The Most Underrated Baby Prep: Preparing You, Not Just the Nursery

A third-trimester reflection on why slowing down, connecting, and being supported matter more than having everything ‘ready’.

If you’re in your third trimester right now, you probably have a mental list (or an actual Notes app list) that looks something like this:

✔ Moses basket

✔ Going-home outfit

✔ Nappies

✔ Steriliser

✔ Pram sheets washed

✔ Hospital bag started

✔ Somewhere in the list: “Buy more muslins?”

And if you’re anything like most of the women I support, at some point you’ll look at the nursery and think:“Nearly done… I think?”

But there’s something else that happens in the third trimester that rarely gets talked about:

You start preparing the space, but you forget to prepare the self.And it’s one of the most common third-trimester regrets I see, year after year.

Because the truth is:

A ready nursery doesn’t prepare you for birth.

A tidy cupboard doesn’t prepare your mind for matrescence.

And a stocked freezer doesn’t mean you feel emotionally held.

There is another layer of preparation, quieter, deeper, more human....and it’s the one most mothers remember they needed once they’re already in the postpartum haze.

This is why I’m so intentional about offering our Pregnancy Community Circle and Photoshoot specifically for women in their third trimester.Because preparing the space is lovely… but preparing you is transformational.

Let’s talk about why.

You’re standing on a threshold and thresholds deserve ritual.

The third trimester is a liminal doorway.

You’re still you, but you’re also not quite the same.You’re excited, but you’re also carrying quiet anxieties.You’re ready to meet your baby, but you’re still trying to savour these last days.

You’re standing with one foot in pregnancy and one foot in motherhood and transitions like these aren’t meant to be rushed or unnoticed.

Historically, women were held through this shift.There were gatherings, rituals, community moments that helped them pause, breathe, reflect, and prepare.

In modern life, we’ve replaced the ritual with to-do lists.

We stock the drawers.

We build the pram.

We install the car seat.

But who prepares you?

This is where a third-trimester circle becomes powerful.It gives you a moment outside of logistics, a moment to be connected, witnessed, grounded, and emotionally prepared for what’s coming.

Your inner world needs as much preparation as your outer world.

By the third trimester, your body is in a primal rhythm.Your brain begins shifting into motherhood mode, often without you noticing.

You might find yourself:

• slowing down

• thinking more deeply

• needing reassurance

• craving connection

• feeling more sensitive

• wanting to nest (or wanting to avoid the chaos)

• feeling emotional for no obvious reason

  
  

This is not weakness or “pregnancy hormones.”This is matrescence. A biological, emotional, and psychological transformation that deserves support.

A circle gives you the space to check in with your inner world, not just your outer preparations.It lets you soften into:

• What do I actually need right now?

• What am I holding emotionally?

• What am I excited about?

• What am I anxious about?

• What stories am I telling myself about birth or motherhood?

• What support do I want around me?

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These are the questions that shape your transition more than anything you can buy for the baby.

Your confidence grows when you’re witnessed, not when everything is “ready.”

One of the most transformative parts of the third-trimester circle is the simple act of being surrounded by other women who are walking the same path.

You realise:

You’re not the only one who worries about birth.

You’re not the only one who feels unprepared.

You’re not the only one who doesn’t know what postpartum will look like.

You’re not the only one who is both ecstatic and overwhelmed.

Confidence doesn’t come from perfect preparation.

It comes from community.From being witnessed.From being reminded that you’re not doing this alone.From seeing yourself reflected in the strength of other women.

That’s why the circle is intentionally structured with:

✨ gentle reflection

✨ supportive sharing

✨ birth-affirming readings

✨ grounding practices

✨ a feeling of being held, not taught

You walk in as strangers, but you leave with a softness and strength that only shared experience creates.

Your third-trimester body is powerful, grounded, and camera-ready.

Let’s talk about the photoshoot.

There is something truly magical about third-trimester photographs, something softer, deeper, more embodied than the earlier weeks.

Your bump is prominent

Your posture shifts

Your energy settles

You carry yourself differently.

You’re closer to birth.

You’re closer to meeting your baby.

You’re more connected to your role as their mother.

And even if you don’t feel like a goddess (few women do!), this is the version of you your future self will ache to remember.

This is the version your child will want to see.

Not posed perfection.Not staged glamour.

But you — powerful, expectant, glowing in your own unique way.

This is why the circle leads into the photoshoot so beautifully.Your body relaxes.Your nervous system softens.You feel connected and grounded and supported.

And that energy is what makes the photographs so meaningful — not the dress, not the pose, but the feeling.

You deserve to prepare the mother, not just the nursery.

You can buy the things later.You can finish the nursery next week.You can wash the pram sheets when you remember.

But this version of you, the you in transition, the you on the threshold, the you who is both ready and tender, she deserves a moment.

A moment to be held.A moment to celebrate.A moment to reflect.A moment to honour the journey so far.A moment to prepare emotionally and spiritually for what’s coming.

This is why I choose to host the Pregnancy Community Circle and Photoshoot in the third trimester.

Because this is when you need it most.This is when you’re ready for it.This is when the support lands deepest.This is when the photographs mean the most.This is when ritual becomes medicine.

I’m Jenny, founder of Nest and an antenatal educator, and for the last six years I’ve supported women through pregnancy, birth, and the early months of motherhood. My work centres on connection, calm, and the emotional transition that unfolds in the final stretch of pregnancy. I created this third-trimester circle and photoshoot because I’ve seen how much it supports women to pause, reflect, and feel genuinely celebrated as they prepare for the chapter ahead. It’s an honour to guide you through this moment of grounding, community, and meaningful preparation.

If this speaks to you, I’d love to welcome you into one of our upcoming circles. It’s a beautiful way to prepare for birth, connect with other women in the same chapter, and create photographs you’ll treasure for years. You can click below to view all upcoming dates for this memorable event.

See all upcoming dates here