THE FOURTH TRIMESTER: WHAT NO ONE TELLS YOU
There’s so much focus on pregnancy and birth — but what happens after baby arrives often comes as a surprise. The fourth trimester, those first 12 weeks postpartum, is a time of healing, adjusting, and finding your rhythm in a completely new world.
We’re not here to overwhelm you. We’re here to quietly prepare you — with the kind of things we wish we’d known ourselves.
What is the fourth trimester, really?
It’s the unspoken season between birth and settling. A time when your body is still healing, your baby is still adjusting, and your household is finding a new normal.
It’s beautiful. It’s tender.
But it’s also exhausting, unpredictable, and emotional — and that’s all completely normal.
Things no one really tells you (but we will):
- You may still look and feel pregnant for a while
- Feeding — breast or bottle — takes learning and patience
- Sleep comes in short, strange windows
- Visitors can be helpful… or overwhelming
- You’ll question yourself (and then question yourself again)
- Organisation helps — not for perfection, but for peace
Ways to soften the experience
• Create calm where you can
Your environment matters. A little order makes those middle-of-the-night changes easier. (This is where we love a well-stocked caddy.)
• Accept help when it’s offered
Say yes to meals, errands, and company — and no when it’s too much.
• Set up your space ahead of time
Have nappies, wipes, muslins, and fresh onesies within reach in the bedroom and living areas, not just the nursery.
• Lower the pressure
You don’t have to “bounce back.” You don’t have to be productive. You’re becoming someone new, and that’s enough.
One More Thing
You’re doing better than you think.
And no, you don’t have to have it all together. You just need small systems that support you, a space that calms you, and people (like us) in your corner.