S2 E9: The Ultimate Pregnancy Checklist: Organizing for Baby’s Arrival (#44)

Summary

Taylor Rae Roman hosts an episode of On the Outside focused on organizing for baby’s arrival, sharing her personal experience preparing her Brooklyn home through extensive organization and renovation. She details how she and her husband made creative storage solutions in their condo, including built-ins and a converted hall closet for the baby’s nook, and explains how organizing helped manage her mental health. Taylor breaks down pregnancy preparation into three trimesters with detailed checklists, from confirming pregnancy and considering birth preferences in the first trimester to maternity prep, registry creation, and birth education in the second trimester, followed by baby, hospital, and postpartum planning in the third. She also shares organizational tools like pregnancy tracking apps, Notion for digital checklists, and emphasizes delegating tasks and hiring help to create peace of mind during this transitional period.

KEY MOMENTS

Introduction and Home Preparation - 00:00:06: Taylor Rae Roman introduces the episode's focus on organizing for baby's arrival, sharing her personal experience of preparing her Brooklyn condo through renovation and organization solutions.

First Trimester Checklist - 00:04:01: Taylor outlines essential first trimester tasks including confirming pregnancy, scheduling initial appointments, choosing healthcare providers, and considering pregnancy announcement timing.

Second Trimester Organization - 00:07:32: Details second trimester preparations including maternity clothing organization, baby registry creation, pediatrician research, and birth education classes.

Third Trimester Preparation - 00:15:24: Covers third trimester tasks including finalizing birth plans, preparing hospital bags, setting up baby essentials, and organizing postpartum recovery supplies.

Organizational Tools and Systems - 00:21:11: Taylor discusses various organizational tools including pregnancy apps, digital checklists, and automated systems for managing pregnancy-related tasks.

TRANSCRIPTION

Hello and welcome back. My name is Taylor Rae and this is On the Outside. In today's episode, we talk about organizing for baby's arrival from first trimester all the way up until delivery. This episode, we talk about the top things to remember to do each trimester, how to stay organized at a time that can have so many feelings, emotions, and things going on, tools for managing all of the tasks that come with becoming a parent,

and more. Now, when I first got pregnant, what I really thought about was the decision that me and my husband had made to stay in our home here in Brooklyn. We've lived in this Congo for going on nine years and we honestly love it here so, so much.

We knew we just did not want to leave and that meant we were going to have to make it work with a baby in the space. For us, that has meant an entire kind of like redecorating mini renovation journey.

We have added so many built-ins to the apartment. We've gotten rid of so much stuff. It's insane. We literally cleared out an entire hall closet to become the baby's little nook or all of his stuff is going to go.

We've organized every single area. I've put bins on bins on bins in every nook and crevice and corner and truly optimized our space. We built a second closet into the bedroom like a wardrobe against the wall so that way we could have extra storage.

And honestly, it's just been so much. It's been almost a year that we have been doing all this for the home. And for me, getting my space organized before the baby is here is one of the ways that I'm truly preemptively taking care of my mental health.

I think that it can be so hard as a first-time parent because you don't know what you don't know. And while there are so many people that are so well-meaning and helpful and will try to prepare you for the journey to parenthood, there are also so many people that make it sound really scary.

And at the end of the day, every single person who has been a parent has such a different and unique experience. Like, my mom can't say enough how it's like... just the best thing ever and how we're going to be fine.

And like, she's not stressed for us at all. And like, it's going to be great and like nothing but positivity. And I feel like a lot of our friends have the same vibe. They're like, yeah, you guys are going to be great.

But then I hear a lot on the internet, oh my gosh, it's going to be so hard. It's going to be the hardest thing you've ever done, which I think it will be the hardest thing I've ever done in my life if I'm being honest, because being pregnant has been the hardest thing I've ever done in my life if I'm being honest.

So that part is valid. And I take it very seriously becoming a parent, but sometimes it just sounds scary out here, you know? So all that being said, I could only control what I could control, which is what I've been saying since I started my trying to conceive journey.

And one thing I can control is being an organized girl. Now, before we dive in, as always, I want to remind you that I'm not a doctor or a medical professional. Everything I share in this episode is based on my personal experience and research.

