Natural Moms Talk Radio

Now that I’m in my 30th week of pregnancy, I sat down and created a weekly checklist of things I want to accomplish. Partly to simply pass the time in those final looooong weeks, but also so I feel a little more organized with those last few preparations.

My babies have all come “early”, so I’m not going to plan anything tiring or difficult in the last two weeks, just fun stuff!

In addition to the weekly to-dos, there’s the daily stuff related to pregnancy I’m already doing, such as: taking at least one daily walk, doing a stretching workout (I do this one designed by Katy Bowman and it feels so good!), and I’m adding a few light weight training moves. The April issue of Fit Pregnancy magazine had a good workout that I’m using, not too strenuous.

I also need to start drinking Red Raspberry Leaf tea – a quart a day. Yuck! I hate RRL tea and really have to force it down. I know how important it is, and believe drinking lots of it helped me have easy labors with at least a couple of my babies. Any tips for making it taste less horrible though? Or should I just go easy on myself and do capsules or tincture?

Countdown to Baby: A Weekly To-Do List

Week 30:

•  Make appointment @ Dentist for a cleaning
• Continue daily walking – but increase to 2 walks a day
• Read A Weed Is a Flower : The Life of George Washington Carver to Sadie
• Drop Ruby off at Grandma’s, take older kids on a field trip to the George Washington Carver exhibit at the Jimmy Carter Museum.

Week 32:

• Drop girls off at Grandma’s, field trip with boys to the National Museum of Commercial Aviation

Week 33:

• Prenatal appointment
• Do 15 minutes of decluttering every day
• Schedule a blog post to publish postpartum
• Consider joining a pregnant nudist colony, since clothing is so uncomfortable at this point. Reconsider after noting someone may post pictures to Google.

Week 34:

• Order birth kit (it needs to be here before Week 37, midwife’s home visit)
• Buy hydrogen peroxide (wonderful for removing blood stains)
• Schedule a blog post to publish postpartum

Week 35:

• Sell changing table on Craigslist. I never liked it, it just takes up space.
• Start looking on Craigslist for a nice dresser for baby’s clothing. Buy a changing table pad to go on top.
• Grocery shop for disposable paper items and extra food to cook and freeze for postpartum use.
• Cook and freeze at least 2 meals.
• Schedule a blog post to publish postpartum

Week 36:

• Buy a few newborn clothing items that are not gender neutral. (I can always give the items I won’t need away later.)
• Start reading the instructor texts for our 2012/2013 school year.
• Get a homeschool routine down on paper.
• Start potty training Ruby. If this isn’t quick and easy, wait until after baby arrives.
• Cook and freeze at least 2 meals.
• Schedule a blog post to publish postpartum

Week 37:

• Wash and sterilize linens, towels and newborn items for birth kit per midwife’s instructions in preparation for home visit.
• Home visit with the midwife and her apprentices. (After this I’m all clear to have this baby at home!)
• Start thinking about a labor soundtrack. Patsy Cline did the trick really well for baby #4, a short and easy delivery
• Cook and freeze at least 2 meals.
• Schedule a blog post to publish postpartum
• Make a very large supply of homemade laundry detergent and cloth diaper detergent for all the extra postpartum and baby laundry

Any Day Now…..

My brains are all in my pelvis at this point, so nothing mentally taxing or physically draining. Just fun stuff!

Week 38:

• Go shopping with hubby (and no kids!) for a pretty outfit to wear postpartum. Maybe a nice nursing dress? Also, supportive and stretchy undies for those first couple of months. Go out to a nice lunch or dinner, something spicy like Indian. Or maybe Scalini’s, their Eggplant Parmesan has a reputation among local moms for triggering labor. (Who cares if it works, the food there is amazing.)
• Get a pedicure. Must have pretty toes for birth!
• Prenatal appointment
• Wash newborn clothes and diapers. Fold everything, get it neatly arranged in dresser. Get all nesty.
• Put my immediate postpartum clothing in my dresser. (Frequently make mental note: I will someday fit into my skinny clothes!)
• At this point I’m usually experiencing hot and heavy pre-labor “warmup” pains that deprive me of sleep. Take lots of hot baths with lavender, maybe 1/4 glass of red wine occasionally.

Week 39:

• Go see a good movie. In the theater.
• Rent a funny DVD to watch at home to keep my mind off my misery and how ready I am to have.this.baby.already!
• Put my postpartum mama cloth pads in a convenient spot in the bathroom
• Prenatal appointment
• Brainstorm ways to creatively preempt the “yes I’m still pregnant you clueless idiot” conversations.

Week 40:

• Hmm. I’ve never made it this far into a pregnancy. Spend an entire day at the pool (it put me into labor 16 days early with #1)? Power walks around the neighborhood, complete with curious stares from the neighbors? Gaze longingly at newborn clothes? Alone time with hubs?

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