20 Vital Things to do When You Find Out You Are Pregnant

Congratulations!!! You just found out you’re pregnant! But now what? I’m sure there are so many thoughts racing through your mind. There was for me when I found out I was pregnant with my first baby! Here are the first things to do when you find out you are pregnant.

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What is the First Thing You Should do After Finding Out You are Pregnant?

1. It is time to celebrate! Whether this is a surprise pregnancy, planned, or you have been struggling to get pregnant it’s time to celebrate! It’s okay to get excited and be happy! If you’re struggling with how to feel when you find out you’re pregnant, it’s okay. Pregnancy can be scary and will bring about a lot of changes. It’s okay to take time to process your feelings!
2. If your spouse was not with you when you took your pregnancy test now you have to decide how to tell him! There are so many fun ways to do this. You can surprise him or just run up to him and tell him! I surprised my husband with our first pregnancy, ran up to him excited about our second and third.

The First Things to Do When You Find Out You Are Pregnant

1. One of the most important things to do when you find out you are pregnant is to schedule a doctor’s appointment. This can be overwhelming, especially if this is your first baby. A big question on your mind may be “Where do you go when you find out you are pregnant?” You’ll go to an OB/GYN. Do some research on OB/GYNs in your area. Call the one you feel will be a good fit for you and schedule an appointment. They typically don’t see women until around 8 weeks of pregnancy. They will do tests to confirm pregnancy and an ultrasound.
2. Another incredibly important thing to do as soon as you find out you are pregnant is to start taking prenatal vitamins. If you have been trying to conceive you may already have been taking them, but it is very important to start immediately if you aren’t already. Prenatal vitamins are crucial to help prevent neural tube defects in your baby. If you are not yet pregnant it is recommended you start taking prenatal vitamins while trying to conceive.
3. If you are an avid coffee drinker, it’s time to limit that caffeine! It is recommended to limit caffeine to 200 mg or less per day when pregnant. Studies have shown that too much caffeine can cause birth defects and low birth weight in babies.
4. Check to make sure the medications you take are pregnancy-safe. Some medications cannot be taken when pregnant such as ibuprofen. So call your doctor to confirm what you’re taking is safe.

List of Things to Do After You Find Out You are Pregnant That Are Fun

1. Decide when to announce your pregnancy to others! It has been common in years past to not announce your pregnancy until you hit the second trimester. This was always done in case you suffer a miscarriage so you don’t have to tell people you lost the baby. But you do not have to follow that old rule! I did with my first and it felt so lonely. With my second and third I told family and close friends before the second trimester. I’d rather have people praying for me than struggle through something hard alone. This is completely up to you, please don’t feel like you have to do something because it’s always been that way.
2. Decide how you want to announce your pregnancy to friends and family! You don’t have to make a special announcement by any means, but you can! It doesn’t have to be crazy elaborate, for my parents I gave them a onesie that said “hello grandma and grandpa” to announce it to them. It was a special moment!
3. Discuss with your spouse if you want to find out the gender. This can be a source of disagreement, so start the discussion early. There are many options you can find out during the ultrasound, do a blood test, have a gender reveal party, or be surprised at birth. My husband wanted to find out the gender just the two of us, so we did. And then we had a gender reveal party for all of our friends and family to surprise them! You do not have to follow a “certain norm” but instead do what feels right to you and your husband.
4. Download a fun app to keep track of your baby! There are so many apps that will tell you the size of your baby, what’s happening in your body during this week of pregnancy, and what part of your baby is developing each week. It’s so cool to learn about! My favorite pregnancy tracking app was what to expect.
5. If you like to read look into ordering a book or 2 off of Amazon! You can read all about pregnancy and how to take care of yourself during your pregnancy. My favorite book was What to Expect When You’re Expecting.

What to Document After You Find Out You Are Pregnant

1. Start a pregnancy journal. This is a great idea! One that I could never finish. But you’ll want to start early if you decide to go this route so that you can keep track of all your pregnancy milestones.
2. Take pictures! Lots of pictures. Even if you can’t see your bump yet, take weekly pictures. You’ll love looking back on how your bump grew while carrying your little one. If you have the money look into getting maternity pictures booked so you have those to look back on. I have done maternity pictures with all of my pregnancies and have loved each one.

Things to do When You Find Out You Are Pregnant If it Is Not Your First Baby

1. If this is not your first baby then you’ll want to decide when to tell your other children about the pregnancy. Remember: toddlers and preschoolers are not the best at keeping secrets. So if you decide to wait until the second trimester to announce your pregnancy, maybe you should wait until around then to tell your kids. You’ll want to give your children time to prepare for a new baby in the house. They’ll also need to learn what it’ll mean to have a new baby, that way they aren’t blindsided by everything that goes along with the baby. You can use books to talk to your children about being big siblings.

Here are a few of my favorite big sibling books from Amazon:

I’m a Big Brother

I’m a Big Sister

My New Baby

Waiting for Baby

Checklist of Things to do as You Near the Second Trimester

1. Research things you actually need for the baby. A lot of baby registry guides you find will have everything you could think of for a baby on it. But you don’t need that much stuff. For example, a changing table. Yes, they look nice, but they’re a fall hazard! I opted not to have one in my house, save the money, and instead change my baby’s diapers on a changing pad on the floor. This way they don’t fall off of a tall surface.
2. Look into daycares! No really…I’m not joking. If you will be going back to work after maternity leave you need to look into daycares as early as possible. Good daycares in my area have waitlists up to a year long! You’ll want to get on the list as soon as possible.
3. Confirm with your insurance that they will give you a free breast pump. (Most will!) I like to go through Aeroflow breast pumps to get my breast pumps through insurance. They also send you reminders of when it’s time to order replacement parts for your pump (which is very important)! You’ll also want to confirm that the hospital you want to give birth at is in network with your insurance. You don’t want to have surprise out-of-network costs after having a baby!
4. Start saving for maternity leave. I know this sounds crazy, but the sooner you start saving the better. Especially in America where we get 12 weeks of leave that is typically unpaid. You can get short-term disability if you have it as a benefit through work but that only pays 60% of your pay for 6 weeks. You don’t want to have to go back to work before the 12 weeks are up, so be sure to add some money to your savings as soon as possible.
5. Plan a baby budget. The average cost of having a child (pregnancy-postpartum) in the USA is $18,865!! That doesn’t include the baby necessities you’ll need when you get home!
6. Use lotion, stretch mark cream, or coconut oil to help prevent stretch marks. Stretch marks are generic, so if you’re going to get them you’re going to get them. But using lotions and oils can help the elasticity in your skin and help with any itching you have as your skin stretches.

Pregnancy is an exciting time and there’s so much to do! Try not to be overwhelmed and enjoy this time. Use this list as a guide of what you should start doing when you are ready. 

As you prepare for pregnancy, labor and delivery and postpartum check out these related blog posts: Postpartum Essentials You’ll Regret Not Having for Mom and Baby, The Ultimate Labor and Delivery Hospital Bag Checklist, and Breastfeeding Essentials For New Moms That You Can’t Live Without.

If you have a toddler or older child and are worried about how they’ll adjust to a new baby be sure to check out my blog post How to Prepare Your Toddler for a New Sibling.

This is a pretty comprehensive list of things to do when you find out you are pregnant. Is there anything else you would add as well? Let me know in the comments!