This second trimester checklist is the perfect way to keep track of everything there is to do in the second trimester! I was so overwhelmed trying to sort through everything there was to do during my first pregnancy, so I’ve taken care of all the planning for you! Print this checklist off and work through it a little at a time so that you can enjoy celebrating with your family and friends!
This post is all about the ultimate second trimester checklist to get you ready for labor, delivery, and life at home with your new little one!
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The Ultimate Second Trimester Checklist
When should I start my second trimester checklist?
The second trimester goes from week 14 to week 26 of pregnancy. While the first trimester is known for nausea and sheer exhaustion, the second trimester is known for being the most physically enjoyable for most pregnant women. You’ll graduate from hugging the toilet to finally getting those trade mark pregnancy cravings. You’ll move beyond the looking like you ate too much stage and into the adorable baby bump stage. And best of all, you’re likely to have far more energy than you did your first trimester.
Baby is growing quickly and there is so much to do and so much to celebrate! This second trimester checklist will help you find the perfect balance of both! So lets get into it!
And if you haven’t filled out my first trimester checklist yet, don’t forget to check that one out too!
Logistics | Second Trimester Checklist
Decide if and how you will reveal the gender
Unless your children are as stubborn as mine and decide to cross their legs during the entire anatomy sonogram (just slightly bitter about it still), you should be able to find out your baby’s gender at your 20 week sonogram. There are tons of fun ways to reveal the gender to friends and family, ranging anywhere from filled cupcakes to a gender reveal dart board game.
Schedule your 20 week ultrasound appointment
One of the first things you’ll want to do as you head into your second trimester is schedule your 20 week ultrasound. This anatomy ultrasound involves taking over a hundred pictures of various organs and body parts of your baby so it can take quite a while. Since you’ll get to spend so much time looking at your little one and also finding out the gender (if you want to), it’s best to schedule this one early for a time your partner can be there with you.
Start thinking about names
If you haven’t started yet, now is the time to start thinking about baby names. You don’t want to end up one of those people that still hasn’t decided when they get to the hospital.
Start prepping for your maternity leave if you are working
Maternity leave often comes with a lot of paperwork and red tape (as just about everything in life does now). Starting this process now can help avoid problems later. Starting early will also give you time to train or prepare whoever will be filling in for you while you are out.
Pick a date, place and guest list for your baby shower
While most of your baby shower will probably be planned by a close friend or family member, it’s good to get the major details sorted out early. Talk with whoever will be hosting your shower to pick a date and time that works best for them. I suggest aiming for about six to eight weeks before your due date. You will also want to get your guest list together for the host as well.
Create your baby registry (or multiple!)
If this is your first child, you will have TONS of baby items to buy. The easiest way to let your guests know the brands and styles you like is to create an online registry. I personally used Amazon for my registry and loved the ease of it as well as the 15% completion discount I got on any of the items that didn’t get purchased by my guests. That said, I also recommend you register at multiple places to get all the free welcome kits! You can check out my baby registry checklist post for the perks of each baby registry and exactly what products I recommend (as well as the ones I don’t).
Sign up for childbirth classes
Whether you decide to take a childbirth class online or in person, I truly can’t recommend them enough. They will help you learn so much about your body and about the labor process. Understanding what is going on during each part of labor will help ease anxiety and lean into what your body is doing at each stage of labor. There are tons of different classes out there. Many local women’s centers will offer them for free but you can also opt for an online class too. Pampers actually offers a nine video childbirth class series completely free for you to watch on your own time!
Order your free breast pump if you haven’t already
If you haven’t looked into it yet, make sure that you look into getting a free breast pump through your insurance. Most insurances will cover a breast pump for free with verification from your doctor and you can easily complete the whole process online here! I got a $250 breast pump for free through my insurance and Aeroflow Breastpumps!
Start looking into pediatricians
If this is your first child, you will want to start looking around for a good pediatrician. They will likely ask for the name of your pediatrician in the hospital and you will also have to set up a 2 week appointment for your little one very quickly. You can look at online reviews through your insurance company’s website or talk to people in your area for their recommendations.
