Pregnancy is a great challenge in itself, not just for the mother, but for the father as well. It’s true that men don’t have to carry a foetus around for nine months but there certainly are more than nine things that they have to run around for, for the whole nine months.
Do you want to know the "Estimated date of when your baby is due?" Check out Cloudnine's Pregnancy Due Date Calculator now!
First Trimester:
Image Courtesy: Huffington Post
This is the trimester when a woman is coping with the idea of carrying a baby. It is also the time men are coping with a continuously irritated, highly vulnerable and emotional wife. During the first trimester, women need a lot of emotional and moral support, especially for first time pregnancies. Your partner may want you to run around for a lot of things
1- Pickle and Pie
Image Courtesy: Pork Farms
It is just too difficult to satiate the cravings women have during pregnancy. Most women get drawn to the taste of pickles while some others to pie and sweets. You may have to bring these in more than once. Don’t be surprised if a whole pot of pickle just disappears or you don't even manage to sneak in a single bite of her favourite pie. At the same time, also be ready to learn that she might no longer like the things, which she loved to eat before the pregnancy. If you get a whole bunch of her favourite pre-pregnancy treats, be ready for the shocker that they might not be even given a second glance!
2- Lemon and napkins
Image Courtesy: Blog spot
Morning sickness is a primary symptom of pregnancy and affects about 70 percent of pregnant women. In order to assist your partner you should make sure to give her lemon to ease her discomfort. Contrary to the name – ‘morning-sickness’, it is an affliction that can strike any time of the day. So be prepared with napkins and soothing things, which ease her discomfort while traveling.
3- Routine Visits
Image Courtesy: My Baby
This is one thing you have to get used to. Pregnant women need to visit the doctor for routine visits that includes a list of check-ups, follow-ups and ultrasounds. You have to be there with her not just for all the billing-and-the-pharmacy running around but also for moral support. After all, it is not just her baby, but yours as well!
Second Trimester:
The golden trimester as well as the best period of the whole pregnancy. By this time, women have gotten used to carrying their baby and co-existing with her/him in a comfortable manner. And the due-date is still months away. Also the risk of miscarrying the baby in the initial months has passed and this is the best time to reveal the good news to family and friends. Most cultures reveal the news about an upcoming baby to the extended family in the second trimester only, as their fear for the well-being of the soon to be born baby in the first three months.
4- I forgot
You might have to run around a lot because of the “I forgot”. Women tend to become forgetful during pregnancy. It is actually a medically-proven fact and this is even called as the ‘pregnancy-brain’. Actually during the whole process of pregnancy, women folk go through a lot of discomfort and pain. Hence, nature makes sure that their retention power of all these painful memories is as minimal as possible, so that they can think again about getting pregnant in the future and thus ensure the continuity of the human race.
5- Massage Centres
Image Courtesy: Total Design Solutions
After getting some relief from the aggressive symptoms of the first trimester, women want to relax. You might have to make several trips to the massage centres to relieve your wife of the growing pressure she is facing as she gains weight. In fact, it is said that the second trimester is the best period of the whole pregnancy, because the dreaded and full-of-apprehensions first trimester has passed and the due date is still a few months off. Women have learned by this time to cope with the rigors of pregnancy and are now comfortable in their own body with the foetus. Hence what better way to relax and have a ball, than to indulge in some pregnancy-safe therapeutic massages!
6- Baby deals
This is the pushiest thing your wife will force on you. Women go crazy over deals on baby stuff. As soon as a deal crosses their eyes, they will want to avail it even if the baby is several months away. Yeah, the nursery must have already been well stocked by now with the crib, the adorable teddies and lots of cute baby clothes. There can be endless discussions/debates and in some cases, even threats about which colour the nursery has to be.
Pro Tip: The pregnant lady always wins!
Image Courtesy: Resources1. News
Third Trimester
Image Courtesy: Rewards For Moms By now, the whole world knows that your wife is pregnant. The belly is growing at an alarming rate and the physical discomforts that she is facing are at an all-time high. Due to the increase in weight, backache is a common symptom during this time. Also for first-timers, this is the most anxious time, as they don't have the prior experience of delivering a baby. Don't be fazed if you get drawn into numerous conversations about the impending delivery and post-delivery care.
7- Pass it on, please!
The third trimester is the time women want to move around the least. In turn, you have to do those bits of getting them things from the table or the other room. It is difficult for women to bend, perhaps even put on socks on their own. You, as a partner might be there for help. It is even difficult for them to wash their hair and their feet. Be ready to volunteer in the bathroom as well!
8- Bathroom trips!
Don’t laugh at this, women with all the pressure on their pelvis need to take frequent trips to the bathroom. That means you can’t really go anywhere farther than 30 minutes. This thing needs to be factored in especially when you are traveling. At home also, it is a good idea to keep the night light on, while sleeping so that there is enough illumination in the bedroom for the lady to make several trips to the bathroom during the nocturnal hours. It’s better to let her have that side of the bed, which is nearest to the wash-room, so that she can travel to and fro without minimal fuss, without disturbing the father-to-be as well!
9- Birth Classes
You have to frequent these with your wife. As the time for the baby comes near, you need to be as prepared for the delivery as your wife. Helping her and supporting her with the delivery and afterbirth. In the third trimester she would obviously be sporting a heavily pregnant belly and driving herself to these classes must be really an uphill task, so it’s your duty as the father-to-be to be present by her side at these classes and help her, not just by your physical presence but by your emotional presence as well.
Image Courtesy: Cloudnine
10- False calls
For this running around, you might be more anxious than your wife. Frequent trips to the hospital are common errands most husbands run hoping that its time. You might get a call in the middle of your important board meeting that the contractions have started and you will run home, dodging traffic at perilous speeds, only to take her to the hospital and find out that it is just a false alarm. These things happen with one and all, and at such times it is really imperative to keep one’s cool and take the situation sportingly, rather than blaming your wife for the wasted trip. Believe us, she would be more tired and exhausted from the wasted hospital trip out of the blue, and would need your support and encouragement at such times, instead of harsh words.
And if you are fooling yourself into thinking that this is all the running you will have to do, you are wrong. The running around after the baby comes might even be more. However, till then be there to support your wife and by doing so, you would also end up being an integral part of her pregnancy. And this comes with numerous benefits such as, the thrill of watching your baby on the sonogram is just out of the world also when the child starts kicking in the belly, then you can feel their little foot and just smile contentedly at the little miracle that your child is!
Want to consult the best gynecologists in India? Please find the links below.
Want to consult the best Maternity Packages in India? Please find the links below.
