Your Third Trimester Checklist

Those last weeks of pregnancy can be a LOT — I get it. Your brain is also feeling pretty mushy and you’re worried you’re going to forget something!

As you step into the final stretch of pregnancy, having a 3rd Trimester Checklist becomes your map to preparing for your little one’s arrival. From organizing a detailed Baby Preparation Checklist to covering all the must-dos on your Third Trimester To Do list, it’s time to dive into everything you need for the last weeks of pregnancy. This Pregnancy List includes tips on Nesting, Pregnancy essentials, important 3rd Trimester Food choices for staying strong and healthy, and all the “to-dos” Before Baby Arrives. With this comprehensive checklist, you’ll feel prepared and confident in those last precious weeks before meeting your baby!

Grab my best 3rd trimester checklists here:

I really want to boil it into 4 parts that will SIMPLIFY it into something you feel like you CAN do.

Get Your Body Prepared

This one has 3 tasks:

• Keep that Body Moving
• Make Prenatal Appointments a Priority (schedule them NOW)
• Eat the right foods

We’ll dive into those each a bit deeper:

Keep that Body Moving

I recently saw a tiktok where a mom said it felt like someone was pouring in a bag of sand into her every day — she just felt heavier, and less mobile every moment of that last trimester. I get that feeling.

So, will you be running a marthon? no.

But, can you still get out on some walks, and make stretching and mobility part of your day? Likely so.

Of course, ask your provider if you’re good to work out, move — and see if they have anything/anyone they recommend.

Bonus points if you’re able to get a PT appointment just to talk about your body — what you should and should not be doing and any tips they have for any issues you’re having.

I am a HUGE fan of really getting that pelvis into movements like a squat to help keep those ligaments open. You can use your couch or a small stool to help you. It really can make a big difference when you’re pushing out that baby.

More and more I think our time sitting in an office chair is ultimately not paying off for our birthing hips.

Make Prenatal Appointments a Priority (schedule them NOW)

If your office offers to schedule your last few appointments, take them up on it. Become chummy with the front desk lady to see when the best time for appointments are and when you’ll wait the least.

Make these appointments a priority.

Prior to now your appointments have probably been pretty routine, and may have even seemed dumb. But, now you’ll want to:

• Review your birth plan with your provider
• Find out when you should be going to L&D
• Have the basics covered so you can dive deeper into YOU and any issues YOU are having.

There’s also a chance they’ll send you in for some testing and you’ll need to make some pretty big choices based on those results. We talk all about third trimester testing in here. If you don’t know what it’s testing, you can’t understand how the results impact you/baby, or how to make choices based on those results — so understanding them is SUPER important.

Eat the right foods

We gotta fuel that body!

The thing is, sometimes (meaning, a lot of the time) you just put yourself last.

You wake up at the last minute and drag yourself to work, and ignore a decent breakfast, because sleep just seemed more important.

Eating foods that hit both protein and carbs (and hopefully fats too) at every meal will keep you feeling better.

Don’t get up and just eat the brownie before work. Even if you don’t have gestational diabetes, your blood sugar is still much more high/low than it used to be — so take care of it by balancing out with some protein.

Oh, and remember that baby is sucking your fluids dry at this point, and water has to be a priority too (and also the toilet, sadly — dang tiny bladder).

I think food is so important (and so easily forgotten) I have a whole bonus video on prenatal nutrition in here that is so helpful for snack and meal ideas both during pregnancy, labor & postpartum life.

Get Your Mind Prepared

This one is all about the preparation you’re going to need as you’ll face one of the biggest things in your life — labor.

You’ll want to be prepared for:

• The rest of pregnancy
• Laboring at home
• Birth
• Postpartum

You may be thinking — oh crap — I just thought I needed to learn some breathing techniques, but I’m here to say that the birth class you have in your mind (or have seen on TV) is likely not the one you need.

Cut to the chase: I recommend this one.

You need to know about that third trimester testing, and how to make choices based off of it (I haven’t seen many classes that cover that — but this one does).

You need to know what to do when you’re laboring at home to make things go faster and be prepared to head to the hospital (but not too soon).

You need to know what happens at birth, including common interventions, so you’re not caught off-guard. That’s really when birth trauma gets tangled into your brain — so, knowing those things in advance can really help.

Likely, you haven’t taken much time to think about your actual life postpartum. Sure, I have a postpartum plan that can help, and a postpartum checklist for the things you’ll want handy:

(Both of those are included with my 3rd trimester bundle of checklists):

But do you know what to expect, what to watch for, or how to manage life with a new baby?

Some might say to make a birth plan, or talk with your provider but I personally think those just aren’t enough. I think you’re smart, and you want to do it the RIGHT way.

Frankly, all of these areas can feel overwhelming and each area has a LOT of pitfalls along each way — which is why I created the birth class I wish I had with my first baby (over 24 years ago). It goes through every single one of those areas (with an expert you can trust).

Make preparing your mind easy by just jumping into it (it’s cheaper than you think):

You can even watch it on your own timeline while you’re working on home projects….

Because the next section is….

Get Your Home Prepared

This one gets a bit tricker because we each have different levels of preparedness.

Some may just have a stack of onsies, diapers and a place for baby to sleep and call that good.

I think most people tend to over-prepare in this area…. which is why I wrote a post on those baby NECESSITIES (and then you can go overboard on whatever area is important to you past that).

This tends to be the area that gets the most focus in the third trimester, but I’m here to say that baby’s needs in those first few weeks are very small. Onsies, diapers, a blanket, a place to sleep… and a carseat. Other than that it’s a lot of time and effort…. so be kind to YOURSELF.

Again, I have the baby necessities list included in that third trimester bundle:

The two things I recommend to have done by about 35 weeks:

• Have the space for baby to sleep set-up (it’s fine to not use a crib, but you need a safe sleep environment — learn more about that here).
• Have the car seat installed in your car and know how to use it (use a towel or stuffed animal in place of a baby).

I will give you one tip — if there’s anything you’d like fixed about your house, if you can do it now you’ll be glad for it. I remember thinking we’d get blinds fixed after baby was born. Newsflash, we did not. I’m not sure we ever did before we moved. Doing things becomes harder after baby is born. For the most part.

Get your Heart Prepared

I just don’t think we give ourselves enough time to get ready for the big change that is about to happen. Especially as the mother — your body will have all sorts of changes, but so will your life.

I joke that I kind of thought my baby would be like a new purse I was just hauling places. I was wrong. So, very wrong.

Have you taken some time to think about how life is going to be different after baby is born?

How you’ll want to preserve yourself, relationships & activities you want to prioritize.

What type of backup you can reach for if things start to spiral downhill?

I am a doer, I get it. I think that we can “do” ourselves out of most problems. However, sometimes we just have to realize that we only control so much, and we are ready to accept life as it comes.

The Online Prenatal Class for Couples actually has a lot of couples questions that will guide you through thoughts like this. Since I’m not just a labor nurse with 20 years of experience, but also a mom to three and friend to thousands of people who’ve had a baby — I know what things often catch couples off-guard and I can help you prepare in advance.

And I can also remind you that preparation can only do so much, and often teamwork and a sense of humor can carry you through the rest of the way.

I hope you found this article helpful — be sure to grab those checklists and I wish you the VERY best in your upcoming birth!