So, you are going to be a father! If you have been through the process before, you probably aren’t searching for information. If you are looking for information on the stages of pregnancy and what to expect, then you probably recently heard the news for the first time and you want to know what to expect.
There are a few things that will be somewhat “normal” about your partner’s pregnancy, but keep in mind that each woman and each pregnancy is different. It might be a good thing to prepare for the unexpected.
What are some of the more “expected” issues? Much of the stages of pregnancy and what to expect depends on how far along the pregnancy is. In the first weeks of a pregnancy, very little will change for anyone. It is possible that the woman won’t even know she is pregnant. Possibly, the woman might have felt some nausea that wouldn’t go away, no matter what she did.
If she goes to a doctor, she will discover that she is pregnant. The nausea is sometimes, though not always, a sign that the woman’s body is adjusting to the changes inside her. Not all women get this nausea, usually called morning sickness, but some of them do. As the pregnancy develops, it will probably disappear.
The next of the stages of pregnancy and what to expect will probably occur when the woman starts to gain weight noticeably. She may start cleaning house and want you go get rid of some things you have had for years. If she didn’t do this before the pregnancy, don’t be surprised if she does it early in the pregnancy.
In the early stages of pregnancy and what to expect, some woman go through a lot of house cleaning and rearranging. This has been called “nesting” and is simply the woman’s way of clearing a space and preparing for the new addition to her family.
As she gets heavier, the stages of pregnancy and what to expect may have the woman wanting to stay close to a bathroom. As the fetus grows, it applies pressure to the bladder, giving a woman the feeling that she has to have a bathroom close. The woman may also have some cravings for foods that she never ate before the pregnancy.
This is usually related to the fact that her hormones, combined with the hormones produced by the fetus, are giving her cravings, and emotions, she might not have experienced until she became pregnant. Be patient. These cravings and mood swings won’t last forever.
The last of the major stages of pregnancy and what to expect will be toward the end of the pregnancy. The woman has gained a lot of weight, which is shifted to her front. The fetus will be pressing on her internal organs. She will be tired, because she might not be able to sleep comfortably.
She will need to rest more than she did before she became pregnant. She may have less interest in sex than she did prior to the pregnancy. She may become cranky and argumentative. Don’t take it personally. This, too, is generally short-lived. The fetus is heavy and she is tired. She is ready for the birth of the child, and the moment the two of you become parents.