Congratulations! You are pregnant and now a mama! Now, are you ready to navigate the nine months of pregnancy? This journey truly is unlike any other. It's full of excitement, nervousness, fear, anxiety, and A LOT of preparation...not to mention nausea, back aches, a what feels like never-ending growing belly, and just so much more. And while not all pregnancies are the same, a lot of the symptoms and emotions are. Here's my inside look at each of the pregnancy trimesters...
First Trimester
The very beginning of pregnancy is a lot. You are full of so many questions. When will the symptoms begin? When do I go for my first exam and what will it be like? Will I start to show soon? How do I keep it a secret? What do I need to already start buying? And as you can tell, the list goes on and on...and on.
The good news is, that's normal to feel this way! Most first-time mamas feel this same exact way and maybe some a little more. My advice is to do a little research in this phase. Download one of those amazing apps to help follow along with during your pregnancy (my favorite was the Ovia Pregnancy Tracker). Not only are they pretty pot on with all of your symptoms and development of your baby, but they also help keep up your excitement about your growing baby and help connect you with other mamas.
Now for the fun first trimester symptoms. The nausea, sore breasts, headaches, exhaustion, and oh, wait, did I mention nausea? Yes, all everyone's favorite part...not. While everyone doesn't experience it all, have a mixture of them, or don't have any at all, these symptoms usually come along around the 12 week mark. But if you are anything me, mine hit as early as 4 weeks - yay us!
Second Trimester
Speaking of that 12 week mark, welcome to the second trimester! Most women take this time to finally take a breath of fresh air with a growing bump and a little added energy. This is the time where you belly starts to make it's proper debut and spread word of your baby's arrival with friends and family.
And if you are working mama, even your boss and closest colleagues. That way you can start developing a plan for maternity leave. Yes, now. I know that it seems so far away from where you should but there's a lot to get done between now and when your baby arrives. So first, start off by getting to know your company's maternity policy. Taking into account how much time you would like to take off and if your work will need to accommodate for your time gone.
So what's the best part of this trimester? The growing of course. It brings such a fun feeling, literally. This is when you finally look pregnant (not like you just had too many tacos), your baby starts to move with kicks and jabs, and you baby finally packs on a little weight (most weighing around 2 pounds by the end). And it all giving you a feeling of reality, calmness, and much more excitement.
With that growth comes a new wardrobe. Now is usually the time to invest in some maternity clothes...if you haven't already (I did with my son around 8 weeks, and not until 14 with my daughter). My advice is to go with the staple items- a belly band, leggings, and some flowing shirts and dresses. And there are plenty of price ranges, I've found great stuff at Ross, Motherhood, and even thrift shopping.
Oh and here comes another great part...the anatomy scan! Around the 20 week part, your doctor will give you your second ultrasound to ensure that your baby is growing healthy and on time. Not only do you get to show off their developing arms, legs, feet, hands, and face, but now you finally get to find out the gender. Cue the extra decisions in pregnancy. Do I want to find out the gender? Should I do a gender reveal party? Oh my gosh, now what will I name the baby?
Third Trimester
Congratulations! You are now on the home stretch of pregnancy! And if for one things certain, it's that you can no longer hide that belly! And I bet now, you don't feel like you should anyways.
This stage brings a lot of excitement as well, but also a lot of that first trimester feeling of nervousness. Because now you are getting just that much closer to meeting that sweet face that you've been dreaming about. To help prepare the most, you can use some extra resources such as classes like labor and delivery, newborn care, breastfeeding, and my biggest suggestion - CPR. Honestly, in my opinion, the more ready you feel, the more ready you will be.
During this time you may also want to start setting up the nursery, diving into those parenting books, doing a maternity shoot, developing a birth plan, having a baby shower, getting your hospital bag ready, and preparing for your birth. Don't forget to also use your best resource - you OBGYN/midwife. As you near that anticipated due date, you will see them more and more to ensure that you are both healthy. So don't be afraid to take this as an opportunity to ask as many questions as you have stirring in that mommy mind of yours.
Now for the ugly part. As you get to the very end, you may start experiencing those pesky symptoms again plus some more. Nausea, back aches, soreness, insomnia, exhaustion, headaches, heartburn, and more. I know that this looks intimidating, but just remember you are SO close to the end. So push through and you'll realize that every single symptom was worth it.
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