The Fourth Trimester

During the intensive, ever-changing 9 months of being pregnant, many of us give our attention exclusively to caring for ourselves during pregnancy and planning for the birth. Consequently, we often leave out preparing for the crucial postpartum period, often referred to as the fourth trimester.

The fourth trimester is defined as the first three months of baby’s life. This is a significant time for both mama and baby. The term was coined by Dr. Harvey Karp who said that babies would benefit from another few months in the womb but that it was simply not possible for women to carry longer.

During the fourth trimester baby is transitioning to life outside of the womb. Significant developments occur during this phase and as baby learns to navigate the busy world through their senses.

This is why creating a home environment that mimics the womb can be calming and nurturing for baby. A few ways to do this:

• It’s dark in the womb. So have soft, warm lighting available both in baby’s sleeping space and also in the rest of your home. Try using salt lamps or bulbs that are designed to mimic the sun’s natural patterns.
• It’s surprisingly loud in the womb. Baby is used to hearing noise all day long, mainly your blood pumping, heart beating, and intestines rumbling. This is why ambient or white noise can be comforting to baby, particularly when sleeping. Try a noise machine, or you can also use a free app (like white noise) and a bluetooth speaker. It’s ideal for it to run continuously without any pauses to be effective.
• Gentle movement can lull a baby to sleep. When you are pregnant, did you notice that you rarely felt baby move when you were moving? Often times many women notice the most movement when they are still. Of course it’s easier to notice sweet baby kicks while you are relaxing, but it’s also because baby is wooed to sleep through motion. This is true outside of the womb too, which is why you see mom’s gently rocking and swaying when holding a newborn.
• You can’t spoil a baby with too much affection. This is an old, and unfortunate, myth. The womb is a small, confined space where baby feels “held.” Your baby needs and craves touch. Hold you baby as much as you can and would like to. Babywearing can be another wonderful way to connect and be skin-to-skin during the day.
• Babies cry. It’s how they communicate their ever changing needs. A cry can communicate a need for food, warmth, comfort, and even can be a way to release emotional stress. A baby’s cry is complex for a mother – as there is both a biological instinct to respond and it can also bring up feelings around crying from her own childhood. Navigating this takes awareness and introspection. Turning inward and asking yourself why you feel a certain way when baby cries can help you to respond in a more mindful way. I’ve found the Aware Parenting (rooted in Attachment Parenting) approach extremely helpful in navigating what baby is communicating through crying. If you’re struggling with baby sleep, I recommend checking out this helpful article from Eliza Parker.
• Want more mindful nesting ideas? I go through all the tips and ways to setup your home for the fourth trimester (and much more!) in my eBook Preparing for Postpartum & Baby for Natural Mamas.

How To Prepare for The Fourth Trimester

Starting in the third trimester (or second if you’re a planner like me!) it’s important to give attention to and plan for the tender postpartum period.

There are many demands and needs for a new mama besides the obvious one of taking care of a tiny human full time. As we all know, babies don’t come with an instruction manual. These needs also include:

• Healing and nurturing your own body to recover from birth and 9 months of pregnancy.
• Feeding yourself (you may laugh, but trust me this is complicated to do in the first weeks)
• Washing your face, showering, brushing your teeth each day – basics 🙂
• Caring for older children
• Connecting with your partner
• Taking care of your mental health
• Maybe doing a little housework

It’s a lot! Give yourself the gift of planning for this time. Trust me, you will be happy you did!

This is what prompted me to write a comprehensive guide that takes all the research and planning out of preparing for postpartum. It’s the guide I wish existed when I was preparing for my little one. It is about supporting you to think about all the little things that you can do now while you’re not healing and caring for a newborn. All of these things will support you during the tender transition phase from maiden to mother.

The guide is packed with recipes, non-toxic products, and DIY projects that worked for me and aligned with my values – natural medicine, holistic nutrition, nontoxic & organic products, mindfulness, sustainability, kangaroo care, and minimalism.

Ok, that’s enough on the guide, I’m just so excited to have published this eBook as I know it will save you so much time, energy, and effort on your journey. To learn more or get a free preview check out this post:

Please also feel free to post in the comments any questions or things that worked for you during this tender time in your life! I would love for this post to support the Gentle Leaps community of mamas and mamas-to-be. Good luck, you got this mama!