The ULTIMATE Pregnancy To-Do List, + FREE Printables

This ultimate pregnancy to-do list will help you keep track of everything you need to do during your pregnancy, from prenatal appointments and doctor’s visits to baby showers, prenatal classes, and postpartum prep. This list is broken down into easy steps from your first trimester to your third. Make sure to check out the FREE printable and download all the lists for easy reference.

RELATED: I’m super passionate about helping other mommies stay home with their babies. Check out how I did this (and other REAL work from home jobs from other mommies) in order to make a great income and raise baby: How To Work From Home And Make Money On The Side As A Stay At Home Mom.

If you’d like, jump ahead to:

First Trimester

Second Trimester

Third Trimester

First Trimester

Start taking a great quality prenatal vitamin. I took Nutrilite’s Double X, Omega-3, Iron & Calcium. Download the nutritional information here to check these high-quality vitamins with your doctor. Drink 10 eight oz cups of water a day.
Look into doctor and delivery options. Start asking around. If you are unsure what your options are, check out Hilary Erickson’s (RN) free prenatal class.
Call your insurance and find out if your doctor or practice of preference is covered and learn how much prenatal visits, plus testing, will cost you.
Start a savings account to cover the cost of the prenatal testing plus the delivery, the cost of baby items (we still had $800 worth of must-haves to purchase after our baby shower), the cost of the delivery and newborn photography. We saved up 6,000 and used every penny.
Calculate the last date of your last period (or two) and plug it into a pregnancy calculator.
Sit down with your significant other for a few minutes and write down your family health history. You will need this for the doctor visit and it’s very important to have for you baby’s doctor visits.
Make a list of questions for your first prenatal visit. I recommend going with a binder, a pen, some sleeve inserts and blank paper. This way you can take notes and shove all the paperwork they give you in there.
One of the questions for your doctor should include discussing recommended prenatal tests, even if they tell you it’s too early. It’s not. This is YOUR pregnancy. You will need to know, be prepared to choose what tests you decided to do and check with your insurance, so put your foot down if you have to. I never had problems with my doctor but others I know did!
Schedule your doctor’s appointment. Make sure your significant other can get this time off from work as well if you would like him there. Be prepared for this appointment to take 30 minutes to an hour depending on your individual doctor’s wait time. To prepare, ask the office ahead of time how long their wait time usually is. Mine was never more than a few minutes, however, a close friend of mine usually waited TWO HOURS for her doctor! (I’d change doctors.)
Quit smoking, try to eat a little healthier and go on walks if you can.
Lesson caffeine. If you drink a lot of caffeine a day, you can still have one or two cups. Try switching out your after-morning or midday coffee with black tea (like English Breakfast) then after a few days try switching to green or Ooling (better yet, a blend) and lastly, make the final switch to herbal teas. My favorite during pregnancy is Chamomile. (I used to drink LOTS of coffee a day).
Opt out of the alcohol. If you do typically drink a decent amount of alcohol, look up some easy alcohol-free mixers and be prepared with this list (and how to make them) when you go out. This helps tremendously!
Replace some of your daily food intake with fruits, veggies and fresh produce. Reduce pre-packaged food when possible. I found fresh fruit to taste AH-mazing during pregnancy. An easy way to do this is prepping to-go containers or snack bags one or two times a week.
Go easy on the workouts. If you are a hardcore fitness gal, you’ll need to ease up on your routine. A few tips: maintain, don’t push if you are in tip-top shape. Go at a 5 or 6 workout-wise instead of a 10. You may find you are more quickly out of breath. Stop if you have any pain.
Try to do at least 30 minutes of a walk or moderate exercise per day.
Skip out on workouts that require you to lie flat on your back or directly on your tummy like crunches and pilates.
Make sure you download the safe foods list and learn what foods are safe and unsafe to eat during pregnancy.
Pick up a pregnancy book like What To Expect When You’re Expecting and download an app to track your weekly progress, tips and advice. My favorite was actually the What to Expect app.
Consider logging your pregnancy journey in a journal. I used Shutterfly and just added to it every week or so.
Join a pregnancy support group or due date club and seriously consider classes for taking care of baby, breastfeeding, and labor. These fill up fast, so look into them and sign up EARLY.
Share the news with your friends, family, and social media. There are tons of fun ways to release this exciting event.
Test out different ways to curb the morning sickness. Be sure to check out my Amazon list of the best stuff that worked for me and other moms!
If you have a cat, make someone else change the kitty litter. That stuff is dangerous for pregnancy.
If you’ve already had a doctor visit or two, decide now to stick with him or her for delivery or shop around. You DO NOT have to stay with that doctor if you don’t want to! It’s best to try other doctors now rather than later.
Buy a Bellaband to lengthen the time you need to shop for maternity pants. Better to have this now and be prepared than wake up one morning, unable to button your pants.
