Just When You Thought You Knew What Love Is All About
Maybe you and your significant other are thinking about starting a family and would like to have a child together. Perhaps you’re getting ready for the arrival of your first little bundle of joy. When it comes to preparing for the arrival of the newest member of your family, you may be receiving an abundance of advice, most likely from your mother but possibly also from other elderly relatives. However, your obstetrician is the one person who can give you the best advice as a new mother, and this is true regardless of how many different pieces of advice you receive.
A major part of being the best parent you can be is being ready for your baby, whether or not your pregnancy was planned. Pregnancy is a personal experience, and so are the steps that parents-to-be needed to take in getting ready for their new arrival. This “preparing for baby” timeline was created with the assistance of obstetricians and midwives affiliated with Sirwiss to assist expectant parents in preparing for the birth of their child.
Keep reading in case there’s just something new you need to know.
In the Midst of Pregnancy Attempts
If you’ve decided you want to start trying to have a baby, the first thing you should do is schedule a preconception appointment with your gynecologist or midwife to go over some basic principles.
At your preconception appointment, you and your doctor will probably talk about the following:
1. Your diet and exercise routine
2. Your medical and family health history
3. Any medications you are taking
4. Your past reproductive health, including prior pregnancies
Pregnancy is a major life event, and your doctor may suggest steps you can take now to prepare your body for pregnancy, such as adopting a healthier diet and cutting back on harmful habits. They might suggest you start taking prenatal vitamins, give you information about recommended vaccines, provide free STD testing, and preconception genetic counseling.
First Trimester
In the case of an unintended pregnancy, the mother may not discover her condition until well into the pregnancy. However, if you find out you’re pregnant within the first month, there are some easy things you can do to get ready.
Month 1:
Parents frequently inquire, “When should I begin preparing for the baby?”. The answer? As early as possible. The first day of your last menstrual period is used to determine your gestational age, so if your period is late and you take a test and find out you’re pregnant, you’re probably about a month along. Knowing you’ll be pregnant is all the more reason to make healthy food and lifestyle choices. Doctors advise starting a healthy pregnancy with a balanced diet of whole foods and no smoking or drinking.
Month 2:
Initial consultation scheduling: Once you’ve decided on an obstetrician, schedule your first prenatal checkup as soon as possible; doing so can take a few weeks. Some obstetricians will see you as soon as you call, while others may ask you to wait until you are at least seven or eight weeks along. Morning sickness, vaginal bleeding, or anything else that bothers you or you are unsure is normal are all reasons to contact your clinic before your first appointment, regardless of how they operate. You will have a checkup around week 10 of your pregnancy that will include an ultrasound to detect your baby’s heartbeat and confirm your due date. The remainder of your prenatal appointments will be scheduled with the assistance of your doctor.
Start taking prenatal vitamins now: As soon as you find out you’re pregnant, start taking a prenatal vitamin that contains at least 400 mcg of folic acid. Spina bifida, a defect of the spinal cord, can be avoided by giving a pregnant woman the recommended daily allowance of folic acid during her pregnancy. You may find it easier to take your prenatal vitamins if you switch to gummy vitamins if morning sickness is making it difficult for you to swallow and keep down regular pills.
Month 3:
First trimester screenings: Your doctor will begin running tests as part of your prenatal care around the third month of pregnancy. These are referred to as first-trimester screenings. Your initial check-up will include a thorough medical history, basic blood work, and possibly an ultrasound. Your healthcare provider may order screening tests for birth defects and genetic abnormalities based on your risk factors. Among the genetic screening tests performed during weeks 11 through 13 of pregnancy are:
1. Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and pregnancy associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) levels are measured during pregnancy; if levels are out of range, a genetic disorder is possible.
2. An ultrasound is used to look for excess fluid behind the fetus’s neck, which could be a sign of a genetic disorder.
Second Trimester
The second trimester is when the preparations for a baby become more involved. As you progress through your second trimester of pregnancy, you and your doctor should begin to feel more optimistic about the strong possibility of a healthy outcome. Therefore, you may start making concrete plans for getting ready for your baby on a weekly basis.
Month 4:
Healthy eating: You may have started to feel better if you suffered from morning sickness during the first trimester. It’s never too soon to start anew with a healthy diet and regular exercise. It’s also important to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Inadequate fluid intake during pregnancy has been linked to headaches, leg cramps, constipation, and even preterm labor, so it’s important to drink plenty of water every day.
Enroll in a prenatal education program: During this month, you should also consider preparing for your baby’s birth by enrolling in childbirth and delivery education classes. Many of these classes take a few months to complete, so getting started early will allow you to feel more confident in your preparation for your baby’s birth. These classes frequently cover various birthing options, preparation for the delivery process, and things to prepare for the baby’s deliver.
Second trimester screenings: Genetic screenings in the second trimester are typically performed around the 15-week mark. Typical screening tests at this time include:
1. A “quadrupole” blood test (conducted between 15 and 22 weeks) that screens your baby for Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome, and neural tube defects.
