,” and it can make a big difference. It might seem strange that your baby went to bed fine the night before, and you’re seeing a response to nap scheduling in the pre-dawn hours, but if your kiddo’s sleep is disrupted at night, it will impact the morning.
- 3-6 months, at least 1.5-2 hours between final nap wakeup and bedtime.
- 6-12 months, at least 2.5-3.5 hours between final nap wakeup and bed.
- 12-18+ months, 3.5-4.5 hours between final nap wakeup and bed.
- Is the room staying dark after the sun comes up?
Black 0ut curtains can make a big difference here. Remember that our brains signal wakeup when the light changes. So if dawn is at 430am, and even a little bit of light comes into your baby’s room, their little brains will PING with wake up juice.
- Is your baby going to sleep too early or too late?
It might seem counter-intuitive, but a late bedtime can actually backfire on you. Overtired kids don’t sleep as well. If you made their bedtime later and it didn’t fix the problem, try an earlier bedtime and see if that helps. You might be surprised.
- How do you make it better?
Try to make one change at a time; just one. Stick with that change for 3-5 days to see if it impacts things. (One night is usually not enough to see substantial change.) Be as consistent as you can with the change you made. For instance, if you decide to increase the space between bedtime and final nap wakeup, make sure to stick to the wakeup time you planned.
If your baby is waking up and chirping happily to themselves, feel free to leave them there for a little while. Let them get used to being alone in the crib. If you can, try to delay the start of the day by 5-10 minutes each day. This can make a big impact.
Everything else aside, remember that this is a short time in your kid’s life; as they get older, their sleep will become more regular, and so will yours. Don’t let yourself get too discouraged. Things are hard now, and you’re doing a great job.