By now you probably need a new bra. Hello boobies! You can opt for a soft nursing bra with no underwire or other soft maternity bras like Bravado! (this is the one I purchased). During my pregnancy, I couldn’t do underwire, because the baby sat so high, the wire popped out uncomfortably. You may want to skip the underwire too and prepare for that.
Kegels! Squeeze em in, girls! (Pun definitely intended.) Kegels help tighten the muscles underneath the uterus, bladder, and bowel. This strengthening can help prevent and or treat incontinence after childbirth that affects up to two-thirds of women during and after pregnancy. They help keep hemorrhoids at bay AND help healing after childbirth. To do a kegel, first, make sure you have an empty bladder (because that could be embarrassing), then pretend you’re trying to stop yourself from passing gas and peeing at the same time – it’s a squeezing sensation. Don’t do this while urinating. That’s supposed to be bad. Do this a few times a day and work up to holding them for 10 seconds three times a day. This is the best number and more than this can actually strain your bowels and lady parts.
Make a dentist appointment. Because you are pregnant, lots of things change in your mouth (for some reason that has to do with hormones) like increased red, swollen or bleeding gums, increased plaque and other fun stuff. This actually has been proven to affect the baby. So, brush and floss two times a day, switch to a softer toothbrush and make sure to make a dentist appointment.
Go on a babymoon! Have you heard of this? It’s kind of like the bachelorette party, (minus the ugly and alcohol) your last hurrah of childless couple life. Even if you are single and having a baby, you could take some of your girlfriends on a super fun trip. One of my biggest regrets is not doing this! I talk about this more here on 10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Having a Baby.
Make a to-do list of things you want to accomplish before baby arrives. This could be things you want to enjoy, purchase or get ready.
Swap out your household cleaners for safe non-toxic and eco-friendly ones. Legacy of Clean is a renown SUPER low-cost green and extremely effective brand. You can find their multipurpose cleaner as an “Amazon Choice” item with five solid gold stars but you can get it for HALF the price through this link here. Also, when it comes to laundry detergent, the famous green product SA8 from Legacy of Clean has a five-star rating on Amazon and is usually sold out. You can snatch it up here for $13.15.
Wash your hands, get plenty of sleep and be healthy because your immune system is LOW. You are now more likely to get sick so be extra cautious. Carry around little purse-sized hand sanitizers like these if you can.
Decide when you are going to tell work about your pregnancy and how. This may also be a good time to choose whether you want to go back to work or not. Your work might give you the stink-eye and ask! Mine did. Stay strong with your decision! I did the math (including what childcare would cost us) and we took steps to bring me home and raise our baby. We were able to do this even by cutting our income in half in the beginning. I wrote a post about how you can do this too and not put your newborn in daycare. Check it out here: Real Work From Home Jobs For Stay At Home Moms.
Know your company’s maternity leave policy (mine was called “disability” ugh!) inside and out. Ask LOTS of questions. Get paperwork and have it signed. Don’t get screwed over like I did. My story is not uncommon. Your HR tells you one thing and then does another. Write everything down or have it written down and get it signed by your superiors and your HR. I know this sounds a little over the top but I would have had over a weeks worth of pay in my bank account right now if I had gotten in writing what I was told was ‘standard procedure’. That’s not a small mistake.
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Moisturize! This can seriously help you prevent stretch marks. While this can be genetically tied, you can also reduce the likelihood with a good moisturizer and routine. I did TONS of searching because I did not want stretch marks. There were some super pricey products out there! I landed on Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Butter because the reviews were outstanding, the price was fantastic and I have had a couple friends use it with ZERO stretch marks. Seriously. And I can say the same now as well! Use it twice a day and don’t miss those thighs.
Skip hot tubs, steam rooms, hot baths (I know, sadness), hot-weather workouts or whatever might elevate your temp to 102 degrees. This is bad for baby.
Buy a body pillow to help you sleep and reduce those aches. You will be SO thankful! The Queen Rose Pregnancy Pillow is AH-mazing!!!
Start thinking about baby names!
Be prepared for heartburn, indigestion and most of all, neausa. (I had never had either of these before – ever- and it hurt.) Look up natural ways to remedy this pain. Peppermint tea has been proven to work but there are A TON of other natural remedies women swear by. Check out my Amazon “Idea List” of the BEST anti-nausea remedies for pregnancy.
Go maternity-wear shoppin’! Consider buying used or borrowing from family or friends. I had a hard time finding cute and low-cost maternity wear. After scrounging and doing a lot of searching, I came up with a go-to list. Check it out here: Where To Buy The Best Maternity Clothes For Cheap

More in-depth details of the first trimester to-do list here: 40 Things You MUST DO Before Your First Trimester Is Over + FREE Printable!

