Fourth trimester of pregnancy
The fourth trimester of pregnancy is the first 3 months of the baby's life.
It is a period of adaptation for both parents and infant. It is a kind of bridge for the baby between life in the womb and life in the world. Inside the mother's belly the right temperature was maintained, the baby received food and oxygen through the umbilical cord. When he is born, he needs to breathe on his own, he needs to eat on his own. He has so much to master and so much to learn about the world around him. The new and slightly frightening world is more relaxing to explore with someone he already knows so well, with his safety guarantor - his mum.
The baby usually sleeps a lot, often latch on to the breast, wants to be close to his mother, to be on her arms, in close contact with his parents. He is not yet so interested in the world around him. He still needs to get used to bright and loud, to the fact that there is day and night. There's still so much he can't do on his own. And he has a lot to learn.
For parents, this is a stage of restructuring their lives. Lactation is also just being set up and the skills of breastfeeding are being laid.
Time will pass, and the baby will start to roll over, become more interested in the world, and get distracted during feedings. The mother will establish lactation and the breast will begin to produce milk as much as needed, without excess. The mother will begin to better understand the baby's crying. She will be able to distinguish when he cries from fatigue, when he wants to eat, when a wet diaper bothers him. But for now, mastering this skill is ahead. And the main place of comfort for the baby in the first three months of life - it's mum's breast and parents' hands.
And the lactation crisis of three months, familiar to many, will come. But this is a story for another article.
If you wish to consult about breastfeeding during pregnancy and get advice on how to establish successful lactation, let me know!
Author of the article: Aleksandra Ņekrasova
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