Preparing For Labor: The Sacred Transition Checklist [Weeks 35–40]

The last few days, weeks, + moments of pregnancy are so wild. It’s a period of sacred transition—moving from the known + to the unknown. There’s mystery in the air, excitement, + maybe even a bit of fear. Will today be the day?

If you’re like me — you’ll ride the waves of anticipation for what’s to come, while also hoping for “one more day” of this sacred time. Even though this is my second pregnancy, I know I’ll never be fully ready. (Is anyone ever?!)

The most important aspect of this sacred transition = slow down, surrender, + trust the process. Whether this is your first pregnancy or second (or third! or fourth!), I highly encourage you to create space to both…

• #1] Enjoy + honor the ending of the familiar chapter that you are in right now
• #2] Take time for you + the belly in your belly to connect.

I wanted to share my “sacred transition” list with you. Take what resonates + leave the rest. Every mama’s journey is so unique + only you will know what is best for you. However, if you take one piece of advice from me, let it be this: Don’t rush this sacred transition. It’s easy to be so excited + eager to meet your baby, that you miss out on this potent time. Soon enough, your life will be changed forever + you will meet a little human being that’s been growing in your belly for 9+ months. But for now, honor the closing of your pregnancy chapter + step into the sacred transition.

Please note that all of these items are simply suggestions based on what I did during this transition with my second pregnancy. You don’t “have” to do anything. Create a list that feels empowering + supportive to you. Always consult your doctor/midwife before consuming products + receiving treatments.

Week 35

• Pregnancy photoshoot
• Created my birth playlist!
• Started drinking red raspberry tea every night
• Worked out: 1x hike per week, 1x prenatal pilates, 1x yoga, + 2–3x light weights or Melissa Wood Health. Ideally, walked 5–10K steps daily
• Got a few newborn clothes + items for baby! Didn’t need much because of all of Noah’s hand me downs [thank you, Noah!]. Check out: Navigating Your Baby Registry + All The Baby Links. As well as: Baby Registry: 18 Things I Didn’t Need
• Tried to meditate in the middle of the day… typically did a hypno-birthing meditation [many times I would just end up falling asleep… + that’s totally okay!]
• Talked to the baby asking him what is name was + if he could give me a sign… he gave me the clearest sign ever the day after Thanksgiving! I’ll share more later
• Stopped reading/listening to anything NOT related to birth — aka let go of pretty much all of my typical podcasts + instead, I consumed pregnancy related content! I winded down every night by reading Ina May’s Guide To Childbirth, First Forty Days, + The Zen Mamas. I haven’t had instagram on my phone in 6 months, but if I still did — I would have deleted that during this time as well!
• Date with Isaac: 2 months prior to our due date, Isaac + I were like — we need a consistent date, just the two of us to connect. We decided on yoga + coffee dates every Thursday morning. It’s been so nourishing for us. My only regret is not starting much sooner!
• Journaled = What do I still need to do to be “ready” for birth? Create a priorities list.

Week 36

• Home visit appointment with my midwife to access our birth room
• Worked out: 1x hike per week, 1x prenatal pilates, 1x yoga, + 2–3x light weights or Melissa Wood Health. Ideally, walked 5–10K steps daily
• Started taking evening primrose oil + eating dates (I honestly have been hating dates / anything sweet — so I didn’t do that as much this time around)
• Drank red raspberry tea or jujubee tea at night. Also, started drinking Calm at night… pregnancy insomnia is so real for me + I get up like 5x to go pee
• Started taking Gentle Birth Tincture 3x daily
• Started taking Epsom Salt Baths a few times a week
• Had a prenatal massage + acupuncture session!
• Read inspiring + empowering birth books at night
• Meditations / visualizations around birth
• Date with Isaac: Yoga + coffee!
• Started reading books to Noah on having a baby brother + home birth. We read: I’m A Big Brother, Welcome Home, + My Mother Is The Strongest. From the very beginning, we taught Noah that there was a baby in my belly + I totally believe that he fully grasped it. He would always kiss my belly + say “baby.” I believe that reading the books helped him understand even more, + they became his favorite books to read.
• Journaled = How do I want to step up my birth room? What do I want to wear while laboring? *If you’re doing a hospital birth, this is a good week to pack your hospital bag!