Second Trimester

Choose where exactly you’d like to have your baby and how. You can choose to have your baby at a hospital, a birthing center or at home. Labor and delivery classes will go over the pros and cons of these options.
Take classes NOW. I recommend taking Hilary Erickson’s FREE prenatal class. She’s an RN with over 16 years experience in labor and delivery, teaching prenatal classes just like these. It’s SO good too! Check out her other classes here.
Make sure you are moisturizing to prevent stretch marks. Use Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Butter. The reviews are outstanding, the price is fantastic and I had ZERO stretch marks. I referred a couple friends who used this too. Same results!
Start your gift registry and have your baby shower. Check out The Ultimate Must Have Essentials For Your Baby Registry. And seriously consider registering under Amazon Baby Registry because it’s a ridiculously good deal.
Plan your maternity leave and understand your options. Know your maternity leave inside and out. If you are on the fence about going back to work, check out: Real Work From Home Jobs For Stay At Home Moms.
Start looking for baby care. Begin looking into daycare and/or creating a babysitter list. Check out the Sitter app. I love it.
Plan your gender reveal (And for some, your birth announcement!). Decide if you want to know the gender this trimester. If you want to do a reveal, start brainstorming some creative ideas!
Choose a name.
Buy maternity clothes. Consider buying used or borrowing from family or friends. For cute and low-cost maternity wear, check out: Where To Buy The Best Maternity Clothes For Cheap.
Get a prenatal massage. I would highly recommend getting a massage while pregnant even if you’ve never had one. Prenatal massages just have way too many benefits for pregnancy to flat out refuse!
Start asking around about a pediatrician. If you haven’t decided on a pediatrician, ask your mom friends who they recommend and also make sure to ask your doctor. At the hospital, you will be asked to fill out forms detailing which pediatrician you are seeing.
Swap out your household cleaners for pregnancy safe, non-toxic and eco-friendly ones – Seriously check out: Legacy of Clean’s Multi-Purpose Solution, Legacy of Clean SA8 Laundry Detergent and Legacy of Clean’s Dishwashing Detergent.
Remember, keep doing your Kegels!
Go on a babymoon or travel. The second trimester is the BEST time to travel while pregnant. Have you heard of a babymoon? Go on your last childless hurrah!
Eat healthy. You probably Googled what you should and shouldn’t eat in the first trimester but in case you didn’t, make sure to check out my First Trimester Checklist.
Time to start adjusting your seatbelt. Make sure to tuck the belt underneath your baby bump. This ensures safety for your growing little one.
Consider never buying another diaper again. Save literally thousands of dollars and consider cloth diapering. You may be completely SHOCKED at how easy cloth diapering is these days. Check out: Cloth Diapers 101, The Complete Guide For Beginners, Everything You Need To Cloth Diaper, Newborn Cloth Diapering 101, The ULTIMATE diaper bag checklist.
Get RID of those pregnancy breakouts. They suck. My first pregnancy was PLAGUED by all sorts of zit infested nastiness. The BEST thing I tried (that has cured my pregnancy acne like a miracle) was essentials by Artistry Makeup Removing Wipes. Also, I highly recommend finding a great, safe and natural skincare line. My favorite is Artistry’s Youth Xtend line. If you have normal to oily skin, check out the whole system here. If you have SUPER dry skin like the Sahara desert (like me), check out the amazing system for that here. The best thing? You can try it for up to SIX MONTHS and return it you don’t love it for a full refund.
Pick up a pregnancy book if you haven’t already. What To Expect When You’re Expecting is great. Download their app: What to Expect as well – it’s fantastic.
Consider logging your pregnancy journey in a journal if you haven’t started one. Shutterfly is awesome. Consider adding to it little by little as your pregnancy progresses.
Buy a Bellaband to lengthen the time you need to shop for maternity pants. If you haven’t already in the first trimester, now you will need it!
By now you probably need a new bra. You can choose a soft nursing bra with no underwire or other soft maternity bras like Bravado! (this is the one I purchased).
Get exercise in when you can. Try to start 30 minutes of moderate exercise 3-4 times a week if you aren’t doing so already.
Schedule a dentist visit if you didn’t do so in the first trimester. Pregnancy causes hormonal changes that increase the risk of developing gum disease which, in turn, can affect the health of your developing baby.
Start a baby savings account if you haven’t already. Budget out a certain amount per paycheck to over the cost of the prenatal testing plus the delivery, the cost of baby items. We saved $6,000 and used every penny.
Finalize the nursery this trimester if possible. Consider having the baby shower in this trimester so you can complete the nursery and any other purchases. Ask someone else to paint and finish that nursery while you have the most energy of your pregnancy.