Do any necessary financial planning
A baby is a huge expense, starting quickly with the massive hospital bills from delivery. You’ll need to start budgeting for things like diapers and wipes and you will also want to start a fund for any other expenses you’ll have as your baby gets older. However, don’t forget there are also tons of ways to save money with a baby too! Check out my list of 28 ways to save money with a baby here if you are in need of some inspiration.
Consider preparing a will
This may sound a little bit crazy at first but I highly recommend that you start thinking about preparing a will before your baby is born. While every parents hopes and prays to look after our kids for a long time, it’s always best to have a plan just in case. A will assures that your kiddos are taken care of by the best people possible if anything were to happen to you.
Schedule a tour at the hospital
Many hospitals will offer for pregnant women to come in and tour the facilities prior to birth. That way, when it’s crunch time, you won’t be wandering around lost in the halls. A tour will also let you know what else the hospital has to offer during labor and delivery like birthing tubs, birthing balls, birthing bars, and birthing stools. It’s good to become familiar with what options you have before you go into labor so you don’t have to ask in the heat of the moment.
Decide if you want to print a birth plan
A birth plan is just a guide that you can give to your doctors and nurses to let them know your preferences for labor, delivery, and immediate newborn care. While it’s not necessary, it can be helpful to keep everyone on the same page. Mommy Labor Nurse has an awesome visual birth plan that you can tailor to exactly what you need.
Schedule a maternity photo shoot
If you plan on getting professional maternity photos shot and you have a photographer you trust, you may want to get on their schedule now. Photographers are often booked a few months out (at least)!
At Home | Second Trimester Checklist
Tackle any projects you want done before baby comes
If we’re honest, we all have that list of projects that we’ve forgotten about or put off day after day (even though some of them would probably take five minutes). You will have the most energy now, so if you have any projects you want done before the baby comes, it’s best to tackle them now!
Start setting up the nursery
While setting up the nursery is not a necessity at this point in your pregnancy, it’s a big project that you will probably want to get done while you have energy and before you are waddling around.
Start babyproofing your home
While your baby won’t be crawling or walking around for quite some time, your better off to baby proof now while you aren’t sleep deprived or trying to care for a newborn at the same time. If this is your second child, you will want to double check that everything is baby proofed well for your toddler since your time will be divided and your eyes won’t always be able to be on your toddler like before. My baby proofing checklist will take you through baby proofing every room in the house and also has all my favorite baby proofing products linked to make it super easy!
Start thinking about freezing leftovers
While you will also have time for this during your third trimester, you may have the most energy to cook now. An easy way to start prepping dinners for postpartum now is to simply make a double batch of one dinner each week. If you do that through your second and third trimester, you will end up with 26 frozen dinners that you can simply pull out the night before! You will most definitely thank yourself later!
Shopping Time | Second Trimester Checklist
Get a good moisturizer to avoid stretch marks
While there is no cream that can fully guarantee you won’t get stretch marks, a good moisturizing belly cream can do wonders. I personally used Burt’s Bees Mama Belly Butter my first pregnancy and so far this second one and my belly is totally stretch mark free!
Buy a few maternity staples to stay comfortable
While I don’t suggest you go crazy and buy a whole new maternity wardrobe, you will need to buy a few things if you want to stay comfortable throughout your pregnancy. Finding good maternity jeans and leggings can make all the difference on a day to day basis. Plus, it can also help you feel more confident throughout your whole pregnancy. I’ve tried a ton of maternity jeans and personally love Levi’s maternity skinny jeans.
Look into a maternity pillow
At this point in your pregnancy, finding a comfortable way to sleep every night can prove difficult. Your belly is now in the way of sleeping on your stomach and doctors don’t recommend sleeping on your back because of the way it compresses a major blood vessel during pregnancy. But finding a comfortable way to sleep on your side can be hard if you aren’t usually a side sleeper. I personally love my maternity pillow and have a hard time going anywhere overnight without it! It supports my back, hips, and belly perfectly so that I can actually get some sleep! If you’re still on the fence, check out my on all the pros and cons to determine “Are Pregnancy Pillows Worth It?“
Sign up for freebies
There’s actually an insane amount of places that new moms can easily qualify for freebies! From registry welcome boxes, to free formula samples, to books, to breastfeeding product samples, and more! You can check out a full list of freebies and links to them all on #12 of my article, “How to Save Money with a Baby- 28 Ways for New Moms to Save Cash.”
