Pregnancy Checklist: Your 1st Trimester

This post is sponsored by P&G but all opinions are my own.

Pregnancy is such an exciting, and sometimes overwhelming, experience. The first trimester brings with it a lot to be excited about: finding out your pregnant, announcing the big news, and even your first prenatal visit. But there may be some bumps along the road, too, like morning sickness and you’ll find you’re extra tired.

You’re just getting started on this exciting journey, and along the way you’re sure to learn all sorts of things about your new role as mom. Like, did you have any idea that babies go through an average of 320 diapers their first month? Or, that some babies are picky about their pacifier – and you might need to try a few brands?

*Make sure you scroll to the end to grab our week-by-week pregnancy checklist printable!

Target is the go-to spot for new moms learning the ropes and getting ready for their newborn with all the tools, and resources, available through their Baby Registry hub. It all starts with a free welcome kit, and ends with a savings coupon – for anything left on your registry!

I’ll be sharing some of my favorite reasons why you’ll want to start your registry at Target, you won’t want to miss. But first, let’s get started by breaking down everything you’ll need to do during your first few weeks of pregnancy in a fun, week-by-week checklist and printable of what to do in your 1st trimester. Watch for the printable to-do list at the end of the post!

What to do During Your 1st Trimester

Week 4: Congrats, you’re pregnant! 

Most women will get a positive result on a home pregnancy test around 4-5 weeks. You can make an exciting start by coming up with a fun way to share the news with your partner.

Week 5: Start taking prenatal vitamins.

If you haven’t already started taking prenatal vitamins while trying to conceive, it’s time to get started. Prenatal vitamins will help ensure you have all the vitamins and minerals you need for a healthy start. Take time to consider dietary and lifestyle changes you may need to adjust for the baby on the way.

Week 6: Make an appointment with your OB/GYN.

Your first doctor’s appointment is usually around week 8. It’s time to look for recommendations for a great OB/GYN, if you don’t already have one, from your friends and make your first appointment.

Week 7: Stock-up on easy meals and snacks.

Morning sickness often strikes around 8 weeks along. Prepare a couple of easy freezer meals to make it through the hard weeks when you don’t feel like cooking. Load your fridge with food that’s easy on your tummy, like fruits and vegetables, plain crackers, and yogurt.

Week 8: Your 1st prenatal visit. 

Plan accordingly, your first visit to your OB/GYN will be longer than many of the rest of your appointments. Many of your appointments to follow will be a quick visit with urine, weight, and belly checks. Some practices may take an ultrasound during your first trimester.

Week 9: Start taking belly photos.

You’ve made it to 2-months pregnant, it’s time to start taking belly pictures! You won’t have much to show yet, but it will be the perfect early starting point to document your progress over the months to come.

Week 10: Join a birth club. 

Find friends locally or look for a Facebook group with others due around the same time as you. It’s a great way to ask questions and share your thoughts about what you’re feeling and experiencing each week.

Week 11: Start thinking about your baby registry. 

Start doing your research to find the perfect place to register for everything you’ll need for your new arrival. Target makes it easy to register for everything you love, from multiple retailers, in one baby registry with their universal registry tool. Just grab their bookmarklet and mark items from a variety of websites, right to your registry.

Week 12: Announce your pregnancy!

Many couples choose to announce their pregnancy around 12 weeks! The chance of miscarriage greatly decreases once you reach 12 weeks pregnant, and you’re just about out of the first trimester. Get creative on how to share the news with the world.

The 1st trimester of pregnancy goes by SO fast. It may not feel like it, if you’re in the midst of morning sickness, but before you know it you’ll be on to the 2nd trimester! Because you may have spent the 1st half of your 1st trimester not even realizing you were pregnant, you get to skip by a few early weeks blissfully unaware and speed up your pregnancy countdown.

But now, it’s on to your 2nd trimester! Follow along with our series and head on to the 2nd Trimester Week-by-Week checklist! Plus, don’t forget to grab the free printable below!

A Baby Registry That’s Different

There are a lot of choices when it comes to registering for your new baby needs, but there’s one registry that’s doing things differently. Target’s baby registry lets you add items from any website with their universal registry system. You won’t have to pick just one store’s selections for all your gifts. Start with Target to add all your wishlist items from Target, and other retailers, with price matching!

Target will help you get started filling in your registry with a list of the essentials, to help you ensure you add everything you’ll need to your registry. Most first-time moms don’t realize how many packs of diapers they’ll need.

Target helps you get your registry started by automatically adding a few must-have items to your list, like Pampers Diapers. Just don’t forget to ask for a bunch of boxes! You don’t realize how quickly you’ll go through them and how quickly your little one will grow. So add a variety of sizes! Your future mommy self will thank you!

I relied on Target for my own baby registry, and loved the simplicity, the free welcome kit with coupons and samples, and the helpful guide that suggested what I may need as I browsed each of the aisles. It was a fun date night in the store comparing products and dreaming about our baby-to-be as we picked out outfits and snuggle blankets and all the accessories he would need.

When you start a baby registry at Target, they still offer a free welcome kit for new registries and a 15% coupon to help you finish off your registry shopping when your registry closes. You can bump that savings up to a whopping 20% completion discount after baby arrives when you sign up with your Target REDcard. That’s an additional 5% savings for card holders.

Print the 1st Trimester Pregnancy Checklist

Now that you’ve seen the task for each week, click here to print our pregnancy checklist for the 1st trimester. You can hang it in your office by your other to-do lists or stick it to the front of the fridge so it’s easy to follow along with. Continue on with our checklist countdown with this 2nd trimester checklist!

Click Here: 1st Trimester Checklist Printable

What’s one pregnancy event you’re most looking forward to?