I can’t believe my pregnancy is pretty much over! I’m in my third trimester, and going to meet baby girl any day now…! I feel like I just announced my pregnancy! If you’re just following along on my pregnancy journey, you can read about my first trimester and second trimester.
I am currently 40 weeks pregnant as I write this blog post! I’m trying to get it out before baby girl makes her debut, so I thank her for letting me quickly finish this blog post before she comes =P I’m thinking she’s going to come around 41 weeks gestation as I’ve been about a week behind with all my symptoms, but it could happen any day.
The third trimester has probably been the most stressful of the three trimesters. So much to think about and “worry” about…
…make sure you’re doing kick counts…
…if you have contractions that come every 5 minutes, lasting a minute, for an hour, go to the hospital… but also try to labor as long as you can at the house…
…if you feel contractions, drink half a gallon of water, because you could be having faux contractions if you’re dehydrated…
…look out for the mucus plug…but if it comes out early, don’t worry, your body will grow another one…
…be on the look out for vaginal bleeding. If it’s too much, that’s a bad sign, but if it’s light spotting then that’s fine…
…make sure you’re not sleeping on your back for long periods of time, because that’ll cut both yours and baby’s circulation…
…is the baby properly positioned?
It just seemed like there were so many things to worry about and think about. On top of all those things to look out for, I also found out I am Group B Strep (GBS) positive and I have a double MTHFR gene mutation (good thing my prenatal vitamins are methylfolate and not folic acid). Check out my facebook post where I go into more in detail about this. The third trimester was when we took our Birthing class, attended a cloth diaper workshop, baby wearing workshop, got maternity photos done, got the nursery ready, packed the hospital bag, and made freeze ahead meals. So a lot happened
.Similarly to how I’ve done in my other trimester recap blog posts, I will go over the different areas of my pregnancy.
Body Changes
The third trimester is all about rapid growth and maturation. I feel like the change between the second trimester and the third trimester was huge. My stomach doubled in size in like a week. Every week, my stomach just continued to get bigger and bigger.
Some changes I noticed: my areola continued to darken, when I hand express my breasts, I can see colostrum (TMI?). My joints pop a lot especially first thing in the morning. More vaginal discharge (also TMI?). I go to the bathroom constantly. I can’t bend in certain ways, and the most annoying change – getting out of breath! Just eating, I get out of breath. Standing and singing at church, almost takes my breath away (literally). So crazy! My blood pressure and heart rate are always perfect at my doctor visits, so that’s good.
Mental preparations:
I’m 40 weeks and I’m still not mentally prepared. Knowing that any day now, I will have a baby and my life is going to change! I’m so excited to meet my baby girl but also somewhat scared and nervous. Most moms at the end of their third trimester, just can’t wait to deliver…not me. I’m okay waiting LOL, but at the same time, I just wish I knew WHEN she was coming so I can plan my life.
I wrote a blog post about how I’m preparing for breastfeeding as a lactation consultant, so I think I have the breastfeeding part down, but the parenting aspect…that’ll probably come with time.
Nesting
One thing I did NOT realize that happened was nesting! I’ve heard women say they’re “nesting,” and I just thought that meant getting the house ready and the nursery finished, and yes that all happens, but it’s a real feeling of ‘nesting’! You don’t want to do any outside work, but just stay in the house and get ready for the baby. It’s such a weird feeling! I even asked my friend who was a surrogate if she experienced it, knowing that she wasn’t actually keeping the baby, and she did! It’s just our body’s instinct to ‘nest’ and get ready. So that was pretty cool and something I learned.
Exercise:
I honestly wasn’t the best about exercising this third trimester as I was the other two trimesters, mostly because I felt more limited by a big belly. I had continued to go jogging up until 32 weeks pregnant. At 32 weeks I was set to go on a run and ran probably 20 feet and just couldn’t keep going. My hips felt wobbly, and I had lower back and pelvic pain. I continued walking and felt much better. I made a public declaration on my instagram account that I was going to stop running and just walk. I really wanted to keep running, but my body was telling me no. I wonder if I had a maternity belt, if that would’ve helped, but I never got one.
That’s the difference between exercising when not pregnant and when pregnant. It’s really important to listen to your body and stop when it tells you to and not overdo it. I became content with doing my 1-2+ mile walk every day with my dog.
I did try to do the stair master or elliptical at the gym at least twice a week but sometimes it was only once. I joined Stroller Warriors, which was so great to be with other pregnant moms and postpartum moms. Although I didn’t run with them, some of us pregnant moms would just walk. I did some light weight training and stretching at home. Unfortunately with the holidays and just getting bigger and more uncomfortable, I stopped going to the yoga class at our gym. If there was a prenatal yoga class near me, I would’ve joined that.
