What should be in the hospital bag?

For the birthing parent: documents and birth plan, comfortable clothes, toiletries, snacks, phone charger, going-home outfit. For the baby: nappies, a few outfits in two sizes, blankets, the car seat in the car. For the partner: a change of clothes, snacks, coins for parking.

How do new parents split the mental load?

Write every task down, including the invisible ones, and give each a single owner. The board makes the split visible, which is the part a verbal agreement can't do.

Is there a free app for this?

Simpleban's Baby prep template is free for two people, with repeating cards, due dates, ownership and a countdown to the due date.

New parents

New baby checklist for two: before the birth and the first weeks

Updated 20 October 2026 · by the Simpleban team

In short

The newborn weeks are the one time a to-do list has to work for two exhausted people who are rarely awake at the same time. Prepare in the third trimester (car seat, hospital bag, paperwork, freezer meals), then run the first six weeks on repeating cards (feeds and meds if you track them, nappy and formula restock, the health visitor, the registration deadline) with every card owned by one parent so the mental load is split, not just the tasks. The list is below; the Baby prep template turns it into a board that works from either phone at 3am.

Simpleban, a kanban board for two people: a shared “Our home” board with This week, Doing, Waiting and Done columns, cards marked Mine or assigned to a partner, due dates, repeating chores and a moving-day countdown.

Third trimester

Car seat fitted and practised. Pram chosen.
Hospital bag packed (a checklist inside one card). Birth plan written.
Freezer meals — a repeating Sunday card, alternating.
Paperwork: maternity/paternity leave forms, insurance, the registration office's rules and deadline.
The house: cot, safe sleep space, baby monitor, nappies and the first sizes of clothes.
Names shortlisted (a card. Both of you. Due: before the deadline).

The first six weeks

Register the birth by the deadline — a due-dated card owned by one parent.
Health visitor and paediatric appointments as cards with due dates.
Restock: nappies, wipes, formula if used — repeating cards, alternating.
Thank-you notes and announcements — handed to whoever is awake.
Something for each parent that isn't the baby — a repeating card each, mine and yours.

Why ownership matters here

Shared lists make one parent the default manager. Giving every card one owner makes the mental load visible — and the 8am email goes to the person who owns the task, not the person who usually remembers.

Templates to start from

Questions, answered

What should be in the hospital bag?: For the birthing parent: documents and birth plan, comfortable clothes, toiletries, snacks, phone charger, going-home outfit. For the baby: nappies, a few outfits in two sizes, blankets, the car seat in the car. For the partner: a change of clothes, snacks, coins for parking.
How do new parents split the mental load?: Write every task down, including the invisible ones, and give each a single owner. The board makes the split visible, which is the part a verbal agreement can't do.
Is there a free app for this?: Simpleban's Baby prep template is free for two people, with repeating cards, due dates, ownership and a countdown to the due date.