This post shows you the 18 Baby Prep Date Ideas Before the Baby Arrives.
These baby prep date ideas help you get ready for parenthood together while still making time to bond.
Some date ideas are very practical, like setting up the nursery or learning about baby care.
While some are more focused on your mental preparation and deep conversations that will bring you closer together.
The goal? To prepare without stressing.
Because yes, there’s a lot to do before the baby comes, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend every second making lists and checking off tasks.
These baby prep date ideas help you get things done while staying connected, so when your baby arrives, you’ll feel prepared, in sync, and ready for this next adventure together.
Practical Baby Prep Date Ideas
1 Nursery Setup Date
Time to get that nursery ready! You can plan what you need to buy, set up the furniture, organize storage space, and add a personal touch to the space.
Play some music, take your time, and enjoy the process of creating your baby’s first little world.
2 Baby Registry Date
Sit down together and build your baby registry, but make it fun!
Browse essentials, pick out the cute extras, and talk about what you’re most excited about.
It’s like window shopping for your new life. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll be surprised at how opinionated your partner is about strollers!
3 Hospital Bag Packing Date
Pack the hospital bag while imagining what the big day will be like.
What comforts do you want? What snacks are must-haves? Who’s in charge of grabbing the bag when it’s time to go?
Make a plan, pack together, and get one step closer to meeting your baby.
If you need help, don’t want to get lost, and want a detailed guide on what to pack in your maternity hospital bag, check out my super detailed guide! It truly saved me and helped me feel like myself, which made a huge difference in how I felt during recovery.
4 Car Seat Installation & Safety Check Date
Learn how to properly install the car seat so you’re not struggling in the hospital parking lot later.
Practice buckling it in, adjusting the straps, and making sure everything is baby-safe.
And yes, both of you should know how to do this, because, at some point, you’ll be doing it solo!
5 Meal Prep for Postpartum Date
Cook and freeze meals to make life easier once the baby arrives.
Whether it’s chili, casseroles, or just chopping up veggies for quick meals later, you’ll be so thankful you did this.
Your future sleep-deprived selves will appreciate every bite.
And not to mention, you won’t be able to rely on delivery or takeout if you want to nourish your postpartum body and balance your hormones! Trust me, food will be your fuel, and what you eat will have a huge impact on both your recovery and your mood.
I was super serious about food. I wanted to eat enough calories for my milk supply, but still stay in a slight deficit so I could lose weight.
At the same time, I really didn’t want to live on rice cakes and protein bars because processed food just isn’t great for postpartum recovery.
If you’re like me and you care about balancing your hormones (not just bouncing back), check out the two food guides I put together!
One is all about healthy groceries to stock up on, and the other is a guide to healthy postpartum freezer meal prep.
My husband helped me a lot with meal prep, and we shared the load. He also got healthier! It was really an incredible journey for both of us!
6 Practice Baby Care Date
Take turns diapering, swaddling, and dressing a doll or stuffed animal for fun practice.
It might feel silly at first, but trust me, it’s better to fumble now than when you’re half-asleep with a newborn.
Plus, it’s a low-pressure way to get comfortable with the basics together.
7 Baby Laundry & Organizing Date
Wash, fold, and sort baby clothes while talking about how real it’s starting to feel.
Those tiny socks? The impossibly small onesies? It’s happening!
Take your time, breathe it in, and enjoy this simple but meaningful moment together.
8 Test-Drive the Stroller Date
Practice unfolding, folding, and maneuvering the stroller before you actually need to use it.
Get comfortable adjusting the settings, turning corners, and figuring out how to collapse it without looking totally lost.
Bonus points if you do this outside and make a date out of it!
First, we wanted to bring the stroller home a couple of months before the baby arrived so our dog could get used to it. Then we watched dozens of YouTube videos to learn how to fold, click, remove, detach, and more!
I kid you not, we didn’t even know our stroller had an “up-the-stairs” option, such a cool feature for our city! We bought a secondhand stroller (Cybex Priam, and it’s honestly the best stroller in the world!), so we wanted to learn everything about it and get everything washed before the baby arrived.
Education & Parenting Prep Dates
9 Baby First Aid & CPR Class Date
Take a baby safety course together so you both feel confident handling emergencies.
Learning infant CPR, choking first aid, and basic baby safety gives you peace of mind, because let’s be honest, you’ll feel so much better knowing what to do just in case.
For this, we visited our local hospital and took free baby classes, and we both watched a bunch of videos on TikTok. It really helped us feel more confident.
Since this is our first baby and we rarely babysat our nephews, we really had no idea how to hold a baby or what to do if something went wrong. Instead of letting the anxiety overwhelm us, we just went all in and prepared!
It didn’t feel like a chore because we always did something fun after the baby class (usually had ice cream, haha), but still, we made an effort to do that together.
10 Birth Preferences Planning Date
Sit down and talk about what you want your birth experience to look like.
Discuss labor support, pain management, and possible scenarios so you’re on the same page.
Plans can change, but having a conversation now helps set expectations and make sure you feel supported.
11 Watch Parenting/Birth Videos Date
Watch a birth story or newborn care video together and talk about what stood out.
Maybe it’s something unexpected about labor, a helpful tip for the early newborn days, or just a funny moment that makes you both laugh.
Learning together makes it all feel a little less overwhelming.
12 Parenting Styles Conversation Date
How do you want to raise your child?
What values matter most?
Share thoughts on how you were raised, what you loved about it, and what you’d like to do differently.
This is a great way to get on the same page before the baby arrives.
If you need pointers and don’t want to make this date awkward, I have a guide just for you!
H3 13 Childcare & Work Plan Date
Discuss how you’ll handle work schedules, parental leave, and childcare options.
Will one of you stay home?
Will you need daycare or family help?
Talking about this now means less stress later, so you can focus on bonding with your baby instead of scrambling for a plan.
Fun & Sentimental Baby Prep Date Ideas
14 DIY Maternity Photoshoot Date
Capture sweet bump photos together before the baby arrives.
You don’t need a professional setup, just good lighting, a simple backdrop, and a phone camera will do!
Take silly photos, romantic shots, or even recreate childhood pictures from your own past. These memories will be priceless one day.
15 Write a Letter to Baby Date
Each of you writes a heartfelt letter to your baby to give them later in life.
Maybe you share your excitement, dreams, or even funny thoughts about pregnancy.
Seal it up for a future milestone—like their 16th birthday, graduation, or wedding day.
16 Create a Baby Time Capsule Date
Fill a box with notes, headlines, and small keepsakes from this moment in time.
Add a letter to your future selves, a list of current favorites (movies, songs, foods), and anything sentimental.
Years from now, opening it will be a special moment for your family.
17 Record a Message for Your Future Baby Date
Film a video message to your baby talking about your excitement, hopes, and what you’re feeling in these final weeks.
It’s a fun keepsake that they’ll love watching when they’re older, and a sweet reminder of just how much love surrounded their arrival.
18 Baby Name Brainstorm Date
Make a list of baby names that you like and talk about them with your partner.
This date is not about deciding on the name, but it’s more about exploring different names, meanings, and unique names that stand out, and talking about what you love!
You can take names from history and literature, explore different cultures and mythologies, and really talk about your choices that you can always revisit later!
These baby prep date ideas are all part of the Pre-Baby Talk. That’s why, when the baby comes, you’ll be ready and prepared for…
…all the love in the world.
Which of these baby prep date ideas do you like the most? Let me know in the comments!
Don’t forget to pin this post so you’ll always have these ideas handy!
This post showed you 18 Baby Prep Date Ideas Before the Baby Arrives.
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