Pregnant after a Loss
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tips for dealing with anxiety?
I am thrilled to say that I am pregnant after a loss last winter, but I am finding it difficult to convince myself that I am pregnant (despite POAS multiple times). Anyone out there have tips for enjoying your first tri and dealing with anxiety from memories of our loss?
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Re: tips for dealing with anxiety?
Congrats! First tri is going to be tough, it's exciting and nerve wracking at the same time, can be uncomfortable if you have nausea issues, and you might not want to share your news with anyone until you are further along. Second tri took FOREVER for me, and we didn't tell friends/family(other than BFF's and the parents) until I was 19-20 weeks. I tried to keep my mind busy, and not get too excited about the pg. I didn't buy any maternity clothes until I was 14 weeks, and nothing for the baby until 16 weeks. Honestly, everyone copes differently-my way was not to get excited at first. I was on here a LOT for the supportive atmosphere. It didn't become 'real' for me until 23-24 weeks, when people could finally tell I was pg by my physique and I wasn't getting so sick anymore.
Good luck to you, keep a journal, take pics of yourself getting bigger, and hang on tight, it's a wild ride!
::hugs and congrats::
For me, each day that I am pregnant helps me feel a little less anxious.
My mom bought be a meditation CD by Belleruth Naparstek. At first, I thought it was going to be weird, but I kinda got obsessed with it in 1st tri. It really helped me relax a little bit. Even now that I'm in 2nd tri, I listen to it when I start to get anxious/nervous about everything.
https://www.amazon.com/Health-Journeys-Meditations-Successful-Childbirth/dp/1881405451
Congratulations on your pregnancy!
The first weeks are very hard - there's no way around it. So it helps just to accept whatever your feeling and know it is part of the process.
For me, this pg has seemed real only gradually, as we pass each milestone. It has helped to have a few people who knew about our losses know about this pg so they could offer support and understanding, as well a s some excitement when I couldn't manage that yet!
This is going to sound cliched, but really making an effort to take my pregnancy one day at a time really helped me get through the 1st tri. Every morning I would wake up and remind myself how grateful I was to be pregnant and for my new baby. I would think "today, I am x weeks and x days pregnant" and try my best to revel in that. I didn't want to get too caught up in milestones and yearning to reach them, because that seemed to make me more anxious and sad.
Our loss last year was a very late one, so I don't know that I'll ever truly breathe easy or rid myself of anxiety completely during this pregnancy. But I think it helps me to remind myself how lucky I am to be where I am now.
Best of luck to you!