So overall, I am staying pretty active (at least 30mins/day) of walking and moving around, but my intensity decreased compared to the other trimesters.
Nutrition:
I actually didn’t end up tracking my day to day meals this third trimester, like I did in the other trimesters. I think I got burnt out tracking, and was just over it. This is why I hate tracking macros/micros/calories and don’t think it’s a sustainable diet to follow.
I paid more attention to the variety of fruits and vegetables in every meal I made. Since the third trimester is about rapid growth and maturation, especially for the brain and skin/tissue, I paid more attention to protein and healthy fats and tried to incorporate it in my snacks and meals.
Probiotics:
Finding out I was GBS positive at 35 weeks pregnant was pretty upsetting, even though I know you can’t exactly control it. Per my midwife and research here and here, everyone is positive at some point in their life, even with the healthiest diet. Being GBS positive does not pose any risk on adults – it’s just your genetic microbiome make up. However, it does pose a risk on your baby during delivery, because as baby passes through the vaginal canal, the baby can swallow some of the bacteria. So the protocol is to administer antibiotics at delivery to protect the baby.
I did ask to be retested (since it comes and goes), but unfortunately ‘insurance won’t cover the cost and it’s hundreds of dollars to get it done…’ The antibiotics they give will only be given to me during labor, so it’s not like a UTI or other bacterial infection where you have to take antibiotics for a week or more, so that’s good. It’s still annoying though, since antibiotics kill both the good and bad bacteria in your gut. Since I know I will have to take antibiotics, I’ve been increasing my probiotics and will continue to take probiotics after delivery to replace the good bacteria.
I’ve been eating kimchi, kefir, kombucha, and other fermented veggies as well as eating lots of fibrous fruits and veggies (the prebiotics).
Hydration:
I’ve been telling moms to drink half your weight in ounces. However, after going through this myself, I’ve changed my thoughts. The recommendation is 80 to 100 oz, and even that wasn’t enough for me. Even though I felt like I was peeing constantly and my urine was pretty pale, I was getting bloody noses almost every day, and constantly having chapped lips and dry hands. I talked to my midwife who said that I needed to be drinking AT LEAST a gallon (128oz). I thought she was crazy! But it ended up to work for me. As soon as I started to drink 4- 32 oz hydroflasks (a gallon), I stopped getting bloody noses and my lips weren’t as chapped. I also gained a whole 6 pounds in a week! – this is why I hate scales! They don’t explain the whole picture…more about weight in the next section.
My current recommendation for pregnant and even breastfeeding moms is at least 100-128 oz. It’s not always about the color of your urine, although that’s a great indicator, but also how chapped your lips/skin is, and how you’re feeling. Yes it’s annoying to go pee so often, but it’s also annoying to get bloody noses and your husband constantly tell you how chapped your lips are every time you kiss =P
Weight gain:
I really hate the scale! Scales are so inaccurate and they really don’t explain anything about your overall health. I’ve been weighing myself for this blog post and just to see how I’ve grown, but to be completely honest, I hate it.
When I increased my water intake, I saw I gained 5+ pounds in a week. I was mortified. I hadn’t realized it was water weight until later, but initially I felt disgusted with myself. “I know it was the holidays, but did I really let myself go?! I’m a dietitian…I’m not supposed to gain that much in a week!”… After venting to my husband about how bad I felt with my weight gain, he pointed out that the only real change was my water intake. I wanted to test if he was right, so the next two days, I didn’t drink my 128oz but instead drank ~80 oz. My weight dropped (surprise surprise).
I hate that I fell into that trap. Weight is only a small piece of the puzzle and it changes based off so many factors. Weight does NOT define your health. So what if I gained 5+ pounds in a week! I was FINALLY drinking what my body needed. Scales just measure mass – it doesn’t measure anything else!
I’ve gained 34 lbs in my entire pregnancy – you can read my post about what my OB said to that and my thoughts on the matter.
Self care:
Essential Oils:
(Disclaimer: I am a doTERRA wellness advocate, so if you’re interested in any oils, please do not hesitate to ask or you can visit my Essential Oil page)
I’ve continued to use the same oils that I’ve mentioned in my previous posts throughout this trimester. I’ve used the oils for myself, but I also made some rollerball blends for my baby around 33 weeks, like frankincense, lavender, and digestzen. The rollerball blends are heavily diluted, so it’s safe for baby. I use just one drop of the oil, and fill the rest of the rollerball with fractionated coconut oil.
I also made some padsicles, which you can watch how I made that on my Instagram story highlights.
I’ve used lavender at bedtime, I’ve been taking OnGuard, frankincense, and some other oils here and there for immunity and I’ve been using the Deep Blue oil for any aches and pains I have.
