Emotional changes

Pregnancy can be both unspeakably wonderful and incredibly challenging, and you have become used to handling these mixed emo tions. You may find the third trimester emotional changes different that the first and second in the following ways.

Euphoria

Some experience a natural high quite different anything you’ve ever felt, a combination of feeling special and proud, and wanting the whole world to recognize how important you are.

The need for alone time

You may feel the need for alone time, a time away from the hustle and bustle of family life. This is normal. Use this time to center and ground yourself in your pregnancy.

Nesting

Many women feel a renewed desire this month to tie up loose ends at work, organize the photo albums, clean out closets, or catch up on social obligations. Often the nesting instinct, the desire to wallpaper the nursery and scrub the house for the baby, kicks in this month, though others do not show this obsession with getting things in order until the eighth or ninth month. Although you have more energy than you have recently remember, “don’t overdo it”.
Keep in mind, your main concern is making sure you have the energy you need to take care of yourself and grow your baby. To do this, you will need to become good at delegating. You might as well begin delegating responsibilities to your mate now; in the first few weeks after the baby arrives, his help will be crucial to your survival.

Overwhelmed by birthing decisions

You may be attending childbirth education classes and reading a lot of different birth information at this time and you may be feeling overwhelmed. Be patient with yourself and go with the choices that feel the best for you and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Related posts:

1. The Second Month of Pregnancy
2. The Ninth Month of Pregnancy
3. Common Questions About Sex During Pregnancy

Morning sickness appears in the first trimester of pregnancy and is usually gone by the beginning of the second trimester or fourth month. Morning sickness is normally characterized by nausea, vomiting and an aversion to certain smells. As a faithful coffee drinker, it was surprising to me how the smell of coffee made me sick through each of my pregnancies. The odor of fried foods also made me very nauseous. It may be triggered by an increase in hormones and/or low blood sugar. Morning sickness is common and lessens as the pregnancy progresses. Although it is referred to as morning sickness, this condition is not necessarily confined to morning. While it is true that morning sickness is typically more prevalent in the morning, it is thought this is because the stomach is empty upon awakening. Morning sickness can occur at any time of the day or night.
Morning sickness is one of the minor annoyances of pregnancy. It can be helpful to eat smaller meals more often throughout the day rather than a few large meals. Eating bland foods such as crackers, jello and broth can help to counter the feeling of nausea. Ginger ale is also effective. It is also best to try and avoid any foods that may trigger morning sickness due to sensitivity to certain smells.

While morning sickness is an inconvenient side effect of pregnancy, it is normal and it passes quickly enough. Of course, it doesn’t seem that way when you’re waking up sick every morning. For some expectant mothers morning sickness can be particularly draining. If the nausea is quite severe or vomiting profusely, let your doctor know. He or she may prescribe medication to help alleviate the symptoms of morning sickness. Take heart – morning sickness is temporary and you’ll soon be able to eat for two without feeling as if you’re out at sea.

Related posts:

1. The Second Month of Pregnancy
2. Body Changes During Pregnancy
3. Pregnancy and Your Body

Most women can have sex during pregnancy. As long as your pregnancy is low-risk and normal, then it should be completely safe for you to have sex during pregnancy. Situations that may require abstaining from sex while you are pregnant include a history or threat of miscarriage, possibility of pre-term labor, bleeding, leaking of amniotic fluid, and heavy cramping. Medical conditions such as placenta previa or an incompetent cervix may also require abstaining from sex.

It is also not advisable to have sex if there is any risk of you contracting any type of sexually transmitted disease during sexual acts. If you are in a committed relationship and you both have been tested for sexually transmitted diseases, this should not be a problem.

If you aren’t sure if you should be having sex, or if you experience bleeding, pain, or heavy uterine contractions or cramping after sex, then you should call your health care provider to make sure that it’s safe for you to be having sex during your pregnancy.

Does sex harm the baby?

Sex absolutely does not harm the baby in a normal pregnancy. Your baby is well-cushioned by amniotic fluid, and the mucous plug in your cervix prevents anything from entering the uterus during pregnancy. The penis and semen does not come in any contact with your baby during or after sex. Some pregnant women notice the baby moving more or moving less after sex. This is usually because of the rhythmic contractions you may experience after orgasm, and it doesn’t mean that anything is wrong with your baby.

What positions are safe for sex during pregnancy?

Most sexual positions are perfectly safe during a normal pregnancy. The best way to choose positions is to listen to your body and do what feels most comfortable. During the later months of pregnancy, your stomach will be getting fairly large, and you may find that it gets in the way of your normal positions for sex. Experimenting with positions will be most helpful during this time. You should remember that a pregnant woman should not lie flat on her back for extended periods of time.