Week 37

• Prep the birth room!!!!!!!!!! At 37 weeks, I was officially cleared to have a home birth, so this was my most important “to do.” We didn’t do this until the end of Week 37, + honestly I would get anxious every day because I didn’t feel like our space was “ready.” Once the birth room was ready [Week 38], every night we cleaned the house + set intentions — if tonight was the night, we’d be ready!
• Started using a Tens Unit + it’s been glorious for relieving pain!
• Worked out: 1x hike per week, 1x prenatal pilates, 1x yoga, + 2–3x light weights or Melissa Wood Health. Ideally, walked 5–10K steps daily
• Isaac made a few recipes to freeze: Chicken Soup, Oxtail Stew, Braised Beef Soup
• Had a reflexology session, which was amazing!
• Evening primrose oil, Gentle Birth Tincture, dates, red raspberry tea. Baths! Books! Meditations!
• Meet with my doula + did a birth visualization
• Wrapped up work + set my “maternity OOO” email response. Time to fully go inward! I know this isn’t possible for everyone, but if you can take 1–3 weeks off of work prior to your due date, I would highly recommend it
• Isaac + I had our first ever one night hotel stay without Noah + it was glorious! I am so, so happy we were able to do this prior to baby #2 coming. It was so nice to connect + just be. We felt like little lovebirds! We went out to dinner at the same restaurant as our “last date night” before Noah… so we were feeling all the feels.
• Decided on food for labor = Applesauce, frozen fruit, honey sticks, bone broth, coconut water, + electrolytes
• Journaled = If I went into labor today, is there anything that I’d regret not doing? [Aka, more solo time with Noah, more going inward to meditate + journal, more connecting with myself + baby, etc]

Week 38

• Every night, made sure that everything was SET for birth!!
• Our prayer every night, “If today is the day, it’s been a really great day.” Really tried to savor, savor, savor every day!
• Worked out: 1x hike per week [did my last hike!], 1x prenatal pilates, 1x yoga, + 2–3x light weights or Melissa Wood Health. Ideally, walked 5–10K steps daily
• Started rose baths — I bought a bouquet of roses, + every night I’d take one rose + put the petals in the bath with me… it was a beautiful end of day ritual to help slow down. Many times Noah joined me + it was always a special, quality time with him
• Started drinking an herbal tea that helps with induction + all the other supplements + teas mentioned above. Books! Meditations!
• Recorded a podcast with Isaac on pregnancy
• Reviewed my birth education notes from the course I took when I was pregnant with Noah
• Acupuncture session
• Isaac + I wrote letters to each other to read on “labor day”
• Wrote out my ideal birth manifestation + labor checklist
• Made sure I had all of my “labor food/drinks” on hand
• Date with Isaac: Yoga + coffee!
• Initially, I really felt like baby was coming this week, so there were a lot of moments of “this might be our last X before baby comes” [beach day, sunset, walk, etc]. I felt a lot of grief come up… + ultimately, had to let go [see below]
• I worked on really letting go of this chapter of the “3 of us” + focused on the mantra “my heart is expanding” — I showed Noah his birth video, read my birth story with Noah, had a huge cry in the shower. I had a moment where I just laid in bed with Noah while he was napping + I was just sobbing, hugging him. I felt like my body was really starting to have a somatic release of the ending of this chapter, while making space for the beautiful chapter that is to come
• Journaled = What does my ideal First 40 Days look like? Who do I want on my postpartum care team? How do I want to approach visitors post birth?

