https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 26 Apr 2026 14:25:16 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-was-your-fourth-trimester-like-does-it-have-stages#post-2132342 Fri, 03 Apr 2015 16:16:45 +0000 daniellemybelle 2132342@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Congratulations! And hang in there. I had a horrible time physically, emotionally, everything. I had a lot of help and it was still hard. The fog began to clear at about 16 weeks. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-was-your-fourth-trimester-like-does-it-have-stages#post-2131692 Fri, 03 Apr 2015 04:15:13 +0000 namaste 2131692@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Congratulations! I hope you are well mama &lt;3</p> <p>@sarac: Same.</p> <p>Recovery/Healing: I was recovered in a week and half.</p> <p>Adjustment: It was a lot easier for me than for DH. To keep me sane, I took over all MOTN stuff which helped me a lot! There were babies in the house during my high school years and it was an all hands on deck situation which made it a lot easier to adjust to having a NB in my home.</p> <p>Transition: We were totally by ourselves which was fine for me. It wasn't by choice but it has become my preference. I think having people stay in my house too long would have made me crazy, especially since our parenting style is so different than both of our parents. </p> <p>For self-care, I just got out of the house to chat with friends. I loved hearing about how they were doing and what was new, etc. I think if I stayed in the house too long, I would have gone mad. We had quite a few visitors just to come over and chat the first week which was nice. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-was-your-fourth-trimester-like-does-it-have-stages#post-2131583 Thu, 02 Apr 2015 21:42:12 +0000 sarac 2131583@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I loved mine. I was on a total high, and I just had a wonderful time. Easy recovery, easy transition out of the nicu to home. Easy everything. I was really lucky. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-was-your-fourth-trimester-like-does-it-have-stages#post-2131560 Thu, 02 Apr 2015 21:25:17 +0000 Grace 2131560@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I do NOT like the fourth trimester. Physically, I recovered quickly (a week or so, post C/S). Emotionally, it was a roller coaster. I had baby blues in the first couple of weeks that I wasn't prepared for. By 3 weeks, I felt like I was getting my bearings. LO was getting more fussy, but I felt more in a rhythm and started going out for walks and shopping with LO. I felt more in a groove and that made it easier. By 8 weeks, LO started getting less fussy (I remember that she slept over dinner and DH and I got to eat at the same time). After that, every day got easier. I'm sorry I don't remember it well any more. I remember being I'm your shoes and asking everyone for specifics and no one remembering! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-was-your-fourth-trimester-like-does-it-have-stages#post-2129015 Wed, 01 Apr 2015 08:08:40 +0000 snowjewelz 2129015@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>4th trimester was tough! Nursing troubles in the beginning, and I was super emotional, cried a ton, felt like a bad mom, at a loss of what to do a lot b/c the baby is so new and I still needed to get acquainted... It took me a while to really bond with DD. Physically I recovered sooner than I thought, I was just sore for a long time (from pushing for 2 hrs probably!), and also felt sad whenever I looked at my pp body. </p> <p>I'm 4 mo pp and life def gets easier! Taking care of DD is still a ton of work, but I WOH, and we do go out on the weekends and I def see things going uphill. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-was-your-fourth-trimester-like-does-it-have-stages#post-2128978 Wed, 01 Apr 2015 07:34:39 +0000 Peasinapod 2128978@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oh and Epson bath salts! Take baths with them. Multiple baths a day if you can. Speeds up the heeling. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-was-your-fourth-trimester-like-does-it-have-stages#post-2128977 Wed, 01 Apr 2015 07:31:34 +0000 Peasinapod 2128977@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was pretty emotional the first month without realizing it. I cried a few times and felt pretty over whelmed. All I could do was take care of my baby, couldn't manage anything else. </p> <p>I'm still overly attached to my baby and at 6 months we've never been apart.</p> <p>Physically I think I expected to be feeling better faster than was realistic. I'd gone on long walks up to the day I'd given birth. Tried to walk 5 days post partum and almost passed out.</p> <p>My advice: take it easy, ask for and accept help. And know physically and emotionally it gets better. Just not right away. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-was-your-fourth-trimester-like-does-it-have-stages#post-2128966 Wed, 01 Apr 2015 07:08:13 +0000 Adira 2128966@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Congratulations!