Second Trimester Pregnancy To Do Checklist

During the first trimester you may be feeling under the weather and during your third trimester chances are high you will be feeling large and tired with all sorts of aches and pains. The second trimester is often referred to as the honeymoon phase of pregnancy. You will be feeling more energised making this the perfect time to get things done.

There are a lot of preparations that need to be made before your baby arrives, so here is a checklist of things to do during your second trimester:

1. Plan Your Maternity Leave

If you plan on returning to work you need to decide when you are going to go on your maternity leave and how much maternity leave you are going to take. Many moms decide to stop working for a year or two when they have their baby, other mothers take off the bare minimum and get back to work as soon as possible.

You also need to at what stage during your pregnancy you are going to stop working. Some women work right up until their due date, while others want to take some time off before they give birth to rest and prepare for motherhood.

Depending on the type of work that you do your employer may decide to do a pregnancy risk assessment to decide whether you should be working or perhaps make some changes to the work activities that you do while you are pregnant.

2. Prepare The Baby’s Room

Getting your baby’s room ready is exciting and one of the highlights for my expectant mothers. Getting the nursery ready well ahead of time is always a great idea. You never know exactly when your baby will arrive and you will want to make sure that any heavy jobs are completed by baby daddy and that you have enough strength and energy left for the decorating.

Make sure that jobs such as painting is done by your baby daddy, another family member or friend, or even an outside contractor rather than risk painting while pregnant.

3. Book Your Baby Shower

Yes it is custom for the friends and family of the mother to be to organise your baby shower, however you don’t want to get too many surprises and you want to make sure that you have lots of fun.

Make your needs and wants clear to your friends and family so that when they start planning your baby shower party they know exactly what you want. It is your party after all.

Let them know that you will be making a baby registry at your favourite store and let them know what dates will be convenient for you.

4. Plan Childcare

If you plan on going back to work soon after your baby is born you need to think about childcare options. It may sound simple to organise childcare but there are in fact many factors to consider.

If your mother or another family member is able to look after your baby while you work that will be great, however most working mothers need to find suitable childcare outside of the family.

Your first choice of childcare may also have a waiting list so start researching and visiting daycare centres well in advance and make a booking.

5. Create A Birth Plan

Creating a birth plan means that you will have a much better chance of having a stress free and smooth birth experience. Yes it is true that your birth may not go according to your plan but even if you plan a home water birth and land up in hospital with an emergency c-section you can still make your wants known.

If you plan for a home birth it is still advisable to include accommodation for a hospital birth just in case.

Things that you can include in your birth plan is how you want to give birth, who you want present, how you want to manage your pain and whether you want to breastfeed or not.

6. Childbirth Classes

Taking childbirth classes is a great way to prepare yourself for the birth of your child. If you decide to use a midwife chances are good you will be able to take childbirth classes with her. You can learn all about labour and birth, pain management options, breastfeeding, how to look after your newborn baby and what to expect as a new mother.

7. Buy Maternity Clothing

Very soon your growing belly will mean that you won’t be able to fit into the clothing you are wearing now. The second trimester is a great time to go and purchase some maternity clothing.

A good pair of maternity jeans will always be a good buy and if you are planning on working right up until your due date you can look at buying some maternity dresses for work. Remember that the days of ugly, frumpy maternity clothing are long gone. You will love going shopping for stylish maternity clothing.

8. Buy High Ticket Baby Items

While you can add many things you will need to your baby registry for your friends and family to gift you at your baby shower there are some more expensive items that you will need to get for yourself.

These items typically include a baby car seat, pram, cot and an electric breast pump. It is important to research these items carefully to ensure that they are safe for your baby as well as high quality items that will last a long time.

While you can really buy these at any time during your pregnancy it will be best to ensure that you have these early just in case your baby arrives. Remember that you need your infant car seat fitted in the car when you take your baby home from the hospital.

You will also have some big expenses, such as hospital or doctors bills, later on in your pregnancy and when your baby is born. Buying these as soon as possible means you won’t have to worry so much about finances when your baby is born.

9. Practice Self-care

You’ve got a baby on the way and very soon it will be hard to take a moment for yourself. Start getting into good habits when it comes to self-care so that it is easier to continue to look after yourself after your baby is born.

Get in some exercise, make sure that you get enough sleep and rest (you’re going to need it) and start with a good beauty routine if you haven’t already got one. Make your growing belly a focus point for moisturising – remember that keeping your skin in good health while pregnant will help to reduce pregnancy stretch marks after birth.

10. Plan Your Baby Moon

A baby moon can refer to the time just before birth when the parents to be take a relaxing break, however some people refer to the period just after your baby is born when parents and baby get to know each other.

However you look at it, it is important to decide what you want for yourselves as a new family, or as a family that is preparing for a new baby, leading up to the birth and just after birth.

Many new parents want to share their baby with the world, other new parents want to go into lock down and keep their new baby to themselves as they adjust to parenthood. It can be very disconcerting for a new mother to have to adjust to being a new mom and constantly have visitors coming to meet her new baby.

It is completely up to you to decide how you want to deal with these precious moments and it is often best to decide before hand so that you can communicate your wishes to family and friends.