10 things to do during ‘Baby Month’

It’s finally September, which means it’s baby month! I found out I was pregnant in January, so I pretty much feel like I’ve been pregnant for an entire year, ha!

I shared a photo on Instagram yesterday stating a very interesting fact. The average month has 30 days, except for the last month of pregnancy which has about 5,375 days…. give or take. Every mother knows the final weeks of pregnancy are brutal. They drag on as you navigate through heartburn, aches, pains, nausea and downright exhaustion.

On the other hand, the final weeks can also be filled with unsuspecting bursts of energy and the desire to “nest”. I’m in full-blown nesting mode as my older two kids are in school now and my youngest still naps. I’ve been cleaning and organizing and preparing our rooms for the newest member of our family. So I decided to share what we’ve been up to!

Here are my top 10 things to do during ‘Baby Month’:

Install Car Seat — if you’re a first time parent, you will need to take some time to figure out how to get the car seat in the car. It’s best to do this before you go to the hospital, because honestly they can be tricky! For us, as 4th time parents, it’s all about cleaning the old car seat and making sure it hasn’t expired.
Prepare crib, rocker, bassinet, etc. — you should probably get the bed your newborn is going to sleep in ready to go! For some people that’s a bassinet attached to the pack n play, or a small co-sleeping bassinet. I’m so excited to try the SNOO with this baby. I have heard nothing but fantastic things about the SNOO, and I’ve had nothing but terrible sleepers… so I’m praying this item works its magic. TBD…
Prepare breast pump, bottles, pacifier, etc. — whether you plan to breastfeed or not, you’re going to want to sanitize, sterilize and prepare bottles for your new baby. I’m about 3 weeks out from go time, and I still have no idea where my breast pump is. I’m pretty sure I cursed that thing to hell… haha. But, the baby is coming and so is the milk, so finding the pump and sterilizing it is top of my list. You might also want to purchase new piping.
Prepare some meals or do some serious meal planning — yes, girl, yes! My amazing neighborhood friends have started a meal train for me for this baby. They asked what I needed for my 4th child, and I told them some dinners would be fabulous! Don’t be afraid to ask your friends, family, church, neighbors, strangers…whoever for some meals. If you don’t have that outreach, which is totally okay, check out Pinterest for some easy to make meals that keep well in the freezer. Another option, Publix and Whole Foods now offer meal kits! Think Blue Apron or Hello Fresh, which both of those are great options as well. Having about 5 or so meals pre-made will make your life so much easier for those first weeks when baby comes home from the hospital and you are a walking zombie.
Pack hospital bag or at least have everything laid out — I probably won’t officially pack my bag until it’s go time, but I do have everything cleaned and laid out ready to be thrown in a bag. I wrote a blog post a couple weeks ago outlining what you need in your hospital bag. You can read that post here!
Figure out child care for other children and work schedule — I work from home, so I don’t really have to worry about maternity leave, but since I work for myself, I also don’t really get any time off. I have made all of my clients aware of my due date and being out of commission for a couple of days. Also, since we have three other children I have them set up to ship off to my mom and dad’s house when it’s baby time. I’ll get their bags packed here in the next couple of weeks just to make sure everything is ready to roll.
Find something to binge on — when I had my daughter I labored at home for several hours before waking my husband up to go to the hospital. Hindsight, I should have went sooner as I was already 9.5 centimeters dilated and she was almost born in the car! That being said, I binged on “Orange is the New Black” during my contractions. It was great to have something to take my mind off the pain. If you’re not a Netflix person, choose a book or podcast you’ve been dying to dive into.
Pay to have your house cleaned (deep cleaned) — the one thing that I do splurge on for myself is a housecleaner. We are not made of money by any means, but it is the one luxury I spend on myself. Twice a month I have a housecleaner come in and do surface cleaning, bathrooms, floors, kitchen, etc. This month I will spend a little extra to have a deep clean. It’s worth it to me to have a clean house to bring baby home to.
One last date night — plan one final date night out with your spouse to your favorite restaurant. It might be quite some time before the two of you get out together again.
Be grateful — a lot of these blog posts will say to do something for yourself, and that’s great, but I’m taking a different spin here. Take some time to be grateful for this incredible miracle that’s about to happen. Whatever that looks like to you. Maybe that means you donate to a local charity or help another mama to be in need or donate all of your maternity clothes or just to take some time to grab a coffee with someone who really needs it. Take some time to reflect, pray, meditate on the miracle that’s about to occur.

You are about to experience something many women dream of experiencing. Be grateful for the miracle. Be grateful for the pregnancy. Be grateful you were chosen to be this little baby’s mama.