Chiropractic care:
I seriously love chiropractic care and can’t imagine going throughout my pregnancy without it! I would walk into my chiropractor’s office with lower back pain and pelvic pain, and with a few adjustments and massaging, I’d leave with literally zero pain! I felt like a new person! So many moms complain about all their aches and pains, and I don’t know if it’s because of my chiropractic care or what, but I haven’t really been in that much pain. I had started going at 16 weeks pregnant and would go about every 3-4 weeks. Once I got into my third trimester, around 30 weeks, I started going every two weeks. These past few weeks (37-40 weeks) I’ve been going once a week.
I highly encourage all pregnant women see a PRENATAL chiropractor! Someone who practices the Webster technique, which is a form of gentle adjustments FOR pregnant women. Ask your chiropractor what their training is with pregnant women and if they use the Webster technique. If they don’t, find a different chiropractor! (I actually switched chiropractors around 32 weeks to someone who practices the Webster technique and it’s made a huge difference, mostly with the pelvic pain).
Common third trimester ‘struggles’:
Heart burn:
I experienced it ONCE! It was New Years Eve and we went to an Italian restaurant and I had spaghetti with red sauce. Had some heart burn that evening. What was strange though, is I’ve had lasagna, home made spaghetti, chili, salsa and other foods with tomatoes and spices and didn’t experience any heart burn. I’ve continued to eat the “trigger” foods like coffee, spices, carbonated drinks like kombucha, tomatoes, and no heart burn. I’m not complaining though!
Constipation:
This might be a little TMI but oh well =P
I went from pooping 2-3 times a day in my first trimester, to 1-2 times a day in my second trimester, to once a day or once every 2 days in my third trimester. I eat so many greens and fibrous foods, that I can’t imagine not eating it and feeling this constipated. All the added pressure of baby girl, is definitely making it harder.
I started taking a magnesium supplement around 33 weeks, called Natural Calm. I initially got it for my restless leg and charlie horses, which can be caused by magnesium deficiency, but it’s definitely helped with the constipation too.
Swollen feet:
Haven’t really experienced it. If I do get swollen feet, it’s because I’ve been on my feet for several hours. I also eat a low sodium diet, just naturally, and a high potassium diet from all the fruits and vegetables, which helps prevent swelling.
Restless leg syndrome:
Ugh it’s the worst! I usually get it right before bed when I’m getting sleepy and trying to fall asleep. Even with the Natural Calm magnesium supplement, I still have it occasionally. I’m not sure how to get rid of it, but it makes cuddling on the couch with my husband irritating, and falling asleep harder. I do take Epsom salt baths here and there and sometimes that helps.
Sleep:
A lot of moms complain about sleep in the third trimester. I was having some insomnia and waking up quite frequently, but I was able to find something that worked for me to sleep better and I’m so happy I did!
During the second and third trimester, your senses, specifically smell and hearing, gets heightened, as your body prepares to care for a baby. Hearing your baby is a major priority for your body. So many pregnant women, myself included, wake up at the smallest sounds. I would wake up when my husband would roll over, when the dog scratched herself, a noise outside or whatever. I thought I was waking up because I had to go pee, and sometimes it was, but I was being woken up by sounds, which made me then realize I had to pee. After implementing some changes, I didn’t even wake up to go pee (some nights I do, but not like before).
So what is my sleep secret?
- EAR PLUGS! Ugh yes! Best thing ever! Obviously I won’t be able to sleep with ear plugs when I have the baby, but I’ll definitely use them now
- limiting screen time before bed (the blue light of our phones causes us to stay up longer)
- Diffusing lavender essential oil or putting it topically on my temples and behind my ears
- Limit fluid intake 1-2 hours before bed and go pee before bed
and that’s about it. I sleep with a pillow in between my legs to keep my pelvis squared. I do wake up temporarily to change positions, but I no longer have insomnia or get out of bed to pee as frequently.
My take away:
My take away from pregnancy, is to take care of yourself, because your baby is utterly dependent on you, but also be gracious to yourself. You’re the primary source of nutrition for your baby. What you do in pregnancy, does affect your health and baby’s. But nature is very forgiving, thankfully. It’s still important to look after your health by eating well, exercising, and practicing self care. Yes, there’s a lot you have to give up (alcohol, unpasteurized cheeses, raw meats/fish, hot tubs, rollercoasters etc), but this time is temporary.
I have really loved pregnancy. I’m sad it’s over, but I’m excited to meet my baby girl and start this next chapter. My husband and I plan on having more kids, so I’m excited to be pregnant again =P
Stay tuned for life postpartum =)
