Understanding the trimesters - What every New Dad needs to know

You know that typically a pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks. These 40 weeks are divided into trimesters each lasting around 13 weeks (give or take).



For the most part you won’t be able to tell by looking at your wife when one ends and the next one begins. She may notice some subtle differences, but it’s really more of a line in the sand type thing.

It is however, interesting to understand what is going on during each of these as your baby matures from an embryo, to a fetus, into the wiggly little being that will emerge in a few short months.

The First Trimester

Here at the New Dad’s Guide we like to focus on the positive. So while your wife may begin to experience morning sickness and be more tired than usual the good news is that her breasts are going to start getting bigger and she really isn’t going to gain much weight during these first 12 weeks.

So let’s step back real quick. She’s going to have larger breasts, stay about the same size, and sleep more (which means she won’t be nagging you during the game) and the only downside is you may have to hold her hair when she gets up in the morning. I don’t know about you, but I’ll take that.

As for your baby, he/she will begin to develop all of the major organs – the brain, heart, and lungs as well as most of the major appendages. By the end of the first trimester your baby will have arms, legs, eyes, and the first signs of the sex of the baby will appear.

The baby will have grown to about 3 inches long by now and will weigh about an ounce. 3 inches may not sound like much, but 3 months ago that baby was microscopic and could not be seen by the naked eye.

Pretty cool huh?

The Second Trimester

Any morning sickness she experienced previously will probably go away and she will have more energy then she did in the first 12 weeks. She will however, start to gain weight and if she hasn’t already, may want to shop for maternity clothes.

If she is self conscious about her weight this will be the time to remind her how beautiful she is. You don’t want to over-do it, but an occasional unsolicited compliment will do wonders to her self-esteem.

She will also start to feel the baby move inside of her. This is an exciting time for her as she first feels the new life growing in her belly. Don’t be surprised if you can’t feel it at the beginning. It was almost a month from the time my wife first felt movement until I could feel it on the outside.

Sometime during this time (between weeks 18 and 20) you’ll have the opportunity (assuming the baby cooperates) to find out the sex of the baby. Now you have the joy of registering for baby products and picking out paint samples for the nursery. Ok, so there was a little bit of sarcasm there.

By the end of the second trimester you will have a fully formed baby. While it’s still not ready to survive on its own, all of the parts and pieces are there.

You’re now 2/3 of the way there. It won’t be long now!

The Third Trimester

If you haven’t told anyone by now it will be difficult to hide the fact that your wife is pregnant.

Side note – if you are not 100% sure that a woman is pregnant you should not make any comments that indicate you think she is. It could very well be that she is simply fat. Worse yet, it could be that she actually is pregnant but is very self-conscious about her weight.

I always figure it’s better for me to pretend I’m oblivious to the situation than to say the wrong thing. I usually say that even if a woman has a baby hanging between her legs I won’t ask if she is pregnant – it could just be a really funny looking growth. Even if you don’t have to deal with the consequences of saying the wrong thing, there is a man out there that will, so do us all a favor and keep quiet.

Anyways back to the third trimester. During these last few weeks your wife will again begin to feel tired and will have to deal with back aches and swollen hands and feet. If you haven’t sprung for the massage now may be the time.

You also will probably not want to make any travel plans during this time. It will be good to stay close to home, especially as she nears the end of her pregnancy, in case you need to make a mad dash to the hospital.

You’ll be the busiest during these last few weeks. You’ll be painting, assembling furniture, installing car seats, and packing the hospital bag. Again more fun things!

Well you’ve made it. The hard part is over now right? Well maybe not, but believe me the fun is just beginning!

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