Self-Care | Second Trimester Checklist
Go on a quick babymoon
Whether this is your first baby or not, a baby is always a big transition. Going from zero to one is huge but going from one to two is just as big a deal! Even if it’s just a hotel room in town for the weekend, find a day or two that you and your spouse can get away. Spending some time together with just the two of you is a valuable way to stay connected before things get busy with baby.
Schedule a prenatal massage
Pregnancy makes you fully aware of just how amazing our bodies are and how much they are capable of accomplishing. However, pregnancy is also insanely hard on the body and aches and pains are inevitable. Scheduling a prenatal massage is a great way to help ease those pains and it’s also a great way to destress.
Find a good stretching/mobility routine
One of the best ways to prevent the common hip and back pains that come with pregnancy is to consistently stretch the surrounding muscles. I had so much back pain in my second pregnancy and these pregnancy stretches let me get back to normal life again!
Keep up with your workouts & start making adjustments as needed
Staying active during your whole pregnancy is the best way to stay toned, sleep better, prevent excessive weight gain, and recover faster after delivery. However, while most activities are still safe in the first trimester, you will have to start modifying workouts as you go into your second and third trimesters. You can check out my fitness page for my favorite prenatal workouts if you need some inspiration!
Start doing pelvic floor exercises
Pelvic floor exercises are not only beneficial postpartum, but they are also great for during pregnancy too. Training your pelvic floor can help increase bladder control and hopefully reduce the number of bathroom breaks you have to take during the day and at night. An easy way to do this that doesn’t take up a ton of your time is to get a kegel trainer. It only takes about 15 minutes a day and you can use it while you are doing other things too! I started using mine while I was taking a shower!
Keep up with your weekly belly pics
If you haven’t started taking a weekly belly pic, start now! You will absolutely love looking back on them and comparing to future pregnancies later on down the road!
For Moms with Toddlers at Home | Second Trimester Checklist
Put a plan in place for your other children during labor
While it may feel like your due date is eons away, it will come much faster than you think and this is something you definitely don’t want to forget.
Dig out those old maternity clothes
Any maternity clothes you bought last time around are probably buried somewhere in the basement or the back of your closet. Don’t forget to start digging them out now that your button extenders may not be doing the trick anymore.
Sort through old baby clothes
If you are having the same gender around the same time of year, you are in luck and may not even need to buy baby clothes for your second. If this baby is a different gender or a different season, you may have to pick and choose what you want to pull out of storage. Going through this stuff now will give you time to buy anything else that you need before the baby gets here.
Make a list of things that you hated/things that need replaced
It’s unlikely that everything you bought for baby number one came out unscathed. We had a few major things break that we had to replace for our second, but we also had a few things that we hated and won’t use again. Invest in a replacement and know it will be 100% worth it.
Start talking/reading to your kids about baby
A new baby not only means big changes for mom and dad, but also big changes for any other kids in the home. For young kids, books about the new baby can be powerful tools to help prepare them for the changes that will be coming soon. It may even get them excited for their little brother or sister!
Transition toddlers to more independence
If you have a young toddler at home, you may want to consider potty training, getting rid of the pacifier, getting them used to a toddler bed, etc. before baby comes. Because I seriously doubt you want to deal with potty training or a screaming toddler who wants their pacifier whilst also dealing with a newborn.
Consider creating a quiet corner
Toddlers can be a little loud when they are playing. I was super nervous to bring a newborn home to our tiny one bedroom apartment amidst my toddlers chaos. So I decided to create a quiet corner for my toddler to use when the baby is napping. Complete with books, a tent, and plenty of quiet toys, asking him to play quietly no longer seems like a punishment to him. Plus, our newborn might actually get through a nap or two without being woken up. Check out this guide on how to create your own quiet corner if you’ve also got a loud toddler!
This post was all about the ultimate second trimester checklist that has absolutely everything big and small you need to do in the second trimester! Don’t forget to download my second trimester checklist from my free pregnancy checklists so you can easily keep track of it all! Plus, don’t forget to check out the dozens of other free printables while you’re there!
-Beautifully Busy Mom
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