This blog post today is all about how to best prepare for baby in those final weeks of pregnancy, including getting ready for labor, packing for the hospital, and preparing for postpartum. In those final weeks before baby arrives, you might find yourself “nesting” and getting organized around the house in order to feel ready and prepared for your little bundle to join your family. I have a few tips I’d like to share that go a bit beyond home organization that can help you feel ready for your baby’s arrival, mentally, physically, and nutritionally.
Cook Freezer Meals
Tuscan White Bean Soup
In the weeks leading up to your due date, see if you can set aside some time to cook a few meals that you can store in your freezer to make meal times in those early days easy! Once your baby arrives, you won’t have the time or energy to plan, shop, and cook, but what you’ll likely be craving are home-cooked, nourishing meals. I recommend cooking a handful of meals in advance, but also seeing if some friends or family would be willing to take turns dropping off meals for those first 2-3 weeks. Here are some of the meals/snacks that I made in advance that are easy and full of nutrient-rich and warming ingredients to give you that energy boost you’ll need in the early days!
Plan Date Nights:
Get in some quality 1:1 time with your partner since you won’t be having much of this once your baby arrives, especially in the early days. Choose a few of your favorite restaurants and book reservations so that you can enjoy those nights out, great food, and the company of your partner. Or get creative! Maybe pack a picnic and take day hikes or adventures instead!
Go for Long Walks
If you’re feeling good and you’ve been active throughout pregnancy, taking long walks in the weeks prior to your due date can be greatly beneficial. I personally tried to get in a long walk on most days in the two weeks leading up to my due date. Generally I tried to take these walks with friends so I could catch up and spend some quality time with them. But, on those days I went alone, I also cherished having some “me-time.” Here are some benefits to going for walks close to your due date:
Walking can help your baby move your baby into the right position for labor.
When upright and walking, the weight of your baby puts pressure on your cervix, which might help with dilation.
You’re getting exercise and fresh air
NOTE: Make sure to pay attention to your body and to not push yourself too hard.
Find Time for Relaxation
Once your baby arrives, you might feel constantly overwhelmed, worried, or anxious. Your baby will be top of mind always, and you’ll want to make sure you’re doing all that you can to ensure he/she is sleeping, eating, and not fussing. You’ll have little time for yourself! My advice is to try to carve out some more time for sleep, lounging, and meditation in the weeks leading up to your due date. My morning routine before our baby arrived consisted of 5-10 minutes of meditation, 5-10 minutes of yoga/stretching, and then breakfast with some calming music. I also made an effort to log some extra time sleeping (or at least resting) to help me feel ready for the labor, delivery, and first days with my baby.
Eat Dates to Ease Labor and Delivery
My acupuncturist is the one who first told me to start eating dates at around 36 weeks. I did a little research myself, and while there isn’t a whole lot of scientific proof, there’s a fair amount of anecdotal evidence suggesting that having 3-6 dates per day in your final month of pregnancy can help with ripening of the cervix, increase dilation, and improve the likelihood of spontaneously going into labor. I figured, why not give it a try! Whether or not I experienced these positive results, I knew that dates were beneficial in other ways, as they are rich in folate, fiber, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin K. These are the delicious treats I made to enjoy my daily amount of dates: raw brownies and samoa cookies. I loved them so much, I will continue making them post-pregnancy as well!
Pack your Hospital Bag
It’s recommended that you pack your hospital bag at around 35 weeks in case you deliver early! Here are the blogs that I found most helpful when packing my bag.
https://www.rhythmofbirth.com/blog/what-to-pack-in-your-hospital-bag
https://www.samanthagunndoula.com/blog/what-to-pack-in-your-hospital-bag-your-checklist-for-labour
https://www.babylist.com/hello-baby/what-to-pack-in-your-hospital-bag
A few things that I’ll call out as being especially helpful were:
A comfortable pillow and blanket for you and your partner
Electronics - iPad, phone, bluetooth speaker AND chargers
Lots of snacks - like rice cakes, peanut butter, hummus, trail mix, fresh fruit, Lara bars, bone broth, coconut water
A large water bottle
Breast feeding pillow, like a Boppy or My Brest Friend
Stock up on Postpartum Necessities
I had no idea what to expect for how my body would feel after giving birth. There is so much change happening with our bodies at this time; we grew a child, delivered a child (either vaginally or by C-section), we might be breastfeeding our child, and now our bodies need time to heal and recover. The hospital prepares you well, but I also found these blogs especially helpful when preparing for what I might need around the house so that I was ready for anything that came my way post-delivery:
Get Educated!
Every new mom is different - some want to know absolutely everything about what they can expect in terms of labor, delivery, breastfeeding, and postpartum, while others want to have a more basic understanding and then see how things play out. I found that I was somewhere in between on this spectrum, but I did think it was beneficial to have an idea of what to expect for laboring, the types of pain medications and how they are used, and learning about comforts in labor. Additionally, during these final weeks, I picked up some books that I found to be easy, enjoyable, and helpful reads that helped me feel a bit more ready for when my baby arrived. I have some of my favorite resources listed here!
The Sibyls - this is an AMAZING resource with videos that you can watch on your own time - with videos ranging from labor and delivery to breastfeeding and newborn essentials.
Happiest Baby on the Block - you can get the book or watch a video
Twelves Hours’ Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old - I heard from many friends that this is a lifesaver
Bringing up Bebe - a fun, anecdotal read about an American woman raising her baby in France and some of the tips she picked up while doing so
That’s all! Hope this is helpful for those of you getting ready for your baby’s arrival :)