Always check in with your doctor or a qualified healthcare provider before making any decisions about your health, pregnancy, or preconception journey. Let's get into it. So the first thing that might be on your checklist will be around preconception planning.

I feel like I have said all that one can say about preconception. So check out some of the first episodes in this season if you haven't listened or watched them already, because I go in depth about everything preconception in those.

Moving on into first trimester, the first thing we want to do is confirm the pregnancy and get those first appointments scheduled, our blood work, ultrasound, due date confirmation, all of those things that I went over in our episode about what to expect with doctor's appointments, and discussing your prenatal care plan and early genetic testing options, making sure you're on a...

prenatal, just really getting all of those things handled and scheduled out. Next thing we want to start thinking about are lifestyle adjustments, choosing your OB-GYN if you don't have one, a midwife, and thinking about where you want to give birth.

At that time, you also want to start thinking about announcing your pregnancy. Do you want to do it in your first trimester? Do you want to wait until what people kind of more traditionally do, which is waiting after 12 weeks?

But remember, that is changing, and it is always your choice when you want to announce and who you want to announce it to. So deciding and planning that, even in your first trimester, time can fly, and so scheduling a photographer or thinking about what you might want to wear or where you might want to do it, those are some things that you can definitely start considering in your first trimester if you know you want to go big and do a whole pregnancy announcement.

photo shoot or something like that. And then something else we wanna start thinking about in the first trimester is our birth preferences. Again, do we wanna be in a hospital? Do we wanna home birth?

Do we wanna doula? And starting to research all of the things that are going to affect you on this journey, like your maternity leave policies, your paternity leave policies, anything that you're going to need to know, even looking into what is going on with your insurance.

Last thing to really note for first trimester is to sign up for pregnancy tracking apps. I was determined to find one that you had to pay for because I didn't want so many ads. I found that a lot of the pregnancy tracking apps had so many ads just all the time for baby products, postpartum products, mini commercials, and I was really not into it.

So I was like, let me just pay a couple dollars and get rid of all of the ads. So that's kind of your little checklist for first trimester. Honestly, not a ton to do, but rest, take care of yourself, manage your symptoms that you might be experiencing, and honestly, just get excited.

Now, when we get into our second trimester, we have a bit more on our to-do list. Of course, we have everything that's going on with the doctor, our anatomy scan, our gestational diabetes screening, and all of these things, the amazing part is you don't really need to keep specific track of each of these tests and exams.

Your doctor is going to be on top of that or definitely should be on top of that. All of my prenatal appointments were scheduled out from the first time I went to my doctor's office. So we're just gonna take it for granted that all of those things are scheduled and talk about some of the other things that might not be on your mind.

So maternity and baby prep, buying maternity clothes. and comfortable shoes or definitely prioritizing those things. You might want to do a closet clean out and a drawer clean out. That's what I did and packed up everything that I knew was not going to fit me much longer.

And having all of those items out of my house honestly reduced my stress and anxiety, improved my body image so much because I wasn't grabbing things that just weren't going to fit me. I packed it up, I brought it to my mom's house, I labeled the bins with summer or spring or fall clothes so that way I knew where they'd be in the future when I wanted them back.

But I just made sure that everything that was in my house I could actually wear. I didn't buy a ton of new maternity clothes. I bought a couple things, extra long shirts so that they covered the bottom of my belly when I wore sweaters in the winter.

I rented a lot of my clothes. which I honestly have been doing for a really long time. So that was easy. And then I prioritized wearing sneakers as much as possible while I absolutely love wearing my Uggs all winter.

Just the lack of support, I found my back, my knees, my hips were really aching if I was out for too long walking around in them. So I was like, we gotta wear running sneakers, babe. I have to wear my Hoka's all the time if I want to be comfortable.

So starting to prioritize your clothing and your shoes and getting your space really comfortable for you so that you have access to those things easily. Next thing would be beginning your baby registry.

You definitely want to start that in the second trimester because especially if you think you have folks in your life that might want to contribute, it's a great thing to be able to send them that sooner rather than later.

It's also going to reduce your anxiety once you start having those items flowing into your home and thinking, oh my gosh, this is amazing. Look at all the gifts that I'm getting. It's a great feeling.

