10 things to do before the baby comes

This may not be the kind of list you fully appreciate until your baby's second or third week. It's certainly not prescriptive. You have enough people with opinions on what you should and shouldn't do from the time you announce that you're pregnant.

Take from it what's useful, smile at the rest and tell us what you think.

1. Turn the television off
There are a lot of programs on at the moment which seem designed to scare women. Turn them off and look for something that helps you think positively about birth and your body. You might consider taking an antenatal class, for instance.

2. Celebrate pregnancy
This will be the only time that you are pregnant with this baby. Why not make a memory of it? There are so many options for celebrating, from bump henna to maternity photoshoots.

3. Consider your birth options
Think about where you'd feel most comfortable giving birth and discuss a “plan” with your birth partner but stay open to change.

4. Sleep!
Enjoy your weekend lie-ins. Any of us with small children miss them.

5. Read
Read about pregnancy and birth, breastfeeding, and the baby months. There's a lot of information out there. Take what feels good to you. Take what makes you feel strong.

6. Stock up on snacks
Specifically, you'll want to have lots of snacks that you can eat one-handed. If you're breastfeeding, you might want to distribute them in places you're likely to be sitting for a while.

7. Get the nursery ready
Even if your baby doesn't end up sleeping there, now is your chance to get it all organised so you're not hunting madly for muslin cloths the first time he brings his milk back up.

8. Find your “tribe”
Think about where your support system is going to be. Parenting, like most things, is better when you've got a community around you.

9. Go to the cinema
Go see something loud. Go out late into the night. It might be a while. That said, look out for mother and baby viewings at your local cinema.

10. Make a baby list
Or look at ours. To save even more time and money, book in a personal shopping slot. We'll take you through everything from bra fitting to sorting a gift list to chatting about appropriate practitioners to support your parenting journey.

To be honest, we could easily have continued this list to two hundred . Ten seemed a good, solid figure to stop at. What would you add?