Under most circumstances, oral and anal sex are safe during pregnancy. Just be sure that if you and your partner engage in oral sex during pregnancy that no air enters the vagina. This can cause serious complications to the mother and baby during pregnancy.

What will happen to my sex drive during pregnancy?

Pregnancy affects the sex drive of every woman differently at different times. Typically, nausea and fatigue during the first trimester may detract from a pregnant woman’s sex drive. Most women begin to feel more sexual again during the second trimester. Many find that this feeling continues through the rest of the pregnancy, but it is normal during the third trimester to notice a decreased sex drive due to your growing size.

Many physical factors can affect your sex drive during pregnancy. Increased circulation during pregnancy can cause heightened sensitivity during sexual acts. For some women, this means sex is more pleasurable and many women experience better orgasms during pregnancy. For others, however, the sensitive tissue makes sex uncomfortable. Tenderness in the breasts can either cause you to enjoy being touched in this area more than ever, or it may cause you to designate your breasts as off-limits during pregnancy.

Mental and emotional factors can also affect your sex drive during pregnancy. Pregnancy can make you feel more feminine and womanly, but you may also feel awkward and huge during this time. Many women feel more sexual when they don’t have to worry about contraception. In other cases, worries about finances, motherhood, and childbirth may detract from your sexual mood.

How will my partner feel?

Men can experience a wide range of feelings during pregnancy, too. Most men will still be very attracted to their wives when they are pregnant. Many men find the shape of a pregnant women to be irresistible, but there are some men who will need to look past the look of pregnancy and find the attraction he has to the woman inside. Your partner may experience mental anxieties just like yours that can detract from his sex drive while you are pregnant.

What if we aren’t having sex?

While most couples will have a normal amount of sex during pregnancy, there are some couples who are simply more comfortable having less sex during pregnancy. This can be normal and healthy if you and your partner find other ways of staying close during pregnancy. Go out together often and find things to do together at home. Keep the lines of communication open and talk daily with your partner about how you both are doing. Even if you aren’t having as much sex, you can still kiss and cuddle with your partner, and enjoy a special closeness while you are pregnant.

Related posts:

1. Relief From the Common Miseries of Pregnancy
2. Pregnancy and Your Body
3. Early Pregnancy Test

The third trimester is the perfect time to plan a fun baby shower with all of your friends and family. Even a small baby shower is an enjoyable way to celebrate your pregnancy. Celebrate with your favorite foods and a fun theme, and enjoy being the center of attention for a day. Most expectant moms find that registering for gifts is a fun way to pass the time, even if you don’t end up getting everything on your list.

Organizing all the baby clothes and toys you receive while you are pregnant is a good way to use nesting energy, and it will also help you to have things in order ahead of time. Make sure to wash all of the baby clothes in gentle detergent designed especially for babies. Sort the clothes by size so it will be easy to find what you need later on. Go ahead and assemble the baby toys and carriers so they will be ready as soon as your baby arrives. You can also set up a diaper changing area with diapers, wipes, diaper rash ointment, baby powder, and a diaper pail.

The last trimester of pregnancy is also an excellent time to pack your hospital bag and also a diaper bag for when you’re out with your new baby. Make sure your diaper bag is roomy enough to fit the necessities, but not so large that it’s cumbersome and in the way.

When you are pregnant, it never hurts to put your feet up and read a good book. The last three months of pregnancy are a good time to put those reading skills to use and find some good books on childbirth and parenting.

During the last month or two of pregnancy, you can also bake some of your favorite meals to store in the freezer. You will thank yourself later when you have plenty of good meals that can be popped right into the microwave or oven and served within minutes. Have fun baking: you might not have time for it for a while after your baby is born.

Of all the preparing you can do in the last trimester of pregnancy, the most important thing to remember is to relax and get the rest you need. While it’s great to be prepared, it’s even better to keep your stress levels low and make sure your body has the energy it needs for your baby. You can have a blast preparing for your baby, but you shouldn’t overexert yourself.

Related posts:

1. Preparing for Motherhood: A Beginner’s Guide to Freezing Meals During Pregnancy
2. Preparing for Baby: What You Need to Buy
3. Pregnancy and Your Body

Morning sickness develops during the first trimester, usually about the six week mark. It can occur anytime, day, night, evening, even three o’clock in the morning, so don’t be fooled by the name. It is misleading.