And even if you don't necessarily want to send your registry to people, having all of those items organized, be able to look at them, budget them, plan for them, and think about where they're gonna go in the house, that is great because I don't think I knew how much stuff a baby needed before being in this point in my life.

So seeing it on a registry is super helpful. In the second trimester, you might also want to start researching pediatricians. Researching, I said it weird, researching pediatricians. Now it's absolutely wild, but your baby needs to go to the pediatrician like only a few days after you leave the hospital.

That was crazy news to me because I thought I was just gonna be hibernating in my home for weeks. I'm like, what do you mean we need to go to the pediatrician? That sounds terrible, but it's a real thing.

You do have to go to the pediatrician. only a few days in less than a week from when you're discharged from the hospital with the baby. So starting to think about that is very helpful so that you're not waiting and procrastinating until the end.

Now, birth planning and education. In the second trimester, you might wanna start a childbirth or a newborn care class that might be online. I do have a code for you guys from Tinyhood. I purchased my Tinyhood membership and have been using those online classes throughout my pregnancy, but I reached out to them and I got a code for you.

So that's in the show notes. I personally love Tinyhood. I did a ton of research and that was the platform that I chose. So I really recommend it. They have tons of classes. They also have a CPR class, which I really wanted to do.

My doula is also gonna do an in-person hands-on CPR class with us, which I'm so excited about. So this is a great time to think about those. classes. Next up is learning about pain management options for labor and considering hiring a doula.

I hired my doula in first trimester because I knew I wanted one and I just wanted her by my side for this entire experience. But learning about pain management options, definitely important. I didn't even know that my hospital had nitrous oxide until I started asking about this and so that is something that you can start considering.

What kind of birth do you want to have? Our last little section of the checklist for second trimester is some home and lifestyle adjustments. Do you need to baby-proof the home? For us, the only thing we were worried about was anything that wasn't mounted or attached to the wall.

So making sure any dressers, televisions, mirrors, all of those things were mounted to the wall. Was it important? Other than that, we're not really worried about any other items because we're only really going to stay here until the baby is under one years old or around one years old since we are in a smaller space.

And because of that, we're not really thinking about any super long-term things that we're going to need to baby-proof at this moment. You might want to start thinking about your nursery setup. Maybe you're just doing a little nook like us where all of your baby's things are going to be in one closet or one space.

Maybe you're doing a full-on nursery. It is a great thing to get things done early, especially in second trimester where you actually have energy because third trimester, baby, you are going to get tired.

You're going to get tired. You're going to feel so, your belly feels so, so, so, so heavy and you're not going to have as much energy, unfortunately, as you did in the second trimester, especially as you start getting towards the end.

So I would recommend doing as much as you can in second trimester where you still got the energy. This is also a great time to do a babymoon. We did our babymoon in Mexico. I have tons of videos, pictures, recaps, all about that on my Instagram, but it was so much fun and having a babymoon was, I highly recommend it.

Doing a staycation would have also been a great idea. I feel like there's so many different options with just really the goal being like connecting with your partner, taking time to rest, taking time to have fun, like taking time to dress up because I didn't really get to dress up a lot during this pregnancy.

So getting time to like look really cute and wear cute outfits and get awesome pictures with my belly. I loved my babymoon. And lastly, deciding if you want to do a gender reveal and if you want to have a baby shower.

So many people get baby showers thrown for them from family members, I love that. I think that is so sweet and so amazing. And if you have that support system, I love that for you. For me, while we do have a great support system, we knew that no one was gonna throw us a baby shower.

So me and my husband took our time to plan a baby shower that just happened over this last weekend. And we had the best baby shower ever. We are so lucky that we got so, so, so many items, almost everything from our registry.

So that was one way that our family and friends and community really, really showed up for us. But planning your own baby shower can be just as much fun. And now our checklist for the third trimester, you want to finalize your baby prep.

So this is your birth plan, making sure you feel great about it, packing your hospital bag for mom, baby, your support person, installing your car seat. Remember, you're gonna need this to bring baby home from the hospital.

Washing the baby's clothes, sheets, sterilizing bottles, pacifiers. We basically need to wash like two complete giant shelves that we have because it's everything from burp cloths to bibs, to blankets, to socks, anything that's fabric that is gonna be touching the baby.

