If you have a new baby on the way, you’re probably feeling overwhelmed with all of the things you need to do to prepare. From getting serious about getting healthy to finding the most awesome OB/GYN and doula ever, there’s a lot on your plate. In addition to health- and safety-related preparations, don’t forget to throw in some fun things too, to make this special period in your life unforgettable.
The following are pregnancy tips filled with tasks and treats you can do, trimester by trimester:
First Trimester (Weeks 1 to 13)
1. Make sure you're pregnant! Sometimes being late is just being late, so be sure to verify your pregnancy with a visit to your doctor.
2. Be sure to do your research on OB/GYNs, doulas, and pediatricians. Check out online reviews and meet a few face-to-face to find your (and your baby’s) perfect match.
3. Get the boring stuff out of the way. If morning sickness hasn’t set in yet, now’s a great time to do all the headachy paperwork and research you’ll need to do to ensure that you and your baby are safe and cared for, such as:
Finding out what your health insurance covers
Getting cost estimates for pregnancy and delivery
Working out a budget
Finding out what your company’s pregnancy and new-parent leave policies are
Arranging for help and childcare after delivery
Arranging for life insurance and guardianship… just in case
4. Start scrapbooking and journaling! Soon you’ll have sonograms of your baby and before you know it, photos and footprints. Create a scrapbook, journal, or some combination now so that you’ll have a record of this precious time in your life that can be passed down through the family for generations.
5. Go for health! You’ve been meaning to give up smoking and alcohol? Now’s the time to do it. Replace unhealthy chemicals and foods with vibrant, rich, colorful, fresh fruits and vegetables. Drink plenty of water. Check with your doctor about other diet modifications you can make to have the healthiest baby possible.
6. Make it official: Buy your first bottle of prenatal vitamins. If you weren’t already on prenatals before conception, be sure to get your doctor’s recommendations for a folic-acid rich (600 mcg) prenatal vitamin that can help your baby avoid neural tube defects, plus promote safe and healthy development.
7. Get tested. Depending on your and your partner’s family history, you may need genetic testing. Your doctor may also order chorionic villous sampling (CVS) and a nuchal translucency exam to screen for chromosomal abnormalities.
Second Trimester (Weeks 14 to 26)
1. Sign up for classes: Prenatal yoga, childbirth-prep classes such as Lamaze, breastfeeding classes, and big-sibling classes (if your baby will have one) all fill up quickly, so be sure to get on the list as soon as you can.
2. Go shopping! If you haven’t needed a pregnancy bra until now, you will soon. Bring some girlfriends or your partner so you can model pregnancy clothes as you try them on. Start making the rounds of baby furniture stores to find the perfect bedroom set for your little one.
3. Test, tests, and more tests. Your doctor may order amniocentesis if you’re 35 or older to rule out Down syndrome, spina bifida, and other disorders. Your glucose is tested to rule out gestational diabetes. You can also ask about a multiple marker test that identifies neural tube defects and other disorders.
4. Boy? Girl? If you wish, now’s the time to find out what sex your baby is!
5. Make a plan: Traditional hospital birth? At home with a doula? Just you, your love, and baby-on-the-way, or the whole clan? Make your final decisions about delivery, post-partum help and childcare now — so you can get your first choices.
6. Hit the books (or Google)! You and your partner can learn about parenting by reading books, searching online, and by taking classes.
Third Trimester (Weeks 27 to 40)
1. Pack that suitcase! Make sure your suitcase is packed and ready to go the hospital when you are. Fill it with nursing bras, nightgowns, baby clothes, and blankets.
2. Stock up: Get the necessities, like a car seat, stroller, baby wipes, breast pads, more diapers than you’d ever dreamed you’d need, bibs, burp pads, blankets, swaddling, and toys!
3. Take a shower! Now’s the time to let your friends and family rain down on you with gifts, love, and high-calorie cupcakes. Ask a friend to arrange a baby shower for you, if they haven’t already. You’ve got enough to do!
4. Fill your freezer. When you come home from the hospital, you and your partner won’t want to spend time wondering what to make for dinner or how to make it. Pre-cook and freeze enough meals to last a couple of weeks. Or get ready to hit your favorite online delivery services.
5. Bank on your baby’s health. To ensure that your baby and other blood-related family members have access to the life-giving stem cells that are abundant in the lining of your baby’s umbilical cord, be sure to arrange for cord lining banking. If you don’t make this arrangement in advance, the cord will be discarded as medical waste after your baby is born and the stem cells will be lost forever. Stem cells from cord tissue storage may help prevent and treat diseases such as wounds, burns, diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease.
Why Choose GlobalCord?
Make an informed choice. Select a cord banking service that is licensed to offer complete coverage for all stem cell therapies derived from your stored cord.
Umbilical cord lining tissue banked by non-licensed cord blood banks may not provide the stem cell yield or quality that CellResearch Corporation’s proprietary and patented protocols can provide — this may affect its suitability for future therapeutic use. In addition, these blood banks and medical institutions that offer CellResearch Corporation's patented protocols — which include ALL cord lining stem cell therapies — are at risk of patent infringement.
GlobalCord is operated by CellResearch Corporation and its partners. Cords banked through GlobalCord are covered by CellResearch Corporation’s patent licensure, which extends to 41 territories around the world, including the U.S.A.