Third-trimester checklist: getting ready for your baby’s first weeks

What should I do at 28 to 32 weeks?

• Choose your baby’s pediatrician. The hospital will ask for a name before you go home. At Dare2Care Pediatrics the prenatal visit is free: you meet Dr. Viswanadham, see the office and ask your questions.
• Get the Tdap vaccine. CDC recommends it between 27 and 36 weeks of every pregnancy, preferably early in that window. Your antibodies pass to your baby and protect against whooping cough before your baby can be vaccinated.
• Think about feeding. Breastfeeding, formula or a mix are all fine. Decide what you want to try first and who you will call for help in the first week.
• Sign up for the free newborn baby massage workshop so you have a date once your baby is here.

What should I do at 32 to 36 weeks?

• Decide on RSV protection. CDC recommends that every baby be protected from severe RSV in one of two ways: an RSV vaccine for you if you are 32 to 36 weeks pregnant between September and January, or an RSV antibody shot for your baby. Most babies do not need both. Ask your obstetrician, and ask us at the prenatal visit.
• Install the car seat. It must be rear-facing, and you cannot leave the hospital without one. Install it before 36 weeks and have it checked at a car seat inspection station; NHTSA lists them by ZIP code.
• Set up the sleep space. A crib, bassinet or play yard with a firm flat mattress and a fitted sheet, and nothing else in it: no pillows, bumpers, blankets or toys. Keep it in your room for at least the first 6 months.

What should be ready by 37 weeks?

• Our number in your phone: (770) 615-7000. After hours it goes to our after-hours line.
• Your insurance plan’s deadline for adding a newborn, written down. On Georgia Medicaid, plan to report the birth right away so your baby has a Medicaid ID before the first visit.
• For the hospital bag, baby items: the installed car seat, a going-home outfit, a hat and a blanket for the ride.

What happens to my baby at the hospital?

• A vitamin K shot soon after birth. Babies are born with very little vitamin K, and the shot prevents rare but dangerous bleeding, including bleeding in the brain.
• The first hepatitis B vaccine dose, following the schedule we use (see our immunization schedule).
• Newborn screening: a few drops of blood from a heel stick, collected at 24 to 48 hours of age, checked for conditions that are treatable when found early.
• The hospital’s newborn team examines your baby every day until you go home.

What happens in the first days at home?

Call or text us on the day you leave the hospital. We see your baby 2 to 3 days later to check weight, jaundice and feeding, and we hold same-week slots for newborns. Bring the hospital discharge papers and your insurance card.