Decorate the nursery, find a daycare, create a game plan for maternity leave, prep your hospital bag—the pre-baby, pregnancy to-do list goes on and on.
With nine months until baby’s arrival, it’s important to prioritize your list in a manageable and stress-free way. So what’s the best approach to take this on? Check out these tips for creating a list and efficiently crossing off each item.
Creating Your Pre-Baby, Pregnancy To-Do List
Let’s face it, a lot goes into preparing for a new baby, even if this isn’t your first rodeo. Not to mention, the rest of your life will still be chugging along—work, household chores, projects, kiddos. To keep things in order, the best place to start is by creating your pre-baby pregnancy to-do list. Think of this list as something that will be completed before your baby’s arrival, and consider leaving the tasks that can wait off the list.
Below is an example of what your list may look like.
Hint: Don’t forget the fun stuff! For example, planning and throwing your gender reveal party may not seem like a big undertaking because it is something fun that you are looking forward to; however, it still takes time and needs to make the list.
Sample Pre-Baby, Pregnancy To-Do List
- Any non-baby related tasks that were already on the to-do list
- Find an OB-GYN or midwife and set up your first appointment
- Share the news and announce your pregnancy with your family and friends
- Research nursery themes and set up the nursery
- Set up a baby registry
- Research baby gear
- Set up gender reveal party
- Line up childcare
- Create a plan for maternity leave
- Decide where you’ll be giving birth
- Write a birth plan
- Find a pediatrician
- Pick a name
- Write a postpartum plan
- Nest, nest, and nest!
- Shop for baby — coming home outfit, clothes, gear, and more
- Baby proof the house
- Prepare your kiddos
- Prepare your pet
- Pack hospital bag
How to Organize Your Pregnancy To-Do List
Once your list is compiled, and trust me, it will most likely look much longer than the sample list, it is time to organize and prioritize. For me, this looked like separating the items into a few different categories. Here’s how I chose to break it down:
- Those that require physical energy vs. those that do not
- Those that can be done online vs. those that need to be done in person
- Those that needed to be done by the first trimester mark, the second trimester, and the third trimester
Those that require physical energy vs. those that do not.
Start by picking and choosing which tasks will need your physical energy. I learned the hard way during my first trimester that some of the tasks on my pregnancy to-do list, no matter how badly I wanted to complete them, were not going to be crossed off the list at that time because I was growing a human. During the first trimester, your body works hard to grow your sweet baby. You are tired, nauseous, and in general, feel like crap!
For example, I had priority number one on my to-do list to help my husband complete our master bedroom and bathroom remodel. In my mind, this had to be done before the baby arrived, so it had to be first and foremost. While the show Fixer Upper may have overly inspired us, this project became quite the undertaking—moving walls, ripping out carpet, tiling, painting, you name it. However, my first trimester body was drained and all I wanted to do was sleep. This task got moved down my list to one that could be completed when I had more energy.
Those that can be done online vs. those that need to be done in person.
Next, identify those tasks on your pre-baby pregnancy to-do list that can be done online vs. those that need to be done in person. These online tasks, such as setting up a baby registry and researching the best baby gear, can be done anywhere and anytime. Take advantage of that and prioritize them accordingly!
I was also able to add finding a pediatrician and OBGYN to this list, as I’m a big online researcher and do my fair share of diving into reviews.
Those needed to be done by the first trimester mark, the second, and the third.
Lastly, categorize by the trimester. The pregnancy timeline will drive your life, so it is easy to look at your pregnancy to-do list that way, too. Setting dates within this list will make it seem more manageable and give you a more attainable deadline than “before baby.”
Use these guidelines to prioritize. Your pregnancy to-do list will quickly go from overwhelming to achievable, orderly, and complete.
