The First Trimester
Welcome to the 1st trimester!
Yay! You just peed on a stick and here you are! You may have not even shared the news with anyone yet but look at you – scouting out the road ahead! I love when parents start exploring education and support EARLY! It makes all the difference in feeling prepared and confident for the “birthing part.” And that part may have you freaked out – but you can do this. You ARE doing this and we are here to help!
I organized the basics for getting started on this page. As you begin to explore – you will be led to even more surprises on our website/social media and may have questions! I welcome those questions and know that you can always contact a birth educator and tell them that you are pregnant! We will keep your secret and help you find the right support.
I created the OMG, I’m Pregnant course with you in mind! I did so many consultations with the same questions always being asked, that I wanted everyone to get a jump start on pregnancy without cost being a barrier. You will find everything you need, from reading, support, facing fears – all power packed into a simple format. What you read now and what social media you take in – is more important than I can express. This is your baby’s birth – and they only get one shot at it. This is your labor and you can actually gather tools and support and look forward to it. You can create a positive outlook for your pregnancy and postpartum by learning from parents who have done that. Medicated or un-medicated – your baby’s birth can be amazing and calm. I am so excited for you.
I also created a “Conversations With My Baby,” connection journal for your pregnancy available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble online. Taking time to tell your story to your baby and looking back at the skills you have picked up in life along the way – gives your baby a chance to get to know you while on the inside. Really connecting and bonding with your baby before they are born creates a wonderful labor and birth experience. After all – they chose you and already trust you with their life. You are doing this together.
The MOST important education you should invest in during this 1st trimester, is learning all you can about postpartum. “What, you say? That’s so far off. I don’t have to think about that yet.” Wrong. Pregnancy gets caught up with baby showers, nursery decorating, finding clothes that fit and the labor and birth planning. The postpartum education gets neglected and you and your family pay the price. For years, it has been the one thing that parents have come back to me saying, “I was so unprepared. No one told me what this was really like. We focused so much on the birth part. There is so much to plan for and you are in a great spot to start now. My most confident parents are the ones who come into birth class already having prepared and planned for the postpartum. They are more sure of themselves working as a team and have already covered some tough conversation topics and worked out a plan together. This is important.
One of our best resources is the Pregnancy and Postpartum Mental Health course, which comes with a fantastic workbook that will support you first in your pregnancy and then in the postpartum time. So many families experience issues with their mental health during pregnancy that can be treated during pregnancy and sometimes even prevented. As birth educators, we usually don’t meet you until the end of your pregnancy and you may have not felt like yourself for months by that point. This course has been needed for years and we are so glad to have collaborated with Beth Warren, LCSW and Dr. Beth Berger so we can finally offer it to you. Start here!
If you have a male partner, the New Dad’s course by Dr. Jay Warren, comes in three sections or in a bundle package so your partner gets the education he needs from pregnancy through the first year with his new baby. Dr. Jay is a wonderful resource for partners.
As you can see from the sidebar on this page – we have lots for you to binge! My team is here for you and you can book a one on one consult with me if want more personal education and planning!
Hugs – Care