Week 30: Packing and planning

Your baby’s brain is developing its characteristic folds this week to pack in more and more cells, the fine lanugo hair is starting to disappear, and they can now tell light from dark. They’re about the size of a large bok choy.

For you, heartburn and backache are near-universal companions now, Braxton Hicks may come more often, and emotions can run high as birth moves into view. All completely normal.

It’s a good week to start your hospital bag. Handy things to include: your Medicare card and private health card if you have one, comfortable loose clothes, toiletries, snacks for labour, a phone charger, and your birth preferences. Freezing a few meals now is a real gift to your future self for those bleary newborn days.

It’s worth packing for three stages. For labour: comfy clothes, lip balm, hair ties, snacks and drinks, a phone charger, music — anything that helps you relax. For after the birth: a couple of nighties or loose outfits, big comfy undies, maternity pads, toiletries, and going-home clothes for you. For baby: a few onesies and singlets, a wrap or two, nappies, and an outfit to go home in — plus the approved car seat fitted and ready in the car. A small separate bag for your support person helps too.

Beyond the bag, a few jobs are worth ticking off now while you have the energy: getting the car seat fitted and checked, sorting a safe sleep space, finishing antenatal classes, and writing down the key phone numbers (your maternity unit, your support person, whoever’s on standby for other children or pets). Emotionally, it’s normal to swing between excitement and a flutter of fear as it all gets real — that’s a sign you’re taking it seriously, not that anything’s wrong.

It’s worth talking through your hopes for the birth with your partner and your midwife around now, too — not a rigid script, just the things that matter to you, so everyone’s on the same page. And don’t underestimate rest as part of your preparation: the better you bank energy now, the more you’ll have for labour and those early newborn weeks. Accept help, say no to non-essentials, and treat putting your feet up as a legitimate item on the to-do list, not a guilty indulgence.

If cord blood banking is something you’re curious about, this is a good time to read up and chat with your doctor — there are private options in Australia, and free donation at some hospitals. There’s no right answer; it’s a personal choice.