I am having a baby in 2.5 weeks (give or take 2.5 weeks of course). I’m starting to get into panic mode where I’m realizing that I might not have all the things I need. I still need to pack my hospital bags. I didn’t do this on time with my first child and ended up atempting to pack during labour. We eventually had to abandon packing and go to the hospital without a few things. This time I plan to be packed before labour begins!
Here is a list of things to pack for the hospital: Packing for the Hospital Birth
And of course the next big question is, when exactly should I go to the hospital? According to my Doctor she says I should go in when my contraction are 3-5 minutes apart and I can not walk or talk during contractions. So I guess this means I should be timing my contractions. Here is a Contraction Worksheet that I will use to time my contractions.
Next – Baby Names. Picking that perfect name for your baby, this has got to be the hardest part of having a baby (next to pregnancy, labour and sleepless nights of course 
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First, do you know if your having a boy or girl? If not then you’ll obviously have to pick out twice as many names, like me! You can pick one name for each or pick several for boy and several for girl. We preferred picking several because we weren’t sure what we would like once we met our new baby. Looking back, I’m glad we did since my friend who had her baby 2 weeks before me picked our top boy name, haha! I guess that’s what we get for keeping secrets.
I had a book for picking out names, but it was long, tedious and tiring to look through. I found this great online source (www.BabyNames.com) to help you pick a baby name, and I’m in the process of using it to pick the name for our newest addition!
So this should get you ready before you leave for the hospital. But what do I need for the new baby once I get home. Of course there’s the obvious like a crib and some diapers, but what else? Check out this complete list of things you’ll need to have on hand for when you and your new baby arrive home: What do we need for baby?
These are my lists and charts to help me get ready for labour. I hope they can help you too! If I’ve forgotten anything please let me know and I’ll add it to the lists.