In this post I will share 12 Things I Should Have Done Before Giving Birth that you may have to think about too.
Article updated: 12/15/2020
Remember a time where if you wanted to you could just do NOTHING? Nah? Me neither. If you know me personally, you know I’m a procrastinator to a T. I like to have a deadline I suppose, get that adrenaline going or I’m just lazy.
I waited and waited to get things done when I was pregnant and some of them I’m still working on until this day.
Here’s a little list I’ve compiled for some of the things I should have done while pregnant before giving birth.
Maybe you’re in the same boat and these will you give an idea of what to expect if you wait until the last minute.
12 Things you should do while pregnant to prepare yourself for life as new mother.
Steps on how to prepare for having a baby
- Packed my hospital bag early.
I don’t mean early 3 months before, have your bag sitting by the front door kinda thing, I mean at least a week before my due date.
Life will throw curve balls at you, and doing what you can ahead of time to prepare for your child’s arrival will be an important skill to learn as a new mom. - Picked out my son’s name sooner.
Again, I waited until I had no other choice (Kid is coming in a day or so) Extra bummer for not giving him the name I wanted. I would have fought harder for the name I really wanted. - Found out exactly what happens with your baby at the hospital.
I had no idea about eye drops, vitamin K shots and whatever else they did to my little one without my consent. It’s all “routine” stuff that I wish I had known ahead of time.
I would have researched it and would have been able to say yes or no to it. It is your choice! You can decline or accept anything.
At the hospital, I remembered feeling lost. There were so many new things happening – felt like I got dropped into a foreign country and I didn’t speak the language. - My birth plan.
I did write out my birth plan, but with how my labor progressed I did not bring it with me. If I had packed my hospital bag ahead, I would have been able to put it in there. ( I still have no clue where it is by the way)You may also like: My birth story here.
- Completed my little boy’s room.
Albeit he’s never slept a day in there, (ready our co-sleeping story) I still would have liked it to be ready prior to his arrival. But this one I let it slide.
We did move into our house when I was 8 months pregnant. I was huge and tired. There were a lot of things that didn’t get done because of my umm “condition”, which brings up number 6. - Not move houses in my 8th month of pregnancy.
That’s all that needs to be said about that. Be smarter than me and if you plan on buying a new home – do it earlier in the pregnancy. - Discussed “what if’s” possibilities with my OB/GYN.
I had no issues during pregnancy. I didn’t have any nausea, any “I want/need to eat that”, I was sleepy for maybe 1 day in my first trimester, the only issue I had was in my third trimester where my weight was a little too much for my narrow skinny feet.
It would be a little painful to be up for longer than 5 minutes. I never even looked into a c-section, all I knew is that I did not want one because I’m terrified of surgery and I knew recovery sucks. - Not have worked up until my last day.
I don’t know why I chose to just ride it out. I guess because I didn’t have any issues and I sat all day at work I didn’t feel the need to take my maternity leave earlier.
My last day was on a Friday. The weekend came along and Sunday night I started going into labor. Taking a few days off before hand would have better prepared for labor. - Read up on what to do when the baby is actually here.
I read a lot! I still do. I think that’s pretty much the bulk of what I do. I do a lot of searches of what to do now, why is this happening, what is this red thing, white thing, how do I clean his teeth, etc… you get the drift. It’s just constant reading. There’s SO much stuff to learn and find out about.
Granted, as a new mom you learn pretty much as you go. But at least being informed helps. - Spent some more time doing things for myself.
After I got pregnant, everything was for or about the baby. Now, I miss pretty much everything. You realize how much of your time is actually needed and when you do have time for yourself, all you wanna do is chill.
No one is crying, no one wants to be held, you don’t have to constantly be playing the entertainer. You just want quiet time. People!! Bedtime is a wonderful thing, but I do miss him when he’s sleeping. - Solidified friendships.
Either I’m a bad friend (which is a possibility) or people these days are just too into their little bubble.
Until this day, no one has ever offered to watch my baby for me to just take some time to myself. That says a lot about the people that I have around me or maybe I need to pay attention more, although you can’t really expect a first-time mom to put her friendships as a priority when bathing is still an option. LOL.
That whole “It takes a village” business, it’s true. But also, if you need help don’t forget to reach out to someone. - RELAXED!
I did not learn how to do that, I was constantly moving on to the next task. Now I wish I had. I did get a prenatal massage. But truth is, I really need one now.
There you have it, those were the things I wish I had done before giving birth, I hope they were helpful to any expecting moms out there looking to get some insight on pregnancy and before labor concerns.
How about you? What do you wish you had done before giving birth?
What can you add to this list to help new moms that will experience labor for the first time?
I’d love to know I’m not alone in this.
Thanks for stopping in!
xo,
Ellen
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You're not! Couple of days ago I was talking about how I miss the baby-free days. I was really active, independent and had sooooo much time to do whatever I felt like doing. It's not that I don't love her or that I wish she wasn't here it's just that some days you miss those selfish days. Read a lot of moms talking about that! It's totally normal! I wish I hadn't moved as well and that I had finished her room! 🙂 oh well!!! A gente aprende todo dia né… I would babysit for you if i could!!! E prometo que não deixaria chorar :-))) bom fim de semana!! Bjs!
The nice thing about working up till the last minute is it gives you a longer maternity leave 🙂
Hehehe glad I gave this a read! Totally relate to aton of these… Especially #11…ughhhh…. I feel for ya! Great post 🙂
Great post! I was on bed rest for the last 2 months of my pregnancy and I went a little stir-crazy. With my daughter though, we had already started talking about possible names before we found out the gender (and funny enough, we were only considering girl names at first!)
A good list. I'm with you on #9. I remember thinking after I had our daughter, I read a ton but nothing prepared me for THIS!
I wish I had worked out more while pregnant. This baby weight is such a struggle to get rid of for sure!!
Thanks for a fun post. I know there's things I would have done different but my mommy brain isn't able to remember right now!
This is such a great list! One thing we did that I HIGHLY recommend and something you mentioned wishing you did was took a birthing course at the hospital. It was a 3 month course weekly and they went over everything from contractions to birthing plans to what happens with you and baby at the hospital. I felt so ready! I can definitely relate to the friendships piece. Most of my friends don't have kids yet and those that do, have family here to babysit even last minute. I don't have that so when they call and say "hey let's grab lunch right now" and I can't because the baby is napping or hungry..it feels yucky. Great list here!!