101 Things to Do When You're Overdue

By Robin Elise Weiss, PhD
Updated September 01, 2019
Pregnant woman
Creative RM/Peter Cade/Getty Images

The end of pregnancy can seem like an eternity. The closer you get to your due date, and especially when you're past your due date, the more the days seem to drag on and on. This isn't made any easier by how people seem to want to constantly ask you when you were due or how many babies you're carrying (!).

Things to Do While Waiting for Baby to Be Born

As a way to pass the time while waiting for baby, consider making some of these your bucket list items for the last, long weeks of pregnancy:

  1. Read another pregnancy book
  2. Take a bubble bath
  3. Get a manicure or pedicure
  4. Eat something spicy
  5. Talk to an old friend
  6. Learn to time contractions
  7. Pick out a baby book
  8. Go over your list of baby names one more time
  9. Write a birth plan
  10. Change the message on your answering machine or voicemail to inform callers you're still around
  11. Get your hair done
  12. Get a pregnancy massage
  13. Go for a bumpy ride
  14. Recalculate your due date
  15. Hang out on the pregnancy forums
  16. Watch reruns on television
  17. Wash all of your baby clothes
  18. Check out a matinee movie, alone or with a friend
  19. Make a rice sock for labor
  20. Try a new recipe for dinner
  21. Pack your birth bag and the father's bag for the hospital or birth center
  22. Look through your pregnancy journal or pregnancy blog and relive some of the better moments
  23. Buy a new nightgown
  24. Go dancing
  25. Look at some birth announcements
  26. Put the baby's car seat in the car
  27. Go window shopping
  28. Daydream about the baby
  29. Eat something else spicy, like samosas
  30. Buy a nursing bra
  31. If you have older kids, read to them
  32. Shave your legs
  33. Visit someone else with a new baby and practice holding him or her
  1. Think of goofy answers to the questions about whether or not you're still pregnant
  2. Try a new nail color
  3. Call your mom
  4. Sit in your baby's room for a while
  5. Buy a cute baby toy
  6. Make a list of foods that are high in fiber
  7. Put together any unmade furniture
  8. Buy stamps for birth announcements
  9. Work out—go to yoga, aerobics, whatever you like to do
  10. Practice a new position for labor
  11. Walk around the mall or park
  12. Check to be sure your insurance information is packed in your birth bag
  13. Indulge your biggest pregnancy craving—soon you won't crave it anymore
  14. Listen to your favorite music and consider making a playlist for the birth
  15. Buy a pack of diapers
  16. Buy a new toothbrush for the birth
  17. Make a cake
  18. Call your best friend
  19. Play with your pets
  20. Do nothing for a change
  21. Give your partner a back massage and show him how you like to have your back rubbed
  22. Buy any birthday cards or presents you'll need for the first six weeks after your baby is born
  23. Have a smoothie
  24. Recheck your birth bag for the hospital or birth center
  25. Go to a La Leche League meeting or breastfeeding class
  1. Take your partner dancing
  2. Pack some snacks for the hospital or birth center
  3. Make a belly cast of your belly
  4. Buy some sexy underwear, or at least not granny panties, for after the birth (a couple of weeks)
  5. If you have older kids, make "I'm a big sister/brother" t-shirts for them
  6. Bake a batch of cookies for the doctors and nurses at the hospital or birth center
  7. Go to your last prenatal appointments
  8. Order your favorite pizza for dinner
  9. Have sex (*wink*wink*nudge*nudge*)
  10. Think about anything but the new baby or labor
  11. Tell your partner how much you love and appreciate him
  12. Make big batches of food and freeze them to use after the baby is born
  13. Have AAA or a local car dealer inspect your car seat for safety
  14. Get a new scented lotion for labor
  15. Pack a diaper bag
  16. Message your honey to make sure he's paying attention
  17. Put together a casserole to eat when you come home from the hospital
  18. Put your birth bag in the car
  19. Make sure you have some postpartum help lined up
  20. Start a scrapbook for your baby if you haven't already
  21. Call your pediatrician to see if he or she has a recommended list of first aid items
  1. Look through your old baby books and pictures
  2. Have a lunch date with a friend
  3. Read positive birth stories
  4. Chat with your doula or doctor about any last minute worries
  5. Feel your baby's movements and remember how you waited to feel those first kicks
  6. Make a romantic dinner for your honey
  7. Make a list of everything you will miss about being pregnant
  8. Learn to knit baby booties
  9. Ask your mom about your birth
  10. Clean out the refrigerator
  11. Rent a movie
  12. Take a practice drive to the hospital
  13. Listen to an ​audiobook
  14. Read a novel you've been dying to read
  15. Go to work—why not?
  16. Think about your postpartum birth control choices
  17. Read a new breastfeeding book
  18. Practice a new relaxation technique
  19. Refold all the baby clothes
  20. Write a letter to your baby explaining how much you can't wait to meet him or her
  21. Make a list of everything you won't miss about being pregnant
  22. Give birth!
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Article Sources

  1. Dewald L, Fountain L. Introducing emergency preparedness in childbirth education classes. J Perinat Educ. 2006;15(1):49–51. doi:10.1624/105812406X92994