Building Routines Before Baby Arrives (and Why They Matter After Birth)
Published September 20, 2025
Before your baby even takes their first breath, they’re already learning the rhythms of your world.
The idea that babies can “remember” the womb might sound surprising, but the research is clear: by the third trimester, your baby is tuning in. They’re absorbing the sounds of your voice, the music you play, and the patterns of your daily life. And what’s even more remarkable? They carry that familiarity with them into life on the outside.
The Science of Prenatal Memory
From around 28 – 34 weeks into pregnancy, babies will begin to show signs of memory and learning. In one well-known study, researchers asked pregnant mothers to read a short nursery rhyme aloud twice a day for several weeks. When tested a month later, babies exposed to the rhyme in utero showed changes in heart rate when it was read again, indicating recognition and recall, even before birth!
This kind of memory isn’t like remembering your birthday or what you had for lunch yesterday. It’s more like your body recognising something that it’s felt before. These early, subconscious memories can help your baby to feel safe and settled in a world that’s completely new.
Why Routines Matter
Establishing simple, consistent routines during pregnancy can help your baby to feel more settled once they’re born. Familiar sounds and patterns such as your voice, a certain song, or your evening window create a sense of calm and continuity that carries from life in the womb to life in your arms.
Here’s how that might look:
| In the womb | After birth |
|---|---|
| You read a short story each night | Baby responds to the familiar rhythm and tone |
| You wind down with a gentle routine | Baby picks up on your calm presence at the same time of day |
These rituals aren’t just fleeting moments. They're building familiarity, regulation and an unbreakable bond from the very beginning.
Postpartum: When Your Routine Needs Support
Once your baby arrives, things can feel anything but routine. Nights and days start to blend together. Schedules shift to accommodate growth spurts, cluster feeds, and new milestones. It’s a beautiful, messy, and often exhausting season.
It’s also a time when many women are unsure about what’s happening with their hormones and fertility. When will your period return? Is ovulation happening again? Whether you’re not ready for another pregnancy or you're planning for another one, that information matters.
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This crucial point is where Tempdrop comes in.
Tempdrop is your Postpartum Wingwoman. If you’re already using Tempdrop, then you know that it’s a game changer for cycle tracking during TTC (Trying to Conceive) and body literacy. However, it’s equally helpful after the baby arrive, especially at this stage when your routines are completely up in the air.
In those early postpartum months, Tempdrop keeps doing its thing to spare you the extra work:
Captures BBT (Basal Body Temperature) while you sleep, even in broken stretches between feeds
No alarms or perfect wake times required (Hallelujah!)
Syncs to your device’s app so you can spot when fertility returns
Helps you to reconnect with your body during a time of big hormonal shifts
Whether you're breastfeeding or simply navigating the unknown, Tempdrop brings gentle structure into an otherwise unpredictable time. It’s one small act of self-care that gives you insight, clarity, and a sense of normalcy when you need it the most.
Routines don’t need to be rigid or elaborate. It’s the small, repeated moments that matter.
Benefit For Your Baby: These gentle rituals like singing, reading, or soothing can be carried from the womb to the world, offering familiarity and comfort in the baby’s new environment.
Benefit For You: Supporting your body’s transition, understanding your own cycle, and keeping track of ovulation (when the time comes) don’t have to feel like burdens. With tools like Tempdrop, it becomes a simple, supportive part of your daily routine even if your “day” starts at 3am.
Postpartum Fertility Tracking Made Simple
