My Third Trimester
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With just days until my estimated due date, I figured it’s about time to type up a recap on my third trimester of pregnancy!
Physically and emotionally, weeks 28-36 were pretty awesome. In fact, they were my favorite part of pregnancy. We’ve had such a beautiful summer and I really enjoyed myself! Although I was fatigued from time to time, I got around ok. I felt pregnant, my baby moved around a lot and I made a lot of progress in preparing my home for Quirk Jr.
Here are a few of the things I’ve experienced in the past eleven weeks and how I’m working through them.
Extreme Fatigue It feels like this really sets in most when the baby is going through a growth spurt and is managable thanks to my schedule. I’ve been napping and sleeping in where I can and I just function better in general when I’m well fed and rested. Plus I’ve been happy to have a few days of nesting energy mixed in so being tired isn’t all that bad.
Insomnia Sometimes the exhaustion comes from having a lot of trouble sleeping. I’ve never been one to have issues getting a full night’s sleep or quickly falling back to sleep after getting up for a glass of water or bathroom break, but some obsessive midnight thinking gets my brain spinning. I’ve woken up anywhere between 1-5am without getting back to sleep until 7 or 8 that morning. Insomnia is the worst!
What did help a bit was a big decision for Adam and I to invest in a new bed. We’ll be sharing the space with our baby and to accommodate everyone we’ve upgraded to a king. And man, now I’m the one sleeping like a baby!
Getting Around First things first, I love the way my pregnant body looks. I love seeing my belly button transform and the roundness of my bump. I feel like a goddess. But I also feel the effects of 45 extra pounds on my frame. It’s a struggle to even roll over in bed or get in and out of the car, let alone exercise or take a walk. My belly is measuring right on track and my midwife is fine with my weight gain but phew! I can’t wait to get my energy back, get to the gym and get moving faster than a snail again.
Irritability I know I’m not the only pregnant woman to get easily irritated towards the end of her pregnancy. I’ve been really working on keeping a positive attitude, but these hormones are no joke! Anything that would get on my nerves normally has been magnified ten fold. I’m especially on edge when strangers think they’re being cute or funny. I don’t need anymore guesses on baby’s gender based on the size of my nose or ass or how high or low I’m carrying, when I’ll go into labor, if I’ll ever sleep again or comments on my weight gain now or weight loss later.
So what’s up with the passive agressive mom on mom judgment? (And almost always with women my age online; older women just smile and say what a joy children are) I’ve done my homework, I’ve talked with my friends, consulted with my health care providers, I feel good about my choices and I love my baby just as much as you do, so I’ll pass on the unsoliticed advice. Read more on my thoughts on weird/rude comments here.
Anxiety Is this it?! For the past few weeks I’ve had lots of new and intense sensations and each time I think this could be labor, which has been emotionally tiring! I’ve been experiencing little symptoms of pre-labor here and there including rhythmic contractions, nausea, little pinches of pain and back aches. My midwife asked me not to encourage any of these too early (weeks 34-38) and to instead rest, hydrate and take a warm bath when anything came on. Now I just want to hold my baby!
In addition to be anxious and excited for the birth of our first child, I’ve had some pretty deep mood swings during my entire pregnancy. Earlier I saw a therapist and decided to expand my options by meeting with a pyschiatric nurse practictioner who specializes in perinatal care. Hormones are so unpredictable and I want to have a good relationship established should I need something for post partum depression. I’m the kind of person who avoids taking even a Tylenol but it was a big step for me to make this appointment and take an active roll in my emotional and mental health. So much of pregnancy focuses on the joy and the blessing and the happiness that I’ve felt guilty when I felt the opposite. It’s been really helpful for me to hear from a professional being depressed isn’t a choice or an attitude, it’s about brain chemistry. We’re educating ourselves and have an appointment set for a couple of weeks after baby is born and I feel really good about it all!
So that’ll do it for my pregnancy recaps! I hope you’ve enjoyed this series, and no matter what you’ve experienced, realize that we’re not alone in any of it! I’ve loved corresponding with other pregnant woman and hearing about your experiences for the past nine months. Now onward and upward to parenthood! Only a few more days! Wish me luck!
