Home > Advice > Baby > 10 Tips For Surviving The Fourth Trimester. Post author By The Mum Club Post date 3 January 2022 10 Tips For Surviving The Fourth Trimester. The Mum Club3 January 2022 Fun fact: pregnancy doesn’t end the second your baby arrives. There’s a key stage that both Mama and Baby go through for the first 12 weeks post-partum; A.K.A the Fourth Trimester. For you it might be about recovering from birth, adjusting to breastfeeding or slowly getting your head around the fact you’re responsible for a small human being. As women, it can be tempting to rush through this step in an attempt to ‘get back to normal asap’; but it’s essential for both you and your baby that you take the time to slow down, recover and get to know one another properly. So pull up the drawbridge and read our top tips for surviving the fourth trimester…. You Don’t Need To Go Anywhere. Considering we’ve all been locked up for the best part of 2 years, it might be tempting to crack out the pram the second you leave the hospital. But trust us; those first two weeks are the most overwhelmingly incredible, emotional, world-altering days of your entire life, so take it slow. Stay at home, eat good food, let people come to you (and make them bring cake). SOAK. IT. IN. Take Your Vitamins. We took SUCH good care of ourselves in pregnancy. We ate right (first-toast-packed-trimester aside), exercised, practised yoga and meditation and slavered ourselves in 4 litres of Bio-Oil every night without fail. And whilst it’s likely that post-birth you won’t have time to fit in 15 minutes of mindfulness a day; it’s important you do keep up with basic health stuff. Pregnancy, delivery, feeding, lack of sleep and existing on a diet of cold coffee and chocolate biscuits will mean you’re probably lacking in pretty much everything, so make sure you’re getting some goodness by taking a post-partum vitamin every day. We use these, but do your research you might prefer something different. Stay Comfortable. If lockdown gifted us one thing; it’s an incredible wardrobe of loungewear to rock on a daily basis. The ultimate in casual wear; with the comfort of pyjamas and the social acceptability of normal clothes (meaning you can go to Tesco in them without being arrested by the Fashion Police). Sweatpants are all that fits us right now, and we couldn’t be more delighted. Depression Happens. Keep An Eye On It. Postpartum depression is more than feeling emotional and fatigued after delivery. It isn’t a weakness or character flaw either. You will more than likely feel down during those first few days, however if this feeling persists, its ok you might just need some extra support and there is a lot out there. Keep an eye on yourself. You’ll Need To Download The Deliveroo App Spoiler: your newborn does not want to go to Waitrose. Batch cook before, order in, online shop; do ANYTHING that means you don’t have to drag your knackered post-partum arse to the supermarket for the first 12 weeks. This is not the time to worry about homecooked meals and nutrition. This is the time for survival (aka minimal effort to conserve energy). Just call us Bear Grylls (with Uber Eats). And Get Netflix.. ….and Amazon Prime. And Disney Plus. And Apple TV. And Sky. New babies sleep ALL THE TIME (except when you actually want them to) so this is the perfect time to get stuck into a box set of twelve. RESIST the temptation to put on Baby TV. You might think you’re being a good parent but they can’t actually see further than their nose, so you really don’t need to subject yourself to that shit before you have to. Plan Ahead For It. Use the 7 gazillion months of pregnancy to get organised. If you can, squirrel away a little bit of cash to indulge yourself in the ultimate post-partum luxury; a cleaner. Better still, a cleaner that will also do your ironing. If budgets are tight, don’t be afraid of roping in family and friends you trust to take the baby off your hands for a few hours so you can do some essential self-care and maintenance (a.k.a have a hot shower for longer than 2 minutes and shave your legs for the first time in 9 months). They want to help. Let them. Let Other People Help You Even if they don’t do it exactly right, and they can never find anything, and they leave your baby solo on the changing table whilst they wander off to get a nappy…..Their help will be invaluable and you need to rest. You cannot do it all. *Repeats to self for 18 years. Get A Routine. Wake up, make a coffee, have a shower every morning. Even if you’ve had a shitter of a night. Just do it. You’ll feel brand new. Be Patient With Yourself. This is a marathon, not a sprint. The fourth trimester is a huge adjustment for your baby, you, and your family. Ask for help when you need it, sleep when you need it, and shower when you need it. Your baby will learn to sleep longer stretches, you both will conquer feeding, and while motherhood may not necessarily get easier in the foreseeable future, you’ll adapt and adjust, as will your baby — with plenty of laughs and smiles along the way. The Mum Club3 January 2022 ← TMC Talks To: Samantha Helligsø CEO Of Misspap → The Monthly Hot List- January 22
