1 | PM Your Parenthood Baby-Making Cheat Sheet | ||||||
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2 | No more (pre-)/parenthood axiety from overwhelming book lists, random online posts, friends' and families' hearsay, and etc. Manage your (pre-)/parenthood with ease and confidence, like a well-trained PM managing their products. This cheat sheet helps systematize the end-to-end baby-making process and prioritize actions you can take in each stage of the journey. Disclaimer: This cheat sheet is consolidated and summarized based on my journey and is continuously evolving. This is for your reference only. Use with caution and your own judgement. Consult professional health providers before taking any medical actions. PM Your Parenthood participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising commissions by linking to Amazon. | ||||||
3 | Priority: indicates the prioritized actions of each stage. P0 - Must Have, P1 - Preferred to Have, P2 - Nice to Have | ||||||
4 | Last updated: 8/5/2022 | ||||||
5 | PM Stage | Parenthood Stage Equivalent | Action | Priority | Resources | ||
6 | 1. Ideation | Let's have a baby! | Have the "Are we ready?" conversation w/ yourself (very important!) and your partner | P0 | Article: Are we REALLY ready to have a baby? Aspects to consider, the Second-Order mental model, Go/No-Go framework | ||
7 | P0 | Article: Starting a family? Get your mental muscle ready! 3 mental muscle exercises, Circle of Concern vs Circle of Influence | |||||
8 | Start to learn the basics about pregnancy | P0 | Book Recommendation: Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong--and What You Really Need to Know This is probably the only book you'd need at this stage. Great high-level summary of what to expect based on data-driven evidence. Good pointer to further your own research. | ||||
9 | P0 | Book Recommendation: Dude, You're Gonna Be a Dad! Good starting book for the dads to be. Summarized BMP (baby-making partner)'s duties with great knowledge and humor. A complement to Expecting Better. FREE if you get Kindle Unlimited | |||||
10 | P0 | Article: No One Told You About “TTC Blues” or Pre-Conception Anxiety? Similar to baby blues; Trying to Conceive can also take a toll on your mental health; Coping tips; how to set realistic TTC expectations | |||||
11 | P1 | Article: Have you taken out your mental trash this week? Just the idea of starting a new family can already be stressful. Learn to take out your mental trash regularly | |||||
12 | Start the family planning conversation w/ your doctor | P1 | Article: Do we need DNA tests before trying for babies? Why we probably don't need, why we still got it, trade-offs, help ask good questions w/ doctor | ||||
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15 | 2. Development | Let's make a baby! | Figure out the timing for better chances of pregnancy | P0 | Article: Making a baby? Make sure you get the timing right! Menstrual cycle tracking, date-counting, timing vs baby gender | ||
16 | P0 | Article: Baby-Making After Covid? You Might Want to Consider Ovulation Tests Covid can affect your ovulation timing; Things to know about ovulation tests | |||||
17 | Pay attention to your nutrition/diet, make adjustments | P0 | Article: More folate-rich food? Uncover veggies in Asian grocery stores Folic acid alternative food sources, Veggie ranking with folic acid content, Where to shop | ||||
18 | P0 | Article: The often forgotten vitamins and minerals in pregnancy The top 5 pregnancy vitamins and minerals other than folic acid, their DV, function and food sources | |||||
19 | Decide on your pregnancy lifestyle | P1 | Article: Do you have a pregnancy lifestyle vision board? Start here! How the vision board help, what to include, data to help you determine your pregnancy lifestyle | ||||
20 | P2 | Tool: Caffein Informer Caffein content by brand, by product to help you stay within daily limit Summarized infographic for top coffee brands: Here | |||||
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22 | 3. Production | Let's have those trimesters! | Determine if you are pregnant | P0 | Article: Pregnancy Test(s)? Here’s How To Optimize Accuracy And Stress! Best timing to maximize accuracy and minimize guessing, types of at-home tests, other factors that can influence test results | ||
23 | Understand food/drugs intake vs fetus health & safety | P0 | Article: Not all fish are good! Choose low mercury ones Why fish? Good fish vs bad fish shopping list, fresh vs canned fish? | ||||
24 | P0 | Article: How Risky Are Medications During Pregnancy & Breastfeeding? FDA prescription and biological drugs labeling updates, reliable tools for medication safety, general rule of thumb to help with your decisions | |||||
25 | P0 | Tool: MotherToBaby Fact Sheets recommended by CDC For risks and safety of taking specific medicines during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Well categorized, sorted and searchable. | |||||
26 | P1 | Tool: text4baby recommended by CDC Free text messages to pregnant women & moms with health & safety info, timed to mom's due date/baby's birthday, great for first-time moms, app available | |||||
27 | P1 | Tool: Treating for Two program by CDC Identifies the safest treatment options for common conditions before, during, and after pregnancy, detailed researches on specific conditions | |||||
28 | Learn about the basics by your pregnancy weeks | P0 | Book Recommendation: What to Expect When You're Expecting The classic with comprehensive details you'd need by week, provides different potential scenarios through Q&A, separate mom's duties from partner's for easy divide-and-concur | ||||
29 | Decide where you are going to give birth | P0 | Article: Time To Shop Around For A Maternity Hospital? Start Here! When to start, Why it's as important as choosing your practitioner (ob/midwife), how to start | ||||
30 | Form your dream birthing team | P0 | Article: Fancy a successful delivery? Form your dream birthing team! Who are the potential team members? Their roles and how they work together, things to consider when picking your team members | ||||
31 | Make your Birth Plan | P1 | Article: A Birth Plan? Make your baby delivery worry free! Why it's worth the effort, what to include, when to discuss with your provider | ||||
32 | ... | ... | |||||
33 | 4. Launch | Let's deliver the baby! | Learn about the basics of labor & delivery | P0 | Article: The Ultimate Labor And Delivery Process Flow For Expectant Parents How many stages, the reference points for each (i.e: cervix dilation, contraction frequency, and duration), what to do for moms and the partners, when to head to the hospital | ||
34 | Know your options for pain relief | P0 | Article: Never heard of an epidural decision tree? Here’s one What are the pros and cons for epidural, a list of other options and their pros and cons, a decision tree to help you make your call | ||||
35 | Understand drugs intake vs breastfeeding safety | P1 | Tool: Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed) Info on drugs and other chemicals to which breastfeeding mothers may be exposed, levels of such substances in breast milk and infant blood and the possible adverse effects, suggested herapeutic alternatives | ||||
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37 | 5. Evaluation | Let's see how we are doing with the baby! | ... | ... | |||
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41 | 6. Iteration | Let's improve our parenting style/skills! | ... | ... | |||
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