More in-depth details of the second trimester to-do list here: The ESSENTIAL Second Trimester Checklist + FREE Printable

Third Trimester

Have a birth plan. Write out a birth plan and make sure you know your options. I would strongly advise taking Hilary Erickson’s FREE prenatal class.
Wash baby clothes, sheets, and linens. Pre-wash things that will touch baby’s super-duper sensitive skin and avoid a rashy doctor visit. SA8 from Legacy of Clean is a fantastic green, eco-friendly, non-toxic and baby safe laundry detergent.
Create freezer meals to prepare for baby. Check out Diary of A Fit Mommy’s freezer meal plan here.
Prepare for postpartum NOW. Create your kit right now for a quick recovery. Check out: 10 Unbelievable Postpartum Recovery Tips For Healing After A Vaginal Birth and the Amazon idea list: “The Ultimate Postpartum Recovery List
Make sure you take classes. I highly recommend taking Hilary Erickson’s classes. She’s an RN with over 16 years experience in labor and delivery, teaching prenatal classes just like these.
Consider buying a postpartum girdle. Try out Belly Bandit + Waist Trainer. I lost the pregnancy look within a week!
Create a baby safe home. Add basic baby safety items to your list: outlet plugs, a solid low-cost baby gate, buy blind cord hangers, secure furniture, and cover sharp corners.
Swap out your household cleaners for baby safe, non-toxic and eco-friendly ones if you haven’t already. Seriously check out: Legacy of Clean’s Multi-Purpose Solution, Legacy of Clean SA8 Laundry Detergent and Legacy of Clean’s Dishwashing Detergent.
Understand third trimester testing options. Brush up on the testing options as well as the pros and cons before you are asked to decide. Hilary Erickson’s free prenatal class goes over these tests.
Pack your bag, daddy’s bag and baby’s stuff the right way. Pack only what you need but make sure you have that list. Check it out here: Hospital Bag Checklist, For Mom To Be.
Have your baby shower! Make sure everything you need is on that list: The Ultimate Must Have Essentials For Your Baby Registry. And Seriously consider registering under Amazon Baby Registry if you haven’t chosen a registry yet.
After the baby shower, make a list of what you still need for baby. Check off what you still need and complete those purchases: The Ultimate Must Have Essentials For Your Baby Registry. Consider cloth diapers and save thousands: Cloth Diapers 101, The Complete Guide For Beginners.
Make sure the car seat is installed correctly. Hop on over to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website, enter your zip code and find the nearest location to do a car seat safety check for you.
Take some pregnancy pamper time. Think about getting one or a few things done to save you time post-baby, and look fresh in photos: hair, nails, eyebrows, eyelashes. Don’t skip out on a prenatal massage either if you can!
Have your maternity leave planned out and decide if you are going back to work. Know all the things when it comes to maternity leave if you haven’t done so already and check out Real Work From Home Jobs For Stay At Home Moms if you want to stay at home because you definitely can!
Choose your daycare or childcare now. Choose your childcare and/or make a sitter list. I recommend the free Sitter app.
Finalize all the nursery details. Snag someone else to paint and then make sure everything is ready before the end of this trimester!
Choose a name. If you can, decide on a name before you go to the hospital.
Have your house cleaned and don’t be afraid to ask for help pre-baby. Ask mom to help with dishes when she’s over (because the third trimester is no-joke!) or have a friend come over to help meal prep. Also, try some of Amazon’s cost-effective cleaning services.
Stock up on household supplies. Purchase those supplies now to save store trips when everyone is exhausted.
Do some fun things before baby arrives. Revel in baby-free time while you have it. Do things you love, go out with the girlfriends, and have a wonderful date night.
Buy a nursing bra or two. Level up your bra (before baby gets here) for a soft nursing bra with no underwire or other soft maternity bras like Bravado!.
Tour the hospital (or your birthing center) if you haven’t already. Understand the space you will be in, ask questions and de-stress about your upcoming labor day.
Download the contraction timer app now before you need it! Download Full Term now before you need it. Skip out on the pen and paper. You will be SO thankful!

More in-depth details of the third trimester to-do list here: Preparing For Baby In Your Third Trimester, The ULTIMATE To Do List

Preparing for your little bundle of joy isn’t the easiest task on the planet but it sure is rewarding. At first, the to-do lists may seem daunting but take them a day at a time. After you’ve checked off a majority of your task items, you may be surprised with the sense of calm that comes from completing all that baby prep! Congratulations on your pregnancy!