We will attempt to guide you through your fertility time, the early signs of pregnancy and the three trimesters through postpartum. Now that you are pregnant you will have many questions that you will need answers to and we hope you’ll find them here.

Each stage will have something unique to offer and each trimester will have a different effect on you and your baby.

Early Pregnancy Stage

Just the fact that you can create a living being is an exciting thing to most women, but to learn that you are pregnant fills you with excitement beyond anything you could have imaging.  In the early stages of pregnancy you should outline the planning of your pregnancy. Planning your pregnancy is the first step toward having a health you and baby.

In the early stages of pregnancy things can go wrong like spotting or vaginal bleeding and even miscarriage.  That’s why it’s important to be extra careful in the early stages to prevent some of these problems.

First Trimester Stage – What To Expect

The most crucial period of pregnancy is during the first trimester of pregnancy.  Women start feeling sick and exhausted and their body undergoes many changes. Here are some of the most common changes you could experience in the first trimester:

• Many women find they get tired or exhausted.
• Many women get morning sickness causing    Nausea and Vomiting.
• You many see a change in the Frequency of    urination.
• All women will see a weight gain.

By the end of the first trimester the size of your baby is about three inches long and weighs about half an ounce.

Second Trimester Stage – The Most Comfortable Period

For most women the second trimester is a better time because the morning sickness and exhaustion is going away.  In this stage people will start realizing that you are pregnant because you are finally expanding more.  The breasts will secrete colostrum, or milk,and they will also grow larger.

Your rate of growth is nothing compared to the baby’s.  The baby will have more defined features at this stage of pregnancy.  All the baby’s major organs have formed even though they will continue to develop further.  The baby is around 12 inches long now and weight about 2 to 2-1/2 pounds.

Third Trimester Stage – The Final Hurdle

The most exciting stage is the third trimester stage.  This stage starts from the 29th week of the pregnancy.  The mother will experience a lot of changes during this stage. She will start gaining excess weight (about 25-35 pounds) and experience a problem in breathing as well as swelling in the hands and feet .  She could also experience heartburn, indigestion, shortness of breath and tiredness, constipation, frequent urination.

The mother’s emotions may be tested because you may feel nervous and start wondering all kinds of things like if you will be capable of raising a child and start worrying about if the child will be normal. Now it’s the end of the third trimester and you start forgetting about all the pain and discomfort of your pregnancy and start feeling joys of bringing this newborn in the world.

Postpartum Stage

Most women do not know what to expect in the first few weeks after pregnancy. Everything is going though your mind about how you will feel, how long is the recovery, etc. It’s also normal to feel excited, tired, and amazed all at the same time.

One thing very important for mom and her baby is the bonding process.  Things like looking at each other, caressing her leg or arm or just simple touching. Talking to your newborn also helps start a good relationship between the two of you.

Tips to help cope with the postpartum period:

• Eat well to regain your strength and health.
• Drink extra fluids each day.
• Feel good about yourself you did well.
• Accept help from family to take care of the house work, etc.
• Ask a lot of questions when something is not right.
• Limit the visitors to as few as you can handle.
• Get a lot of rest and sleep when your baby sleeps.

This is new to you so it take time getting used to having a newborn baby in the house.  You will make mistakes learning the right and wrong way to doing things so relax and enjoy.

There is a lot of changes for your family when you bring your baby home.  My daughter had her baby five weeks ago and the biggest change she has is in sleep, or rather lack of sleep.  Because every child is different you can’t basic it on your other children.  Even though some babies start early sleeping through the night, others make you wonder if you will ever sleep again.

You’ve heard the advice given to moms, sleep when the baby sleeps.  While this may seem simplistic, it really does help. This one isn’t much fun. The free time and quiet time with your spouse (and yourself!) is eliminated.  Many moms treat nap times as work times, to get things done.  But if you aren’t well rested, you won’t enjoy time with the baby when she/he  awaken and ready to play.

Some babies are born with a “different clock”; they seem to want to be awake at night and asleep during the day.  While still in the womb, babies were rocked to sleep during the day by the mother’s movements.  Then when mom settled down for the night, the babies think it’s time to become more active.  So, once the little one arrives, it will take some time to adjust to the new routine and will develop good nighttime habits.

Even though it may be difficult at first, it is important to remind yourself that eventually things will settle into a normal routine.  Daytime napping will change.  But what is normal for one family isn’t for another.  You have to find what works for yours.  Start to establish a nap and bedtime routine as soon as you come home from the hospital, start with the basics.  It will help the transition, and hopefully the baby will start sleeping regularly for you at bedtime.

If your baby seems to be a night owl, and you want them to go to sleep at an earlier hour, try adjusting the time a little bit each day.  It can also be a help to dim the lights as it gets closer to bedtime.  This can help the baby adjust and realize it’s time to sleep soon.  Sounds helps, turn off the TV and maybe play some gentle music.  It will help both of you relax.  Once the baby is in a deep sleep, spend a little more time pampering yourself before getting some sleep.

Babies get hungry during the night’s.  How you handle night-time feedings can make a difference to how much sleep everyone gets. Night waking is not always the answer.  If you are nursing, keeping the baby’s crib in your room, or even co-sleeping, can reduce the amount of time it takes to get back to sleep.  If you are bottle-feeding, you can ask your partner to take a turn feeding the baby during the night so that you get a little extra sleep.

All babies take time to begin sleeping through the night and it won’t happen overnight.  As long as you are consistent in your approach, everyone will soon find they are sleeping better.  Remind yourself that you aren’t a bad parent if you baby doesn’t begin sleeping well right away.  It just takes time.

Do you have any tips to help teach newborns and mom’s to sleep better?  Go down to the comment section and let us here them.

Baby Sleep Solution Some good information if you still having sleeping problems.

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