How To Help Your Wife Get Through The First Trimester

As I sit here, I'm 10 weeks, 5 days pregnant, which means my first trimester is blessedly coming to a close. In case I haven't mentioned it before, I have the most awesome husband in the world. Since this is our third pregnancy, and we've been married for close to 8 years, we've learned to communicate well. But I know that many couples are going through pregnancy who might not have the best communication skills, and they don't have the years of marriage under their belt that we do. I remember what it was like during my first pregnancy, and so I wanted to write this article for all you husbands out there who desperately want to help your wife in her first trimester, but really have no idea what to do. Here's what you need to know:

#1: We're crabby. 
Do not take this personally. It's not that you're the problem, per se. It's just that you're the most likely one to get dumped on during this time. Is it an underlying resentment because you played your part in our situation, but you get none of the somewhat unpleasant physical side effects? Maybe. But more likely it's just horomones. So how should you handle your wife during this time?

BE A SAINT. Don't argue with us. Consider us "right" for the next 9 months, and your life will go much more smoothly. Oh, and don't constantly ask us what's wrong or ask us why we're mad. There's a fine line between irritating us and showing genuine concern.

#2: We're nauseated.
You know that feeling you have when you realize you're about to experience the stomach virus? You know how crappy you feel? You know how all you want to do is lie down and not be talked to or bothered until you're back to normal? Okay, that's the entire first trimester for some women. Add into the mix that we realize we're also supposed to be eating the healthiest, most nutritious food for our growing baby. Think about how guilty we feel downing that milkshake instead of an organic spinach salad with walnuts and raspberry vinaigrette!

#3: We're worried about gaining weight
I'm convinced that every woman freaks out about weight gain. In pregnancy, you're actually doing the right thing by gaining weight. Even if your woman had no body image issues before, she probably does now. Here are things not to do:

• Do not joke about her getting fat.
• Do not say anything to the effect of "honey, you might want to stop gaining so fast."
• Do not say anything to the effect of, "Wow! You're doing a great job putting on the pounds!"
• Do not pretend you can't reach around her waist anymore. That's never funny.
• Do not talk about women at work who are losing massive amounts of weight. 
• Do not talk about other pregnant women who aren't gaining much weight at all. 
• Do not talk about how she's going to lose the weight after she has the baby, unless she specifically brings this up, in which case you should listen to what she says, and then tell her the weight will come off after she has the baby and that you don't even care how much she gains. Go even further and tell her how proud you are of her, of how she's doing this awesome thing by carrying your child.

In fact, it's a good idea to basically not acknowledge that she's gaining any weight at all. You should know that the average weight gain for women is between 25 and 65 pounds. More than likely she'll go from worrying about not gaining enough to worrying about gaining way too much. Your job is to not make an issue out of it.

#3: We're exhausted.
Even though we haven't gained a lot of weight at this point, and our bellies aren't huge, we are exhausted. It's the hormones. Don't comment on this. Just accept that we're exhausted.

#4: We feel gross
So to recap: we feel tired, fat, pukey, and irritated. Overall, we just feel gross. We don't feel very feminine. Add to that the fact that our hormones are taking us for an emotional roller coaster ride, and you have a very delicate situation on your hands. As the husband, it's your duty to make us feel good about ourselves. Here are some things you can do to help:

• Make her dinner (and breakfast, and lunch, if possible.) "Morning sickness" can stick with a woman all day long. Usually, a lack of eating makes it worse. The problem is that it also grosses us out to cook. So, take over the kitchen duties for now. Which leads us to...
• Clean the kitchen and do the dishes. Your wife's nose is about a billion times more sensitive to smells. In fact, if you could also help out with the rest of the housework, you'll earn serious brownie points.
• Encourage your wife. Say sweet things for no reason, even if she's being quite the hormonal nightmare.
• Make sure she gets plenty of rest. This is especially true if you already have kids. Tell her you've got the kids while she takes a bath, or chills out by herself, or takes a walk. (Warning: don't suggest the walk, or she might think you're saying she's fat. I'm really not joking.)
• Give her massages. (This is not just a first trimester thing.)
• Realize that financial security is more important to her right now. Don't go around being irresponsible with your money. If you're not already, get on a budget and stick with it.
• Don't talk about other women. Period. 

The good news is, the hardest part of pregnancy is the first trimester. Once your wife gets past the 12 week mark (give or take a week or two!), she'll feel more like a human being, and things will get easier.

All you ladies who have been or currently are pregnant: What are some things that you really appreciated when you were pregnant? Do you have any words of wisdom to share with any husbands who might be reading this?

Exciting Changes

This blog has been sorely neglected. Of course, the thing about this blog is that the outdated posts are really quite helpful, because Infant Potty Training Techniques don't really need to be updated. However, I do have some exciting news!

I am pregnant with baby number 3! My husband and I are extremely excited about this. Now that this blog is established, I plan on thoroughly documenting Infant Potty Training from start to finish. I plan on making some video tutorials, and providing week by week details of how fast this baby progresses.

In the meantime, I'll be writing some about pregnancy, parenting, and random IPT related things. More to come soon!

Infant Potty Training Is Fun

One of the huge bonuses you get from practicing Infant Potty Training is the fun you'll have with your baby! Infants are by and large exhausting little bundles of joy, but there's something that's just so entertaining about a baby who poops on the toilet.

The typical baby poops between 8 and 10 times a day. If parents do the traditional diaper thing, more than likely they will argue with each other about whose turn it is to change the poopy mess. The occasion is rarely, if ever, met with enthusiasm or joy.

Compare that to a baby who signals his need for the toilet, and then poops on the toilet. I tell ya, it is a JOYFUL experience, each and every time it happens. Even after all my experience, I am always amazed when it happens. There's just something so fun about seeing a baby who seems tiny and helpless in so many ways take control over his body.

Babies also make some hilarious faces and sounds when they're going poop. If your baby is in diapers and making these faces and noises, they might seem funny, but there's also a sense of dread at what lies ahead. However, when your baby is doing it on the toilet, it's just good clean fun. Well, kinda. :)

To me, it's also a lot of fun to save money. And if you do Infant Potty Training, you're going to save hundreds or even thousands of dollars. So, come on, try it! It is fun.