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r/CautiousBB•
tinameri

How did you deal with first trimester anxiety? Does it get easier?

hello ladies! I've recently joined your ranks and was hoping for some advice. Waiting on the first ultrasound at a little over 7 weeks along was nerve wracking at best. Once we got there and everything looked good, I could breathe a little easier. Now it's a week later and I find myself more anxious than ever that something will go wrong before our next US in 3 1/2 weeks.

I know many of you are dealing with similar fears and anxieties during this crucial time, so how do you deal with it? Is there something that helped ease your mind?

I know there is nothing I can do except take care of myself during this time, but the anxiety is starting to feel overwhelming.

Posted Feb 3, 2015, 12:00 AM UTC

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Sellae28, 1 prior CP, baby girl due on 5/23/15•

I think that it definitely gets easier. I will never feel totally anxiety-free, but now I can go lie down on the couch, drink something cold, shake my stomach around, and wait for baby to move and I can at least know that she's alive and doing something in there! And I can also comfort myself that she would most likely survive even if I went into labor now (I'm a little over 24 weeks).

Those things make me feel A LOT better than I ever did in first trimester, when I couldn't feel her moving and my stomach wasn't visibly growing yet and I had to wait for doctor's appointments to make sure she was growing and alive!

Something that I did was be grateful for every day and consider every day that passed with me still pregnant as an accomplishment/one step closer to a healthy birth statistically. You may not be religious, but I would take time in the shower every day (because I have time to think in there and I'm not distracted, LOL) to thank God for every day I got through and keep my mind focused on the positive things I had gone through so far (i.e. be thankful that I heard the baby's heartbeat at the appointment, be thankful that I hadn't had spotting in a certain number of days, be thankful every time I hit a new milestone).

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tinameriOPT2 diabetic, FTM, EDD 9/9/15•

The shower is a great thinking place :-) I will keep that in mind as the weeks go on. I'm bummed that I can't feel little peanut yet and my anterior placenta makes it so I may have to wait even longer for those reassuring kicks, but it'll be worth it. Like you said, each week is one step closer.

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aimeenewCharlie born 02/09/15 at 34 weeks•

I kept reminding myself that if something bad were to happen if be so sad so I didn't waste the time that nothing had happened being sad.

It's so so hard. It's like ptsd if you've suffered loss even just once with pregnancy. My fear didn't go away until after the gender scan. Then I breathed and enjoyed the pregnancy. I'm sitting at 33 weeks still on cloud 9.

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tinameriOPT2 diabetic, FTM, EDD 9/9/15•

Thanks for your perspective, I'm hoping most of this feeling is just hormones and it'll calm down. Congrats on 33 weeks! You're almost there!

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missjlynneMalachi 2 years, Naomi lost @ 8 weeks, Jonathan due 3/14/15•

Hi! Know that this anxiety is normal - you're a mom, it's your job to worry about your little one. I lost one baby this past spring, so this new pregnancy has been really hard. Especially at the beginning when you can't feel baby yet and the appointments are the only time you get to know for sure that everything is okay. I'd say my confidence grew and fear lessened each week.

I won't lie - there are days when I'm still afraid of a loss (I'm 34 weeks), but reassuring kicks remind me that my little one is okay. I'd say the anxiety dropped to almost nothing after my fetal echocardiogram at 25 weeks.

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tinameriOPT2 diabetic, FTM, EDD 9/9/15•

It's good to know it's normal. In my head I know that but sometimes hormones make me a little irrational about these things. knowing with each passing appointment it gets easier gives me something to look forward to, so thank you.

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Dragon_heart10823 | PCOS | RPL | Rainbow girl Alice due 14th June!•

Im 21 weeks and pretty much the only time I stop feeling anxious is when I feel her moving. If I haven't felt her move in a couple of hours I start to panic. All you can do is keep breathing, I also ended up buying a Doppler so when I get really worried I pull it out, find her little heartbeat and I can breathe again.

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_eighty2Boy due March 21•

I set up little milestones in my head at random points. 8 weeks, 10 weeks, 12 weeks, etc. Then I'd treat myself whenever I got to that point. It gets a bit easier and a bit more real after the NT scan, and anything that could get me to that point was a godsend. Although I'm 33 weeks now and I still get a bit nervous, it's not as severe as it was before.

I also slept frequently and buried myself in Netflix/TV marathons. Anything to keep my mind busy.

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paleiales1mc, baby#1 due 01/31/15 - he finally showed up 2/14•

Honestly, the anxiety will never go away. And I'd say it's actually kind of healthy. Just means you're excited and gonna be a good mama (I think). I remember my first tri, every time I went to the bathroom, I just waited to see blood. Even after seeing my little bean on the screen multiple times, (6w, 12w, and 20w) it still didn't click, omg I have a BABY in me! Now I'm patiently waiting to meet this child, and I still am shocked that s/he is still alive. For some reason, I just expected another miscarriage. So when I feel baby moving, it's still unreal.

Hugs. As far as getting through it, honestly, I just took every day easy and tried not to worry (so much easier said than done!). Every passing day was a milestone to me.

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tinameriOPT2 diabetic, FTM, EDD 9/9/15•

Every passing day was a milestone to me.

This helps a lot, and congrats on your little one :)

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Waffles_ahoyHazel Anne born February 5th•

Totally normal. It does get easier once you can feel their movements but honestly you'll always find something to worry about. It's just part of being a mother! I don't think I let myself think of myself as being actually pregnant until well after the anatomy scan, I just tried to keep myself busy.

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babyvb#1, due 10/6/15•

I'm so glad for this post! I've never been pregnant before, so I'm constantly in fear that something will happen. It's really nice to see that it's completely normal.

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