This post may contain affiliate links where I earn a small commission for your purchase at no cost to you. Feel free to check my disclosure and terms for more information!
The second trimester is often the “sweet spot” of pregnancy. You are over the motion sickness of the first trimester and it is not as aggravating as it could be in the 3rd trimester. SO, what can you do NOW to feel more organized as you head into the final pregnancy zone.
Before we get started, I’d love to be with you for the rest of your pregnancy, giving you some of the best tips and tricks for pregnancy, labor, birth and life after your baby!
Oh, what do you need?
Now is an amazing time to figure out what you need for this baby.
Yes, you really do need some diapers and a car seat — but most families want more than that.
I have a few posts you can read/listen to about what you actually do need for this new baby:
BUT it will be different for every family. Some want a screen, some don’t…
I think it might help to download the ESSENTIALS and then stock up from there.
The basics include:
- Car seat
- Onsies or PJ’s
- A few blankets (many like the baby, which can help many families).
- A safe place for them to sleep (playpen, crib or cot)
Beyond that you can think of things like a carrier, a cradle, a screen….
Just making a list of what you want to get can go a long way. Then you can work to create a registry if you want with someone like BabyList.
What You Need Done
Beyond the physical objects, there may be things to do.
Things like:
- Preparing for kindergarten
- Placement of the cot/sleeping area
- Where will the baby stuff go?
- Putting curtains in their sleeping area
Again, this will vary a LOT from child to child. We never had a kindergarten. With our first baby we just didn’t have the cash, but from the others, it was shared with a sibling, so we did what we could.
Just start making a list of what you think would be useful to have done.
In fact, I have a few pages in my baby with things you’ll need and some things to think about doing my pregnancy planner:
Get ready for testing
The second trimester is also a sweet spot in prenatal care. You’ll probably need to schedule your ultrasound (where people often find out the gender), you’ll also have some tests as you move into your third trimester, including a blood glucose test.
Sometimes it just helps to know that these things are on the horizon. Sometimes they need some time away from work or life in general.
Here are some posts that might help:
I just think people like to know what to expect moving forward and these posts will give you some idea of what it’s going to be like.
Prepare for birth
Now is also the time to choose your prenatal course. I would recommend finding someone who you feel “fits” what you need. I recommend the online prenatal course for couples. There is also a free chapter you can check out of it here.
Make sure you’re looking for a class that includes:
- Possible interventions such as inductions or cesarean sections
- Taught by a true expert in ALL areas (pregnancy, birth and postpartum)
- It doesn’t include a bunch of fluff or opinions you don’t need.
So many people think that reading articles (like this one 👋) will be enough to prepare you for birth.
BUT as a birth worker who has seen thousands of births I can tell you this knowing EVERYTHING from start to finish from an expert will really prepare you better.
Also, the “end” should be the first few months after giving birth because that catches people off guard and it certainly doesn’t need to. This class covers all of that too!
Excellent communication with your provider
Now is the time to build a relationship with your provider. You’ll start with the simple questions now, so you can build up to bigger questions as your pregnancy progresses, and they may have tougher recommendations based on you and your needs.
Now is also a great time to talk to your provider about your birth plan too! Get my birth planning cheat sheets (and videos) here:
I think people sometimes don’t prioritize this relationship with their provider until they get to pregnancy, but working on communication now is SO important that it can be easy as you get into the “bigger” stuff!
Okay, that’s the five. There’s a lot more to talk about — but these 5 are things I think are important to think about.
Hopefully that gave you some food for thought too!
pregnant woman typing on laptop I understand. Sometimes it’s so overwhelming and hard to prepare – but I have to say, it can be easy! Our online prenatal course for couples really is the EASY way to prepare for birth. I’ve cut out all the fluff and just kept what’s important for you to know!
So my BEST advice is don’t get overwhelmed by all of this – just take it one step at a time, find the easy ways to do things and enjoy these last few months before the baby is here!
