The 4 Trimester’s: Top Pregnancy Struggles
*Your guide to getting through all of the stuff I’m talking about in this post is at the bottom… You’re Welcome*
Trimester means there are 3 of them, but the commonly left-out 4th trimester is an essential period of time to include. Newborn care and healing is no joke.
You have so much going on and so many changes happening already within your body (check out this blog post to learn about them) but no one seems to have informed you that there are a million and one small things that you will worry about every single day.
First Trimester you start with the nausea, bloating, feeling exhausted all of the time but not sure if you should have caffeine or not, and to top it all off no one even knows you’re pregnant yet.
(btw- you can! Read about that in this blog)
Second trimester, your friends tell you, is the time when the “Glow” happens and you’ll feel like that radiant super model pregnant person…. But did they mention the Round Ligament pains? The constantly stuffy nose? The possibility that the glow might actually be your pores spouting oil out of your face?
Third trimester can be its own walk in the park. Juggling the practice contractions your uterus decides it needs to do, the twinges in your side or pelvis every time you move too quickly, or the constipation… need I say more?
I am certainly not a pessimist, but I am a realist. My pregnancy was NOT all sunshine and rainbows and I puked until I put myself into preterm labour at 32 weeks and ended up on bedrest. Was it the most fun ever? Nope! Will I likely do it again someday if I am able to get pregnant, Yup!
Pregnancy transformed me. All of the struggles, the worries, the anxiety that creeped in (that I didn’t realize was actually a thing that could happen in pregnancy until I was VERY postpartum) made me realize how strong I was, how much I could want to protect someone that I have never even met before, and how if I could get through all of that and out the other side there wasn’t much I couldn’t do.
But then postpartum came. Welcome 4th trimester.
It hit like a ton of bricks after a not-so-great delivery. I was not only emotionally unprepared for how incredibly difficult it all was, but also for how an entire day could be spent staring at one little face and not wanting to blink in case I missed a gas-smile.
The 4th trimester fills us with questions about how to feed our baby. How do we keep them comfortable? How can we help them sleep? Expectations vs realities, and how to navigate challenges with our ever-changing hormones and sleep deprivation. Add to the the never-ending “Dr Google” recommendations that do anything but reassure you.
But, here’s where the good news comes in. I have made you this Troubleshooting The Trimesters: Your Guide To A Smoother Pregnancy to give you tips on the top 4 struggles that happen commonly in your pregnancy! Download this guide by filling in your email and I will send you info every week right to your inbox to take away the guesswork and overwhelm on all things “bringing baby into this world”.
– Lara