</p> <p>The fourth trimester with my first was HARD. I was emotional and having trouble nursing. Physically, I was recovered by 2 weeks (vaginal delivery), but at 2 weeks, Xander was going through a growth spurt and was nursing around the clock and I was in so much pain! Things (nursing) got better shortly after that, only to get worse again around 5-6 weeks. I had to see a LC and I was still feeling emotionally raw and like we had made a mistake. Finally around 7-8 weeks, nursing got easier, Xander was smiling more, and I started to feel more like myself. The last 4 weeks were filled with both bliss (because I was loving my new baby and nursing was finally easy) and dread (because I was returning to work at 12 weeks and leaving my precious baby with strangers). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-was-your-fourth-trimester-like-does-it-have-stages#post-2128961 Wed, 01 Apr 2015 07:00:58 +0000 Cole 2128961@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Congratulations! @HolisticMama:<br /> I felt like each two week mark got us to a spot that was substantially easier. By 6 weeks I was not back to normal but feeling a bit more human. I had a labial tear and separated pelvis both of those made recovery really hard for me. It was about two weeks before going to the bathroom wasn't an ordeal but longer until bleeding subsided.</p> <p>At five and a half weeks we went on a trip and the first travel day was hard but the trip was an easy going one and I was glad for the change of scenery. </p> <p>I was really disheartened that at 3 months when I wasn't back to normal. Again, my pelvis really kept me from feeling like myself. I didn't have to go back to work thankfully but knowing that was the longest I could have had was a really difficult thought. </p> <p>The transition to motherhood wasn't very hard for me but it was (and still is at 5.5) hard to balance motherhood and being a wife. I feel very all consumed by my baby right now, I know it's a season in life but I am trying to make sure I keep my marriage strong too.</p> <p>I think the biggest milestones are not needing twenty minutes to pee, being home with baby alone all day, feeding getting easier, going out by yourself with baby, going out without baby, leaving baby with a sitter and finding a rhythm. Kind of arbitrary though!</p> <p>Self care... This would absolutely not be true for everyone but for me prioritizing breastfeeding was a form of self care. I felt no guilt about hiding away with her when we had company or sending my husband out for supplies etc. I was great at sleep when the baby sleeps- my house was never exactly clean as a result but who cares in the long run? Short term it drive me batty, I admit.</p> <p>I should have read more, and maybe been better about letting my husband take her while I napped but TV DVD the internet are easy and I hated sleeping without her next to me. I also wish I had kept more notes but again that might just be a me thing. I do think I got pretty lucky in terms of mood and transition. Things hit a rough spot for me later, around 3.5 months which I didn't expect. It didn't last long but it was a hard funk.</p> <p>Sorry I wrote a novel! I think I am still processing that stage! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-was-your-fourth-trimester-like-does-it-have-stages#post-2128948 Wed, 01 Apr 2015 06:43:33 +0000 Mrs. Coral 2128948@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>How are you doing @HolisticMama: ? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-was-your-fourth-trimester-like-does-it-have-stages#post-2128947 Wed, 01 Apr 2015 06:41:55 +0000 Mrs. Coral 2128947@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My first 2 weeks I was sort of weepy. I wasn't crying 24/7, but I did have to blink back tears and had a lump in my throat fairly often. Why? I was SO happy (still am!), as having a loving DH and a family with him were my biggest wishes in life. Now that I had them, I was terrified I would lose someone (DH, DD, mom, dad, etc.). Basically, I thought it was too good to be true. </p> <p>That lasted for about 2 weeks, then I think my hormones leveled off and I came to. I was watching for PPD and PPA, but luckily that was not the case. </p> <p>DH or my mom were here for most of those 2 weeks, so that was helpful. Since then, thinks have been great, but I also have a baby that has slept 5-6 hours during her first stretch of sleep since day 3. I am exhausted, but special mommy powers keep me going...</p> <p>I'm sure I could identify more stages, but I'm too tired. :wink: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-was-your-fourth-trimester-like-does-it-have-stages#post-2128924 Wed, 01 Apr 2015 04:31:36 +0000 HolisticMama 2128924@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>What was your fourth trimester like? Do you think society talks about it enough? Could you break it down into stages? Recovery, Healing, Adjustment, Transition?</p> <p>What milestones are there in the postpartum? Any good books on the topic?</p> <p>What did you do for self-care? </p> <p>5 days postpartum here. </p>