You wanna wash all of that and then sterilize any bottles and pacifiers. I also am going to make a birth playlist. So thinking about that or anything else that you might want for the hospital. My husband, this was a great excuse for him to buy a new Yeti cooler because he's gonna be packing snacks and food for the hospital.

So kind of thinking ahead, he's gonna know, okay, this is what I'm gonna buy. So as soon as our start feeling contractions, we have a supermarket right downstairs. He's gonna go and pack up his cooler.

So making sure you have all that stuff. And then putting together a diaper changing caddy or postpartum caddy or cart. I feel like these are viral right now. All. over social media. So I'm sure that you have seen a postpartum or a diaper caddy or cart.

I was going to do only a caddy, but I think I'm going to do a cart now. I feel I'm feeling it because I also need somewhere to put my pump. I'm hoping to exclusively breastfeed. We're going to see how that goes because I have no idea.

I've read some good books on breastfeeding, which have given me a lot of insight to why it may or may not happen for me and why it doesn't happen for everyone. So I'm keeping it, keeping an open mind.

But that being said, I want somewhere that I could put my pump in all my pump parts. And I'm like, am I going to get a third caddy? Like one for me for postpartum, one for baby for changing, one for my pump.

Feels like a lot of caddies feels like it'd be easier to just have it all on a cart. So I think I'm going for the cart. And then something else we want to think about for third trimester is our kick counts.

So it is. There is a little bit more research on the benefit of kick counts when it comes to doing it at one set time of the day and counting for 10 kicks seeing how long that takes baby. I do mine at night between 9 30 and 10 30 but having those kick counts be something that you're aware of and monitoring that should be on our checklist for third trimester.

Attending our final prenatal appointments of course reading up on safe sleep. This is super important if you do not know what is required for safe sleep. Definitely look it up check it out depending on how you're planning to sleep with your baby.

Are they going to be in a crib in a separate room right away? Which I do have friends that have done that. Are they going to be at a bassinet at your bedside? What is the plan? Look up the safe sleep protocols so you know what that looks like for you.

And then even schedule maternity photos at the end of the third trimester if that's something you want to do. I'm not going to do maternity photos I knew I only wanted to do a pregnancy announcement but I had a photographer at my baby shower so honestly I kind of did get maternity photos if you think about it.

Last thing we really want to do in this third trimester is our postpartum prep. Now the final episode of the season goes deep into postpartum because there's so much to say but for now I'll just touch on setting up your postpartum recovery essentials to take care of your physical recovery, preparing freezer meals or easy postpartum nutrition, getting postnatal supplements or breastfeeding supplements,

and finalizing your support system for your postpartum period. These are definitely things we want to be thinking about ahead of time. Now once you've gone through it all and finally it is time for baby to make their appearance we want to know the signs of labor.

So something that could be on the to-do list of your partner or support person is them understanding how do they time contractions. Downloading that app to know ahead of time, this is how I use it, this is how I can time them, this is how I can record them.

Knowing who you're supposed to call, it's not 911 in most cases, unless you are having the baby or having an emergency at home, then of course if that is the number you need to call, but if you're just in regular everyday labor, usually your doctor will have a very specific number for you to call.

You don't call the hospital, you don't call an emergency number, you call the specific number. So making sure that your partner or support person has that number. So my husband has our doula, the doctor's office, and you know instructions to call my mom and his mom, and making sure that we are prepared for what happens when I'm in labor, and I'm definitely not doing those things.

At the hospital or birth center, you might be able to pre-register. So you might want to do that paperwork ahead of time and really just preparing with your partner what their role is going to be in labor, how they're going to support you or whoever your support person might be.

Okay, so let's talk about some tools to stay organized. I just went through a massive checklist of things that you might want to remember and consider during your pregnancy journey. How are we going to keep all of these things at the forefront of our mind?

First thing might be using a pregnancy planner or an app to track appointments, symptoms, milestones, also to set reminders for things like prenatal vitamins and hydration. There are so many digital options, but you can also definitely do a paper option to keep track of all those things.