Week 39

• Rest, rest, REST — this was a big “slowing down” week
• Every night, made sure that everything was SET for birth!!
• Made 1–3 recipes from First 40 Days to freeze
• Session with my doula
• Easy, gentle movement — 5K daily steps + Melissa Wood Health
• Evening primrose oil, Gentle Birth Tincture, dates, CALM, red raspberry tea… by the end of Week 39, my Gentle Birth Tincture was done lol.
• Had to do a lot of fear clearing this week. When I finally slowed down + everything was “prepared” for birth, so much fear started bubbling up. Fear pictures of tearing, emergency c-section, worried that I wouldn’t be able to “handle the pain,” etc. I journaled + meditated extensively on my fears. The mantra that helped so much: “I can feel fear, but I am not afraid.”
• Discovered Built To Birth on YouTube, which helped SO much with releasing fears as well… while starting to become much more empowered about birth. I absolutely loved her meditations + listened to them multiple times per day.
• Created my birth mantras:

Gratitude 💛 I am so grateful for this experience.

Trust 💛 I trust that my body + baby know exactly what to do.

Purpose 💛 The pain has a purpose. I can do anything for one minute.

Power 💛 I am so strong + capable + powerful. I can do this… I am doing this!

Open 💛 I open my heart, mind, + body to birth my baby.

Peaceful 💛 I am having a relaxed, peaceful, beautiful birthing journey.

Supported 💛 I am not alone… I call upon God [Let go, + let God], my angels, my maternal lineage, my birth team, my baby, + my highest self to help guide me.

Love 💛 I welcome my baby with so much love… I am about to meet my baby + I cannot wait to hold him in my arms!!!!

• Took a long, long, long solo walk while listening to my birth playlist + just let every single emotion pour out of me. I also started taking a lot more “solo time” the last two weeks of pregnancy to really connect with myself now that I was on maternity leave — this looked like journaling, long baths, solo walks, meditating, + other forms of self-care. I knew that soon enough I’d be tethered to a beautiful newborn, so it was important that I took this time for myself!
• Date with Isaac: Yoga + coffee!
• Went into the birth room every night to pray + journal + talk to my baby
• Journaled = What do I need to let go of? Release + let go of anything that I do not want to carry into labor + parenthood… including all the labor fears!

Week 40

• Every night, made sure that everything was SET for birth!!
• Easy, gentle movement — 5K daily steps + Melissa Wood Health
• Evening primrose oil, dates, CALM, + red raspberry tea
• Major grocery run to make sure we were stocked up on everything, knowing that baby’s arrival was imminent!
• Acupuncture session — had two “induction” sessions… the last one I had was terrible [baby was moving around like crazy + I literally thought he flipped into the breach position] + ultimately led me to decide to do no more acupuncture to try to induce… baby was going to come at the perfect time
• Built To Birth meditations multiple times per day. I loved her breath work visualizations… focusing on breathing the baby down, down, down.
• The message that I got from baby this week was to simply keep enjoying these “bonus days!” It was hard not to feel a bit anxious, particularly as it got closer to 41 weeks, but I did my best to take it one day at a time + to focus on each day as a blessing. Did fear pop up? Absolutely. But, I also knew that in the birth world towards the end of pregnancy, one week is a massive amount of time… so I had to be patient + fully trust that baby was going to make his arrival at the perfect time… + he did!
• Journal = How can I fully savor these bonus days?

Gabriel made his arrival earth side at 40 Weeks + 5 Days. It’s funny because Isaac + I were positive that he was going to come early [*at least* one week early]. We made sure everything physically was SET by Week 38… but looking back, emotionally, I was not ready.

I truly believe that Gabriel “waited” for me to be ready physically, emotionally, + spiritually. I’m so grateful that he gave me those bonus days [even though I felt a bit nervous at times!] — I had so much space to honor the closing of our chapter of 3, prepare + tend to our birth room, release all my fears related to labor/birth, take time for myself to go inward, go on dates with Isaac, + ultimately… truly feel ready to birth our baby + welcome him into my arms!

I hope this list inspired you to create your own sacred transition. I’d love to hear what you did to honor the sacred transition! 💛

Love,
Elisabeth