Preparing for a New Baby the 11 essential all 31 For expecting parents, from the start of the third trimester through the first week home. Assumes a U.S. hospital birth; paperwork differs slightly for birth centers and home births.
Weeks 33–36 Install the rear-facing car seat Read both the seat manual and your vehicle's manual — NHTSA finds roughly half of car seats are installed incorrectly. Have the installation checked by a certified technician Free at NHTSA-listed inspection stations, often fire stations and hospitals. Find one through nhtsa.gov. Hospitals will not let you leave without a car seat. Set up the sleep space: firm flat mattress, fitted sheet, nothing else AAP safe sleep: no blankets, pillows, bumpers, or positioners in the sleep space, and room-sharing (not bed-sharing) for at least the first six months. Wash baby clothes, swaddles, and sheets in fragrance-free detergent Set the water heater to 120°F and test smoke and CO alarms Above 120°F, a newborn's skin scalds in seconds. Pack the hospital bag and keep it by the door ID, insurance card, phone charger with a long cable, toiletries, going-home outfits for parent and baby, snacks, and the pediatrician's name — the hospital will ask for it. Pre-register at the hospital and do a practice drive Doing intake paperwork mid-contraction is miserable. Learn where to park and which entrance is unlocked at night. Stock two weeks of freezer meals Double recipes at normal dinners from now on. Label each with reheating instructions so any helper can serve them. Put specific help on the calendar for the first two weeks Names and dates, not "call if you need anything": who covers meals, laundry, errands, and a night shift or two. Arrange on-call care for older kids during the birthif other kids Someone reachable at 3 a.m. with a key to your house. Arrange pet care for the hospital stay if pets Learn the warning signs of postpartum depression together It affects roughly 1 in 8 birth parents, and partners often notice first. Save the Postpartum Support International helpline: 1-800-944-4773.
First week home Add the baby to your health insurance Do it this week even though the window is longer — the baby's hospital charges are billed separately from the birth parent's. Follow safe sleep at every sleep, including naps Alone, on the back, in the bare crib or bassinet — every time. If you might doze off while feeding at night, feed on an adult bed cleared of pillows and blankets, never on a sofa or armchair. Track feeds and wet diapers for the first week By day 5, expect about six wet diapers a day. Fewer, or a sleepy baby who won't wake to feed, is a same-day call to the pediatrician. Call the pediatrician immediately for a rectal temperature of 100.4°F or higher Fever in the first two months is treated as an emergency, not a wait-and-see. Schedule the birth parent's postpartum checkup Guidance now calls for contact with your OB or midwife within three weeks, not the old single six-week visit. Book it before the fog sets in. ✓ That’s everything. Nice work.
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