10 things you should do before your baby is born

When you first fall pregnant, 9 months can seem like FOREVER. All the shopping and appointments and excitement among family and friends is so wonderful and you can’t wait to hold your very own baby in your arms. But before you know it, you have your baby shower or gender reveal party behind you and and just a big belly in the front and wham! your due date is just weeks away. Why not check out our list of 10 things you should get done BEFORE bubs arrives.

  1. Sign up for a Prenatal Class
    Most likely your hospital will offer an array of classes to choose from, and a birthing class should be one you don’t miss. There’s also privately run classes that focus on different birthing ideas, such as CalmBirth and Transition to Parenthood. No matter if you’re planning to go 100% natural or take every relief option available, the classes truly are helpful explaining about the stages of labor, how the baby progresses, and what you can expect during your baby’s birth. Knowledge is power here sistas!
  2. Put a waterproof mattress cover on your bed
    Your waters may very well break when you’re in bed. Don’t ruin your $5,000 pillow top latex mattress!
  3. Do a little cooking
    While it may seem ridiculous to make dinners for a month or two in advance, believe me, you’ll be thanking this article for a nice hot dinner you didn’t have to cook when you can hardly keep both eyes open from sleep deprivation. There are tons of websites that offer easy freezer meal recipes that you can make in bulk and reheat easily for a comforting warm meal. Casseroles, bolognese, stews, soups and curries all freeze well and only require the addition of some hot rice or pasta and you have a complete meal ready in minutes.
  4. Go on a Babymoon
    Whether it’s a full blown no expense spared holiday, a romatic weekend away or even just a “Last Supper” before your new baby comes, spend some much needed time with your partner before it’s not just the 2 of you anymore. Take pictures and keepsakes, you won’t be sad you did. Before you know it, you’ll hardly remember what it was like before a baby was in the house!
  5. Book your baby capsule and hospital bassinette
    You know our motto – why buy when you can hire? Hiring a baby capsule and their first bed makes perfect sense. When you hire your capsule remember $10 automatically goes to Sydney Children’s Hospital, you get free professional installation of your hired restraint and a lesson in how to use it. And if you’re hiring a bed too we can have it all home delivered for you, and we’ll pick it up once you’re done with it all.
  6. Binge-watch some TV
    There’s nothing like watching a whole boxed set of your favorite stories in one go. Whether its Downton Abbey, The Wire or How I Met Your Mother, binge watching on a weekend with lots of yummy snacks and company is a great way to waste some time. Or why not grab a few movies from our list of movies to watch when you’re pregnant?
  7. Prewash all the wee baby clothes
    Oh there’s nothing at all like a line full of tiny little baby vests and rompers and socks. And prewashing means they’re all ready to wear when baby gets home and – just between you and I – for such small people they make a fair bit of mess so a few changes a day? Perfectly normal.
  8. Pre-prepare the birth announcement
    If you live far from family and friends, or if you just want to show off your perfect new baby (who doesn’t want that?), a birth announcement is a great way to introduce your newborn. You can either do something simple yourself or use a handy website like Shutterfly or Tiny Prints. There are tons of templates and you can order as many as you would like. You just upload your pictures and enter in the name and size of your baby. Super easy, super fast. And if you’ve already looked through the many templates before your baby is born, you won’t have to stress about picking one after they’re born. Also – having all the envelopes pre-addressed and ready for filling will also save you time you won’t want to spend away from your baby.
  9. Charge the battery for your camera
    Yes, I know that like everyone has a smart phone and can take pictures on their phones, but it is a good idea to bring your camera with a full battery to the hospital. My camera takes really nice pictures, and it was nice to be able to have my phone as a backup instead just in case.