The 4th Trimester Diaries: Month One

I can safely say it took me a few moments yesterday to process that Lexi is actually 1 month old… To think it’s been a whole month since she arrived into the world after a pretty quick but very positive birth, a whole month since I first held her, and the fact that her clothes actually fit her now - to me, is mindblowing. The 4th trimester is flying by, and it feels like yesterday that I first held Lexi as a teeny tiny newborn.

The 4th trimester is a time I hadn’t actually put much thought into, having gone through my second pregnancy very aware of the landmarks each trimesters came with, mentally preparing myself for each of them beforehand, the 4th trimester came with a bang and 1 month in, I am feeling so much more inspired and energised, and generally in awe of everything our bodies go through during pregnancy and the postnatal period.

Those early days/first few weeks of the 4th trimester are such a hard thing to explain, and such a unique experience for everyone. I forgot how sore and bruised you feel after birth (obviously, depending on the birth you had), and was definitely taken a little by surprise that first week - I felt such a heightened need for self care but very little time to do any, sore from birth and my stitches, bruised from the epidural and the cannula, aching from breast feeding and my milk coming in, mixed in with sleepless nights, hormones all over the place, and a manic toddler running around - it can feel all consuming and at the time hard to imagine feeling better, but if that’s you right now, please know it passes and take a moment to feel SO proud of yourself because you are doing amazingly and you are SO strong!

The first few weeks I didn’t really want to leave the house and was very wrapped up in a little newborn bubble, luckily my husband had those first few weeks off so he was able to help out with Lily whilst I tried to rest and recover, fuelling my body with the perfect mixture of healthy food and plenty of cake. I honestly couldn’t imagine getting the energy and motivation back to leave the house again, but by the end of week 2 I couldn’t wait to get out, and from that first walk and journey out the house, I have loved my daily walks so much, gradually building up distance and feeling stronger each day.

The nights are still tough at this point and unpredictable, having to get a toddler up for nursery after you’ve been feeding hourly since 4am is not a vibe but you make it work, and the sense of pride you feel if you make it out of the house on time is unrivalled.

The small wins you feel each week as you progress through the 4th trimester can make your day, and being at the end of the first month, even with the sleepless nights I still feel a million times better than I did in those first couple weeks.

It’s so lovely watching Lexi and Lily together, so sweet watching Lexi grow and start to be more awake day by day, it’s amazing feeling stronger in both my mind and my body and I can’t wait to be able to return to some gentle exercise in a few weeks time, whilst also being careful to nurture my body through healthy food, to be gentle with myself and to be patient as I’m still at the very beginning of this incredible but also, at times very challenging journey.