Third-trimester countdown checklist

Third trimester is when open loops get expensive. Use this list for logistics — hospital, leave, transport, and home — not as medical care. Confirm clinical timing, kick-count guidance, and warning signs with your OB or midwife.

Checklist

Weeks 28–32: foundations

• Confirm preferred hospital entrance, parking, and after-hours check-in; save in both phones
• Finish or update hospital pre-registration if your facility offers it
• Ask HR/leave administrator for exact paperwork deadlines and return-to-work estimate process
• Partner: submit their leave notice on the employer timeline (do not assume “later”)
• Shortlist pediatricians; complete meet-and-greets if not done
• Draft one-page birth preference sheet; review with clinician once
• If infant daycare is needed: confirm waitlist status and deposit rules in writing

Weeks 32–36: gear and money

• Install car seat; schedule a check with a certified technician or fire station program if available
• Pack hospital bag first draft (documents and chargers first)
• Set up a “second wave” tote in the car (extra clothes, snacks, pillow)
• Estimate remaining deductible / out-of-pocket max for delivery (range is fine); call insurer if unclear
• Confirm how to add newborn to insurance and the deadline after birth
• Prepare a simple leave cash-flow sketch (employer pay, disability, state leave, PTO gaps)
• Stock basic postpartum supplies at home (pads, peri bottle plan, loose clothes)
• Wash a starter set of newborn clothes and bassinet/crib sheets

Weeks 36–38: ready mode

• Freeze 4–7 easy meals or line up a meal train start date
• Confirm pet care and older-child coverage for labor
• Share visitor defaults with one point person
• Print 2–3 copies of birth preference sheet; place one in hospital bag
• Test phone chargers and power bank; pack long cable
• Put pediatrician name/phone/fax in the bag folder
• Review group B strep and late-pregnancy test timing with your clinician (per their schedule)
• Walk the route from parking to labor & delivery once if you have not

Final stretch: open loops

• Fill prescriptions you will need postpartum if already prescribed; do not invent medicines
• Confirm who will take photos of discharge paperwork and birth letter for leave claims
• Set an out-of-office draft and handoff notes for work (even if you send later)
• Charge devices nightly; keep bag by the door or in the car
• Recheck hospital bag docs: ID, insurance card, meds list, allergies
• Agree on the first 48-hour visitor rule as a household
• Know the after-hours nurse line numbers for OB practice and, once chosen, pediatric office

Home and recovery setup

• Create a bedside recovery station (water, snacks, charger, pads within reach)
• Set up one changing station with diapers, wipes, cream, hamper
• Clear a safe sleep surface per your pediatrician’s guidance; remove soft clutter
• Put a shared note/whiteboard in place for feeds, visitors, and questions
• Confirm who has house keys for meal drop-offs

Optional if energy allows

• Tour lactation resources available at your hospital after discharge
• Pre-write thank-you / boundary texts you can send without thinking
• Take a daylight photo of car-seat install for reference if a second adult will redo it