I created a master checklist. I did it on Notion because I've been using Notion for years and years. I broke mine down by trimester and month. You can break it down however feels best for you and include everything from medical to baby gear, to home prep, to postpartum essentials.

And you can keep a digital copy. You could also do this again on paper. I know so many people love having a paper planner. I was a big paper planner girl for, years and years, but I do love Notion, I'm not gonna lie.

So I had my master checklist on there, writing it all down, even setting notifications or alerts to go back and look at it. Every Monday and Friday, I have a little notification reminder that says, look at your pregnancy checklist.

So I go back and I say, okay, is there anything that I should be thinking about? And that's how I make sure that that is at the top of my mind. You also wanna sync with your partner and with your support system.

This shouldn't be something that is only on your plate if you have other people around that are going to be supporting you and baby. So sharing your calendar, delegating tasks, and making sure that that partner is also able to see the master checklist.

Now, automating what you can and getting help where you can is 10 out of 10. This week, we started bringing back our cleaning person so that she can clean every two weeks, do a deep clean of the home.

And honestly, having this is incredible. We had it for a few weeks during our wedding when we were like super busy and when we were away on our honeymoon because I was starting grad school at the same time.

So I was like, okay, I could use a little bit of help, but we are gonna have her indefinitely back to help us every other week. And I'm so grateful. So having that extra support is amazing. And then in terms of automation, I have my Whole Foods delivery that comes every week that gets delivered to our door.

And that also has helped me so much, which I'm gonna continue through when the baby gets here. Recurring prenatal delivery is also amazing. And I have that through Thorne. They just send me my prenatal vitamins.

Using auto pay for medical bills and maternity leave paperwork is something you can definitely do, as well as scheduling reminders for insurance paperwork and postpartum planning. Avoiding last minute stress and overwhelm is something.

that is crucial at this time, especially as we get closer to baby arriving. So everything, for example, that you've gotten, like the little knickknacks, the little items, unpackage them. Don't keep them inside of their packaging just because it looks cute and organized and stacks well.

Actually put things where you need it. Make sure that you're packing your hospital bag or your caddy or anything in as much time as you can. Better to be early than to be rushing and doing that when the baby's almost here or even having to do it when you get back from the hospital.

Creating pre-packed kits like your hospital bag, diaper caddy, postpartum recovery station, those things are going to make your life a million times easier. And then really just making sure that you're prioritizing rest and asking for help when needed.

Sometimes we can't do it all. And that's also why I would really recommend starting earlier rather than later. So that way you can put it down, you can take a break, you can take a risk, you can ask for a little bit more help and support.

It's unlikely that any of us are gonna have everything 100% perfect and ready and feel just absolutely 100% at peace and ready to go for baby to arrive. All we can do is our best, control what we can control and focus on the things that are most essential and most important.

I also wanna leave you by saying that organizing my home has brought me so much more peace of mind. I am the kind of person that really thrives in a clean and neat space. And so knowing that there's gonna be so many other things that are gonna take priority over cleaning the house, making sure that I have that extra support, like I mentioned earlier, and also that kind of like everything in my house has a specific home to return to,

like has somewhere to go that is designated for it, has made me feel just so much more out at ease that I can maintain having a clean home when I know so many other things are going to be out of my control.

So I would say that's definitely also a part of my pregnancy checklist. Now on next week's episode, I'm gonna dive even more into postpartum. Of course, it's not something I've yet experienced. I am still very much a pregnant girl.

By the time this episode airs, my baby should be here in the world with us, which is absolutely crazy. And I will be in the postpartum zone. So I might be listening to it back for my own test, tips. But on next week's episode, I'm gonna share as much as I do know about postpartum.

partum just based on how I am preparing. You can follow me everywhere at @taylorraeroman. As always, a full transcription of the episodes along with citations can be found on my website. All of those links are available in the show notes.

See you out there!

Disclaimer: The information shared on On the Outside is for informational and educational purposes only. I am not a doctor, medical professional, or licensed healthcare provider. The content of this podcast is based on my personal experiences and research, but it should not be taken as medical advice. Always consult with your doctor or a qualified healthcare professional before making any decisions related to your pregnancy, health, or well-being. Every pregnancy is unique, and what works for one person may not be right for another.