Third Trimester Recap
Oh man, where to begin. The third trimester has felt weird for me, on the one hand, I do feel super pregnant but on the other, I'm still waiting for that to kick in.
I keep going through these days where I feel like I'm experiencing all of the quintessential pregnancy symptoms but I always have this funny feeling in the back of my head that mine aren't real. That my back pain is some silly version of what most women actually get. That the "contractions" I'm feeling probably aren't anything. That my overheating is just merely me. That my desire to get everything in order is just my normal personality. Honestly, I think maybe I'm always a little pregnant.
That said, I haven't totally hated the third trimester but there have been some days that have been less than stellar and mostly just some physical things that have made life a little tougher and a little slower, despite my best efforts to keep a normal pace (whoops!).
Some of my fun third-trimester issues:
- Carpel Tunnel: Um hello this is awful. It's mostly at night and mostly in my left arm but it ranges from tingling and numbness to a deep aching pain that keeps me up, to hardly being able to open the top on my water bottle or grip my chapstick. This one better pass!
- A bum foot: This was my fault. I was trying to help my husband maneuver a bed frame down our stairs which are floating hardwood and one foot slipped. I caught myself and didn't fall but it meant that the bottom of my foot must have been deeply bruised because it hurt to walk on for over a week. But as a yoga teacher friend of mine pointed out, there are 26 bones in the feet, that means 26 joints for relaxin to be running through. Probably really easy to throw something off
- Heartburn & Acid Reflux: This was more early in the 3rd but then came back a bit on and off later on. It ranged from just a burning sensation to actually burping up vomit (woof) but the biggest help was Pepcid AC during the thick of it.
- Return of the midnight hunger: Basically went back to eating a banana at 2 am every night.
- Braxton Hicks & Period Cramps aka Contractions: I mean you can check out this high's and low's post for details on what this turned into one night at 34 weeks, but this was definitely the most alarming and confusing of my sensations. I've had the BH or tightening/balling up on my uterus for months now but it's getting more intense and leaves my abs burning and sore by the end of the day. But the period cramp pains that come on a few times a week for a couple hours are alarming too because when you google it, it sounds like labor!
- Lightning: Basically now that baby has dropped or so they say, its the occasional ZING down there. At first, it felt like punches that might r3wsult in a fist coming out of my body. Now it's more like a pinch to the groin that sends a shock down my leg. It's really cute.
- Swollen Hands/Feet: Bye-bye wedding rings.
- Bathroom stops every 20 minutes: I mean I go, I walk out, and I'm like "hmmmm I could go again".
- Anxiety: About how life is going to change, how I will know what to do, and how my future will unfold as his mom among other things.
But besides those couple of things, it's totally fine!! :-)
I have enjoyed feeling him kick like crazy, strangers being overly kind, being more forgiving with my body & diet than I've ever been, and feeling like I've definitely earned some stripes in this process.
Here are some pics of my third-trimester so far!! Plus shop everything in the header photo by heading to my LikeToKnow.it Page or clicking below:
- This face moisturizer (for dry skin) that made a HUGE difference in my pregnancy acne
- These Lululemon pants that fit through pregnancy despite being non-maternity
- This exercise ball for some great exercises for opening up the pelvis pre-labor and while laboring
- These bars in a pinch to keep on hand in my purse for those random moments of starvation
- This salty snack that didn't pack on the lbs
- This sleeping nursing bra that I've already started wearing
- This dress that I wore most days this summer
- This 3 part make up routine that takes about 5 minutes but kept me feeling fresh every morning (one, two, three)
- This non-maternity dress that works with a bump
- These comfy slide on shoes
- This belly oil
