If you’re entering the third trimester of your pregnancy, it can feel like there’s a lot to get done. Read on to discover some of the best ways to get ready for your third trimester. Finish your pregnancy with calm and peace of mind!
*This is a guest post and all opinions are those of the author. This post may also contain affiliate and/or paid links. Rest assured that we only work with companies and individuals that we trust. While some of those companies and individuals may work in the medical field, this post is not intended to be a substitution for medical advice. Always speak to your doctor if you have concerns about your mental or physical health.
Prepare Your Nursery
If you haven’t already been busy getting your nursery perfect for your baby, now is the time to get everything ready. Put together your crib before it gets too hard to bend over, and your third trimester will be a breeze. Get all your baby’s furniture set up so you can just look forward to bringing them home.
Understand the Risks of Birth
Understanding the risks in the birthing process is crucial during your third trimester. If you haven’t taken a birthing class, now is the time to sign up. You can also attend breastfeeding and infant CPR classes to better prepare yourself. You should also be aware of the most common birthing injuries that can happen to your child, so you’ll be ready for whatever comes your way.
Pay Attention to Baby’s Movement
If your baby’s movement decreases, it’s best to let a doctor or midwife know as soon as possible. Chances are it’s nothing to worry about, but you’ll want to keep everyone informed to make sure everything is going smoothly.
Click here to get the Postpartum Plan Workbook.
Have a Plan
When you go into labor, you’ll want to know exactly what to do. Take your last trimester to talk with your doctor and midwife about your preferences. You should also determine when to head for the hospital or birthing center. Learn about each of the stages of labor and how to identify them so that you’ll be ready when the time comes. It’s equally important to have a postpartum plan as well, what you’ll do once you come home with baby.
Pack a Hospital Bag
Part of planning for the perfect birth is packing your bag for the hospital. Bring your insurance card, a change of clothes, an outfit for the baby, and your favorite toiletries. Don’t forget to pack an extra phone charger too!
Put in Baby’s Car Seat
As you approach the end of your third trimester, you’ll want to install your baby’s car seat in your vehicle. Get everything ready for the big day by installing your car seat ahead of time, ensuring you understand how to operate it, and can get your baby on board with ease.
Decide on a Name
Chances are you’ve already got a list of names picked out for your baby, but your third trimester is the time to narrow that list down. Taking the time to choose the perfect name for your baby is one of the best ways to get ready for your third trimester. Enjoy this important process and prepare for their special birthday!
Now that you know all the best ways to get ready for your third trimester, schedule time to get everything set up for your baby and finish your pregnancy off strong. With the right preparations and planning, you’ll be ready for anything your third trimester brings!
Author Bio
Christina Duron is a writer living in the Chicagoland area. Her passion for writing and mental health help create thought provoking and engaging pieces and hopes to use them to empower mothers and women to embrace the beauty of motherhood.
Have you ever left a medical appointment with advice from your doctor, only to forget exactly what they said a few days later? Having a medical binder can help you avoid forgetting important information like this. When kept updated, it can also help keep you safe during an emergency and provide some organization during important life events, such as pregnancy or big moves.
*This is a guest post and all opinions are those of the author. This post may also contain affiliate and/or paid links. Rest assured that we only work with companies and individuals that we trust. While some of those companies and individuals may work in the medical field, this post is not intended to be a substitution for medical advice. Always speak to your doctor if you have concerns about your mental or physical health.
What is a Medical Binder?
A medical binder lists all of your health information and can house important medical documents. During an emergency, it can act as the single source of truth for those trying to care for you. This is especially important if you’re unable to communicate for any reason.
However, a medical binder doesn’t need to — and shouldn’t — only be used in times of emergency. It can come in handy for organizational purposes as well. If you keep it up-to-date, you could end up helping yourself and your healthcare providers a great deal.
If you visit multiple different providers or take numerous medications, you should use a medical binder to keep the information straight. This can help your providers keep track of overlapping prescriptions, and avoid the dangerous effects that multiple prescriptions can cause. Keeping a medical binder for as long as you are able is also useful for your loved ones.
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What to Include in Your Medical Binder?
You can include any health information you feel is necessary in your medical binder, including insurance details, written advice or research from providers, and specific health trackers. You could also include:
Basic health information like allergies or your blood type
Medicine chart
Appointment history
Important contact information
Basic Health Information Sheet
A basic health information sheet should have the standard information that you would usually need to receive medical treatment. In case of emergency, a healthcare clinic, hospital, or emergency responders would benefit from information such as:
Your full name
Emergency contact information
Allergies
Date of birth
Blood type
Immunization records
This information can help healthcare professionals give you the best possible care as quickly as possible. You may also want to make a copy of this form in a smaller size and laminate it to keep in your purse at all times.
Click to Download a Free Printable!
Medication Log
According to WebMD, more than 50% of Americans take an average of four prescription pills. However, taking multiple medications can be dangerous. Some types of medication overlap may even have deadly consequences. Keeping track of exactly what medications you take is especially important when you’re pregnant, as some medications may affect the development of your baby.