Month 5:
Another ultrasound will be performed at around the 20-week mark to assess the progress of your pregnancy. Find out the gender of your baby at this appointment! Some expecting parents find it helpful to know the gender of their child so they can adjust their prenatal care accordingly. Others, on the other hand, it’s a fun surprise that they’ve anxiously been waiting for.
Many expectant parents begin preparing their homes for a new child around this time. By setting up a nursery (or at least ordering the necessary furniture and other items) before the baby is born, expectant parents can avoid the last-minute flurry of activity that accompanies the realization that their due date could arrive at any moment. If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy, you may not have the resources available to create your nursery at this time — but starting this preparation process as early as possible helps to get the necessary plans in motion.
Meanwhile, you and your partner should begin making preparations for the birth. Even though you won’t give birth for a few more months if everything goes according to plan, babies have a way of showing up whenever they’re ready. You should start preparing for a term birth while also giving some thought to your hopes for a preterm labor and delivery.
Second trimester ultrasound: Between 18 and 20 weeks, you’ll have an anomaly or fetal anatomy scan. As previously stated, now is the time to find out the gender of your baby. The scan examines your unborn child’s size and growth, as well as any birth defects in organs such as the brain, spine, heart, limbs, and abdomen.
Month 6:
Choosing your pediatrician: It’s important to find a pediatrician you feel comfortable with because they’ll be caring for your baby from birth and on a regular basis for the first few years of their life. Find a person you feel safe with by talking to your family members about their own experiences. There are a lot of questions that pop up during childhood, so it’s crucial that you and your child’s doctor get along well. Many expecting parents take a tour of the hospital around this time as part of their preparations. As a result, you’ll have the opportunity to get answers to your questions and calm your anxieties about the delivery. For other goals of your birth plan, you may start looking into hiring professionals like doulas.
Test yourself for gestational diabetes: In the 24th to 28th week of your pregnancy, you will undergo a glucose challenge screening to check for gestational diabetes. In this experiment, you’ll sip on something sugary. In about an hour, they’ll check your blood sugar again. It is necessary to take an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) to confirm a diagnosis of gestational diabetes if your blood sugar levels are consistently high during pregnancy.
Third Trimester
During the third and final trimester of your pregnancy, you will begin gathering information and preparing for the delivery of your baby. After all, the more prepared you are, the more easily you will be able to deal with unanticipated developments such as an early labor.
Month 7:
Baby proofing your home: It’s never too early to begin baby-proofing your home, and that includes the pregnancy period. Don’t put these off until your baby is mobile. You shouldn’t wait for something bad to happen before you start organizing your life. Complete them early rather than late. Baby supplies are something you should probably pick up if you haven’t already. First, you’ll need a car seat. You’ll need one of these to leave the hospital, and getting one ahead of time will give you a chance to practice installing the seat and get any details ironed out. Taking an infant-care class could be helpful as you anticipate the arrival of your new little bundle of joy. These courses will teach you how to take care of a baby, from changing diapers to swaddling the infant safely.
It is preferable to obtain CPR certification: Although no parent wants to consider the possibility of an emergency involving their child, it is better to be prepared than sorry. Pregnant women would be wise to complete a course in infant and child CPR. Babies put everything they can get their hands on in their mouths, so it’s better to be prepared if you ever have to deal with a choking emergency.
Month 8:
Preparing for the birth of a baby can be a stressful time, especially in the last two months of pregnancy. You should be in good shape if you were able to make plans before you became pregnant. It can be challenging to figure out what to do in order to get ready for a baby at this late stage if you find yourself in the midst of an unplanned pregnancy. Don’t be reluctant to ask for assistance when you really need it. Crisis pregnancy centers, support groups, counselors, and others can provide invaluable insight and guidance.
Pack your hospital bag: While the majority of infants are born after a minimum of 36 weeks of gestation, a few are born prematurely. Ensure that a car seat is available and installed: Without a properly installed car seat, the hospital will not release you to go home.
Count the kicks: At this point in your pregnancy, it is a good idea to keep track of how many times your baby kicks each day. The frequency of a baby’s kicks varies from day to day and even hour to hour, but on average, you can expect to feel your baby move around 10 times per hour. Use this chart between prenatal visits to monitor your baby’s health. Knowing when to notify your doctor or midwife of a change in your baby’s movement patterns is another benefit.
Group B strep test: You will be tested for Group B strep at the very end of your pregnancy, around weeks 36–38, because this particular common bacteria doesn’t typically cause symptoms in the mother but can be dangerous for the developing baby. For those who test positive for Group B strep during labor, an intravenous antibiotic will be administered.
Month 9:
Rest and enjoy your time: You should take some time off work to rest (your body will thank you) and prepare for the arrival of your baby in the final weeks of pregnancy. The next 18 years will be spent taking care of your child, therefore, take this time to unwind and enjoy the remaining weeks before your life is radically altered. You and your unborn child rely on your body in so many ways, so it’s important to take care of yourself as much as possible. Prioritize getting adequate sleep, eating healthily, and doing something soothing for yourself every day.