Your breasts may begin to change in the first trimester. The areola (the darkened skin around the nipple) often gets darker or increases in size. The breasts may also feel swollen and tender. This is entirely common. They, like the rest of your body, have to prepare for the upcoming arrival.

A few more common changes during the first trimester include fatigue, constipation, frequent urination, food cravings, mood swings, weight gain, and some women even experience allergies, though they don’t when they’re not pregnant. These are all very normal, very understandable changes for women. If you experience any of them, don’t worry. You are a normal woman. The first trimester lasts until the twelfth week. After that, you’re one third of the way through your pregnancy and are in your second trimester.

The second trimester is more fun than the first. This is when the pregnancy begins to feel real and you begin to feel pregnant, rather than just fat. After about the twelfth week your pregnancy will begin to show. You may not need maternity just yet, but don’t be surprised if you have a noticeable bump where your normally flat stomach is. Welcome it. That bump is your baby.

Around the sixteen week mark you should be able to feel ‘quickening’ in your stomach. This is the baby’s movements. If you know what you’re looking for you can feel the movement as early as twelve weeks, but it’s very faint. You can expect to feel your baby at sixteen weeks.

Because the baby is getting so big and growing rapidly every day, your body is going to experience some dramatic physical changes. First, the size of your belly will increase. This may cause the skin on your stomach to become dry and you may notice stretch marks on your stomach, legs, and even your behind. Aches and pains will probably increase during this time. Back aches and leg cramps are common, although if you have the proper nutrients some of these can be avoided. You’ll notice changes inside your body as well. Your organs have to function with less room so chances are you’ll experience gas pains, indigestion, heartburn, and continued constipation.

If your breasts didn’t increase in size during the first trimester, they probably will during the second. You may also be able to secrete colostrum, the substance baby will feed on for the first couple of days, from your breasts. This is normal, they’re simply preparing to nurse baby.

Aside from the physical changes of pregnancy, you’ll be dealing with a lot of hormonal changes as well. This is part of the reason pregnant women experience mood swings. They’re hormones are changing and that can be difficult. Common changes due to hormones include changes in the skin or hair, development of a dark line vertically placed on your stomach stretching from the naval to your pubic area, and of a pregnancy mask, which is a darker area on your face. These are hormonal changes and they will go away sometime after the birth.

The last thing many women begin to experience during the second trimester is a slight swelling of the hands, feet, ankles, and face. This is completely common and often caused by water retention. To relieve it simply put your feet up or sit down and rest for a while.

The third trimester is the hardest simply because this is when many women grow impatient. They’re sick of the changes, sick of the lack of sleep, and really just want their body back. Who can blame them? It can be difficult carrying around an extra thirty pounds. By this time, however, the changes are beginning to slack off. The most common ones that occur are due to the size of the baby. Increased back aches, shortness of breath, difficulty sleeping, more fetal movement, and a nice round stomach are all part of the process. Groin pain is also common, usually caused from the pressure of the weight of the baby resting on the bones in that area. Sometime during this trimester you may notice Braxton Hicks. These are light contractions that prepare your body for labor and birth. While some women dislike them, they often do some of the work before labor really starts, so the end process goes faster. They can make things easier.

Now, these are the changes that are common and normal during pregnancy. Don’t worry about them. However, some changes occur that shouldn’t. You should consult your doctor if they do. These changes include burning or pain during urination, vaginal spotting or bleeding, extremely reduced fetal movement, no fetal movement for a twenty-four hour period, severe abdominal pain, severe nausea, a hot, red, painful area behind your knee or calf, vision problems, severe swelling of fingers, eyes, face, and toes, fever above 100 degrees, vaginal gushes or leaks, vaginal blisters, severe headaches, dizziness, and uterine contractions. That’s a lot to be aware of, but most women don’t experience any of them. A good rule to follow is that if it seems like it shouldn’t be happening, it probably shouldn’t. Don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor about anything that seems out of place.

The last thing to remember is that, though there seem to be a million side effects to pregnancy, you probably won’t experience all of them. The changes mentioned above are common, yes, but most women only experience some of them. Many, many women never have a day of morning sickness, never experience Braxton Hicks, and never feel an ounce of heartburn. The key is to be aware of the possible changes so if they occur you won’t be caught of guard. Pregnancy is absolutely amazing. It can be difficult and it changes your body, but there’s nothing quite like feeling that little person grow inside you. In the end, it will be worth it.

Related posts:

1. Body Changes During Pregnancy
2. Common Questions About Sex During Pregnancy
3. Preparing for Motherhood: Things to Do in Your Third Trimester