Likewise, documenting your medications can also help you and your doctor figure out which ones have worked in the past, and which haven’t. If you’ve switched doctors and are in a prescription experimentation phase, supplying your own records can help you avoid repeating medications.
Click to Download a Free Printable!
Blood Pressure Log
Many are unaware that they have hypertension (or high blood pressure), but it has damaging—and even deadly—effects over time. According to the CDC, 1 in every 12 to 17 pregnancies experiences high blood pressure.
One way to avoid problems from high blood pressure is to keep track. Purchase a home blood pressure monitor to record your own blood pressure. Remember, home monitoring isn’t an adequate substitute for doctor’s visits, but it can still be helpful for healthcare professionals to gauge the effectiveness of treatments.
Click to Download a Free Printable!
Being aware of your medical conditions and treatments before a big life transition — like moving homes, having a child, or planning for retirement — can help alleviate stress and worry. These changes may influence your healthcare providers or the amount of healthcare you receive. Tracking doctors visits for current conditions and logging your present healthcare needs in your medical binder can keep you on top of your health — no matter what phase of life you’re in.
Author Bio
Abby Christensen is a digital marketer who helps RetireGuide create helpful pieces of content worth sharing. When she’s not soaking up the latest digital marketing news, you can find her reading, playing with her pooch, or organizing.
You’ve heard of birth plans, but making a postpartum plan can be equally if not more important.
A postpartum plan is a way to help you prepare for those first few months after giving birth. Many women create birth plans in anticipation of their labor and delivery, but often neglect the postpartum period. This can result in sleep deprivation, breastfeeding problems, added stress and may even contribute to symptoms of postpartum depression or anxiety.
Here’s how and why you should create a postpartum plan for the months following your baby’s birth.
*This post contains affiliate and/or paid links which means that if you click on one of these links and buy a product, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Rest assured that I only recommend products that I love from companies that I trust. Furthermore, I am not a medical professional and nothing in this post should be taken as medical advice. I am simply a mother who has been there and lived to tell the tale.
The postpartum period is often called the fourth trimester and usually considered the first three months after giving birth. However, women require different amounts of time to recover after childbirth. The physical and hormonal changes usually regulate within six weeks, but mental health can sometimes take longer. Whether it’s your first or your fourth child, it can be hard to predict how long you will need postpartum care until the time actually comes.
The birth of a baby is like a mass signal to all our family and friends that it’s time to come and meet them. But too many visitors at once can interrupt the postpartum healing process. You may either feel excited to show off your new baby, or anxious about too many people crowding them (and you).
If you’ve given birth in a hospital, then there are usually specific rules that visitors must follow and this should also be the case when you are home. Try to schedule specific times for visitors, and don’t have everyone come all at once. Make sure visitors are washing their hands before holding or touching baby and don’t let anyone to kiss your newborn baby. Don’t allow visitors to simply “drop by” because that could interrupt your sleep or breastfeeding routine. And if at any time you feel anxious or overwhelmed by your visitors, feel free to ask them to leave or excuse yourself to your your bedroom. You’re not a party hostess.
Communicate these rules to your family and friends, even if it feels awkward. Adding this into your postpartum plan and letting them all know your wishes ahead of time can make it easier. Once baby arrives, the excitement can often distract everyone from the plan, so make sure to remind them in a text, e-mail or a printed note on the front door. No one should feel offended by your decision to focus on your postpartum health.
Click here to download The Postpartum Plan Workbook.
Keep Track of Your Appointments
Just like during pregnancy, both you and baby will require regular check ups during the postpartum period. It’s important not to skip any of these appointments, and making a schedule of them can help.
Take a look at a calendar and figure out your postpartum timeline. When will you be 2 weeks postpartum? Baby will need a check up with their pediatrician. What date will you be 6 weeks postpartum? That’s when you will need your checkup. The postpartum period can often go by quickly, so knowing the dates that you hit these milestones ahead of time can help you stay focused on your recovery.
If you can, try to book all of your appointments in advance. Doctor’s offices can sometimes be difficult to get into, and a lot can change in just a few days during the postpartum period. If you know that you have an appointment coming up, you can prepare any questions that you have ahead of time. Making notes of things that you want to discuss can help to reduce stress and anxiety.
And don’t forget to include any appointments with lactation consultants, the public health nurse, newborn photographers, for religious ceremonies, to get government paperwork or passports done, etc. When you think about it, there’s a lot that needs to be done to welcome a new person into the world.
Click here to download The Postpartum Plan Workbook.
Enlist Help
It really does take a village to raise a child. Many moms these days tend to go it alone thanks to our ever busy lives. But historically and in many cultures today, it’s unheard of for a new mother to tackle the postpartum period on her own. Asking for help during the postpartum period does not make you any less capable of a mother. If anything, it’s one of the smartest things you can do.
Make a list or schedule for those who are available and willing to help you out. Your spouse or partner is going to be helper number one but it’s understandable that they won’t be available 24/7 as most workplaces only offer minimal amounts of parental leave. Try to schedule additional help during the times they are not around. Parents, siblings, friends, neighbors are often more than happy to help you out – all you have to do is ask.
