Month by Month Countdown

MONTH-BY-MONTH COUNTDOWN

First Month

It’s time to start doing your homework. Buy or borrow some good, recent books on Pregnancy and Childbirth, and read them carefully.

Base on your reading, your Personal preferences, and your medical situation, consider the childbirth options available to you.

Second Month

Check out your benefits. What does your company health insurance cover? Are you entitled to maternity leave, and what are the details? And what about paternity leave? What other health insurance coverage do you have, either through company or private policies or though government assistance?

If you work, think about how and when to tell your superior and co-workers about your Pregnancy.

Third Month

Start doing your Kegel exercises every day.

Enroll in an exercise class designed for pregnant women.

Fourth Month

Now’s the time to look into childbirth classes, even though you won’t start attending until your seventh month.

Now’s also the time to start shopping for maternity clothes, you probably won’t need them for another month or so, but it’s easier and less fatiguing to do the shopping now.

Keep doing your Exercises!

Fifth Month

Keep doing your Exercises!

You’ll start to notice real weight gain now. It’s normal so don’t try to slim, but continue to eat a well-balanced diet.

Sixth Month

Keep doing your exercises!

Keep eating! a well-balanced diet is essential for the baby’s development and your own health.

As you approach the start of the third and final trimester, try to get all major tasks for example, painting the nursery—out of the way. If you’re planning to move, do it now.

Seventh Month

It’s time to start childbirth classes.

Keep doing your exercises and eating properly!

Many women plan to leave their jobs during this moth. If you do, make a list of all the people to notify and steps to take regarding maternity leave and so on.

Eighth Month

Keep doing your exercises and eating properly!

Visit the place where you will give birth, including the delivery and after care areas. Introduce yourself to the staff and get to know where everything is—including the payphones and men’s rest-rooms. When you’re in labor is not the time to be exploring.

Choose a pediatrician.

If at all possible, arrange for help at home for the first week or so after the baby is born. A friend, relative, or professional baby nurse can really make a difference during that exhausting but important first week.

Do you still need things for the baby or the baby’s room? Get them now.

If you plan to breast-feed, begin preparing your breasts .

Ninth Month

Pack your hospital bag.

Pick the baby’s godparents.

Make a list of everyone you’ll want to call from the Hospital and start saving change for the pay phones.

Cook and freeze some meals in advance this can be a big help to you and your family while you’re at the hospital and just after you come home.

Relax!