#1 Check In with Yourself

Your tiny miracle starts with you—she grows with you, learns from you, and will be endlessly loved by you. If you’re wondering if you’re ready to have a baby, start by checking in with yourself and the life that surrounds you.

Before taking out the IUD or stopping birth control, it is important to assess your readiness. Ask yourself the following questions (it’s OK if you can’t answer yes to every single one, but pay attention to the number of positive head-nods compared to negative gut churns):

• Am I healthy? Check on your physical, relationship, emotional, and mental health. Now could be a good time for a preconception checkup, including discussing carrier screening with your provider to assess any potential genetic risks before pregnancy. Now could be a good time for a preconception checkup. Do you feel equipped to navigate life’s curveballs? Are you a champion of your best mental health? Are your relationships supportive, loving, and nurturing?
• Are my finances in a good place for parenthood? You don’t have to be a millionaire to welcome a newborn, but it’s important to be conscious of the financial stability and costs they require. Do you have savings? Do you have a reliable stream of income?
• Can my home expand? You’re going to want some room to crawl, tumble, and giggle with your little bundle of joy. Does your home have extra space for a nursery or a crib? Do you have room to store necessities like changing materials, high chairs, and strollers?
• Do I have a support system? Whether you’re electing to have a baby alone or with a partner, support systems play a crucial role in raising your little one in a healthy environment. Do you have responsible, dependable loved ones in your life who can help provide childcare, emotional support, and emergency assistance?

#2 Establish Your Support System

One of the best things you can do early on in pregnancy planning is to establish your parenthood support system. Whether it’s one friend or family member or an entire town, a support system is crucial to your and your new baby’s health and happiness. You might even be pleasantly surprised by the number of people in your life willing to help out—which paints a picture of all the snuggles and kisses your little prince is going to get on a daily basis.

Support systems are also beneficial for the mother’s well-being. In 34 studies of women after childbirth, the presence of a support system significantly improved postpartum wellness.

This means that if you surround yourself with helpful partners, parents, friends, and family during pregnancy, you’re more likely to be mentally and emotionally healthier as a new mom.

Here are some ways you can build your support system:

• Talk to your partner – If you’re planning on co-parenting with a spouse or partner, check in with them. Have an open conversation about your fears, worries, and wishes for your new family. Confirm with them whether this responsibility is something they’re still ready to take on with you.
• Sit down with your family – Tuck into Sunday dinner with the family members you love and trust most. Between spaghetti slurps, get a little vulnerable. Express how much their support in your life has meant to you, and let them know that you’d be honored to have their care—and spaghetti—in your new baby’s life.
• Seek supportive friends – Think about those loyal friends who are always empowering you. Those are the besties you want in your corner on your parental journey—and not just for an emergency babysitter. They’ll provide shoulders to lean on to make sure mom gets taken care of, too.
• Join a pregnancy group – Find comfort in community by joining a group for pregnant women. These are great spaces to ask questions, vent, share, and learn from other people navigating similar journeys as yours. The extra empathy can go a long way in helping you feel understood and heard.

#3 Make Room for More Love

Sure, some sacrifices may need to be made to bring a grinning new life into the world, but there’s so much more love to be gained. And for all that love, it’s probably a good idea to make some extra room!

This is a fun stage of preparation where the insurmountable love your little sugar plum is going to receive starts to take shape all around you.

Nesting

Nesting is the natural instinct for a mother to prepare a safe, clean, and healthy home for her baby before she arrives. This urge often arises in the third trimester but looks different for every expectant mother, ranging from the impulse to clean everything to a determination to fluff every pillow in the nursery just right.

Don’t be surprised by sudden urges to:

• Decorate every inch of the nursery
• Scrub as you’ve never scrubbed before
• Do the laundry—and then do it again
• Baby-proof every surface you can find
• Organize diapers in alphabetic order (you’ll find a way)

Financial Planning

Financial stability can be difficult to navigate, especially when family planning. The financial aspect of having a kid can feel scary, but it helps to plan ahead. When you understand exactly what expenses you can expect, it clears out stress and makes more space for the excitement of looking into your baby’s sparkling eyes for the first time.

Prepare for tiny-human expenses such as:

• Prenatal healthcare
• Nursery furniture
• Clothes, shoes, and blankets
• Delivery and postpartum care
• Diaper duty supplies
• Bathtime essentials
• Formula, pumps, and food
• Transportation gear

#4 Bond with Your Future Little One

Connecting with your small child before he’s in your arms can be a wonderful way to wash those pre-parent fears away. Prenatal bonding, or the emotional bonding between a mother and child before birth, strengthens your love and connection with your baby while comforting him as he grows in your belly.

There are all kinds of ways to prenatally bond. Here are some options for prospective parents to try:

• Talking or singing – Your baby can hear your sweet, soothing voice around 27 to 29 weeks into pregnancy. The sound of your voice is not only comforting to your baby, but can also be a cathartic way to get more in tune with him—no matter how out-of-tune your pitch might be.
• Listening to music together – Throw a record on, and enjoy some music together. Share your favorite songs with your future road-trip partner, so he knows exactly what kind of jam sessions to expect. Or, soothe him with a slower tempo of about 60 beats per minute to mimic your comforting heartbeat.
• Massaging your bump – By 26 weeks, your baby can feel your gentle touch through your belly. Calm a future soccer star or inspire your artistic protégé by massaging your belly in whatever way feels good to you. Or, better yet, have your partner break out the cocoa butter lotion for a connective experience and a spa treatment all in one. You can read more about the benefits of prenatal massage on our blog.
• Getting an ultrasound – An ultrasound uses sound waves to create images of a baby during pregnancy. They’re non-invasive, routine, and especially helpful for the beginning stages of pregnancy when it feels not quite real yet. Seeing the visual of your sweet boy’s tiny nose for the first time can help you imagine holding him in your arms.
• Gender testing – Gender testing is another helpful tool to get to know your baby before he—or she—arrives. Gender testing can help you concept his or her name, nursery, and the activities you might enjoy together once they’re in the world. Scheduling a hospital visit for an anatomy scan ultrasound at around 18 to 20 weeks can reveal your baby’s gender.

Does it sound like you are ready to have a baby? If so, our resource center can help give you tips to make sure you’re able to speed up this process for yourself. Need to find out how to get pregnant fast, looking for signs of high fertility, or are curious to know when to take a pregnancy test? SneakPeek is here to help you out with all of your questions and more.

Connect With Your Baby Sooner with the SneakPeek At-Home Gender Test

Want to get to know your tiny miracle a little better and a lot sooner? You don’t have to wait an entire 20 weeks to learn whether you’ll be having a sweet baby boy or a darling little girl. With SneakPeek’s Gender Blood Test, you can know in just 6 weeks.

SneakPeek’s At-Home Gender Test can be taken entirely from the comfort of your couch and is 100% privacy-protected. SneakPeek Test is the #1 OBGYN-recommended at-home gender test because it’s easy -to -use, virtually pain-free, and (best of all) clinically proven to be over 99% accurate¹. Using DNA science to detect your baby’s gender, our test is so accurate that if your baby’s gender doesn’t match our results, you can get your money back.

Join the over 1 million moms who are preparing their daughter’s epic monster truck ramps, sorting their son’s spiffy shoe collections, and connecting with their future new special person so much sooner. Because one thing is for sure: you’ll know that you’re ready for a baby when you can’t wait to meet them.