If you really can’t find anyone to help, and your budget can afford it, considering hiring help. A postpartum doula is specifically trained to help you with everything you need in the postpartum period. You can also consider hiring a housekeeper or cleaning service, a food delivery service or night nurse. If there isn’t room in your budget for these kinds of things, add them to your baby registry.
Click here to download The Postpartum Plan Workbook.
Make Time to Rest
Your postpartum plan should be centered around getting rest. Rest is so incredibly important in those first few months postpartum. Regardless of how your labor and delivery went, all moms need to allow their bodies time to heal. A lot is happening inside of us that we don’t always see from the outside. So while making your postpartum plan, make sure to schedule in lots of time for sleep, naps and lying down with your feet up.
Moms tend to feel guilty when it comes to rest. The urge to cook and clean and take care of everyone else is a strong force within us. But rest is an important part of the healing process, both physically and mentally. Thankfully, newborns are pretty cooperative when it comes to this. Even if you’re not “sleeping when baby sleeps” make sure that both you and baby are getting enough sleep.
Once you’ve enlisted help to take care of all your other responsibilities, spend as much time as you can in bed with your baby.Focus on breastfeeding, have lots of skin to skin contact and sleep whenever baby does. This will also help with the bonding process, which can help with symptoms of the baby blues or postpartum depression.
Click here to download The Postpartum Plan Workbook.
Plan Out Your Meals
A healthy diet is essential to healing in the postpartum period. What type of food you eat can affect breastfeeding, your postpartum body and your mental health. You shouldn’t have to worry about cooking during the first few weeks, so having prepared food ready should be an essential part of your postpartum plan.
Stocking the freezer with healthy meals is a common practice for many moms during the “nesting phase” of their pregnancy. This will ensure that you always have something hearty that can be ready with very little effort. Stock your pantry with healthy non-perishables that are easy to whip up, like canned meats or beans, soups, pasta, or instant oatmeal (great for boosting your milk supply.) Buy them little by little throughout your pregnancy so that you have a fully stocked pantry by the time baby arrives.
Create a list of some of your favorite healthy dishes that family and friends can cook and bring for you when they come to visit. The majority of people (especially veteran moms) love feeling helpful by bringing food, but you don’t want to end up with a bunch of casseroles that you’ll never touch. They don’t have to be full meals either, you can request some simple things like fresh fruit or vegetables, smoothies or sandwiches.
Or try a food delivery service. There are so many different ones available now. Many of them offer free dishes and trial periods which can hold you over during the postpartum period. Don’t forget to add gift cards to these services on your baby registry, they make great last minute or long-distance gift ideas.
Click here to download The Postpartum Plan Workbook.
Add in Light Exercise
Your postpartum body is very different than your pre-pregnancy one. Many moms are anxious to start dropping the baby weight and get back into shape, but postpartum fitness should be more about strength and wellness than weight loss. Once you’ve gotten the green light from your doctor or midwife, you can begin to add in light exercise to help your body recover from pregnancy and childbirth.
Focus on your pelvic floor muscles. The pelvic floor muscles do the majority of the work when it comes to pregnancy, labor and delivery. During the postpartum period, they will need some work to get them back into shape and reduce the risk of pelvic pain, urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. There are several light exercises you can do to strengthen them, including Kegels and pelvic lifts. Or you can invest in a pelvic floor training device to do them with ease.
Try low-impact workouts, like yoga.Postpartum yoga is a popular option and some places even offer mom and baby classes. Walking or jogging is another great option for moms, with local stroller walking groups popping up all over the place. Any kind of light exercise will help get you feeling like yourself again. But until your body is fully healed, it’s a good idea to hold off on weight lifting or high-intensity workouts.
Click here to download The Postpartum Plan Workbook.
Monitor Your Mental Health
Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are one of most common complications of childbirth. Even if you are low risk, there are chances that you could get postpartum depression, anxiety or psychosis. This is something all mothers should be aware of and prepare for in their postpartum plan.
Keep track of changes in your moods and daily habits. If you feel less energy, are prone to rage and anger, become frustrated or cry easily and often, these could be warning signs that it’s more than just the baby blues. If you think that you are suffering from postpartum depression, perform a self assessment to help you see things more clearly.
Don’t stay silent about it. Speak up if you feel like something isn’t right. Tell your spouse, your mom or best friend. Talk to your doctor or midwife. Call a postpartum support helpline. There are several different options available and it’s better to get help sooner rather than later.
Click here to download The Postpartum Plan Workbook.
A postpartum plan should be designed with you and baby in mind. Just like with a birth plan, make sure to communicate what you want with those who will be supporting you in the first few months. And, also like a birth plan, bear in mind that things may not always go according to plan. Your labor and delivery will have a lot to do with your recovery process. Make sure to leave room for adjustments as needed. Most importantly, rest, relax, and get to know your new baby!
Click here to download the Postpartum Plan Workbook, available in the Postpartum Depression Free Resource Library.
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