3rd Trimester Update
I am officially 35 weeks pregnant (8.5 months) and kind of panicking! 5 more weeks (unless she comes sooner) until I get to meet my baby girl!! HOW?!! Time is actually flying, which is the opposite of what you hear about pregnancy. Everyone always says it crawls by but I’m feeling like the complete opposite. Days seem to pass by SO quickly that I’m wondering if it’s just the curse of getting older or if my pace of life has me feeling like time is flying. I always think about the fact that pregnancy would truly drag on and have me feeling really sluggish if I didn’t keep moving. The truth is, on days I don’t have things planned, whether that’s my workout, errands, events, etc., I find myself restlessly pacing the house. I don’t want to sit down and chill. At this point I actually need to, but I just don’t want to. It makes me feel super low energy to do so. I’ll get into more detail on that shortly. Here is my third (& last) trimester update.
At this point I’ve battled the roller coaster that is my energy. Some days it’s high and some days it’s super low. There’s nothing (to my knowledge) that is affecting it, it just all depends on how I feel when I wake up. I’m still getting about 8-9 hours of sleep, but the interrupted bathroom break at 3AM definitely throws off my schedule. I have a hard time falling back asleep and often find myself thinking about things for a couple hours before falling asleep. Kind of my worst nightmare, if we are being honest, because once I fall asleep it seems like 2 minutes later I’m being woken up to eat breakfast. Not into it. On days I work out I’m prepared for a low-key rest of the day. It depletes my energy like nothing else, but feels SO good. I plan to work out until the day I give birth for those wondering.
Pregnancy symptoms like heartburn and swollen feet have also plagued me. I’ve never experienced heartburn / acid reflex before so I wasn’t quite sure what I was feeling, but once I was woken up to the feeling of needing to puke I finally looked into it and realized it’s a normal pregnancy symptom. I’m doing everything in my power to control the heartburn by avoiding acidic foods, not eating too close to when I go to sleep, and not drinking water while I eat. I also sleep with my head / back slightly elevated so the acid can’t creep up my esophagus. On occasion when the burning is just unbearable I’ll eat some Tums. My doctor recommended a few mild medications I could take to alleviate the discomfort but so far I feel like I can control it with my diet so I’m holding off.
Now let’s talk about my LEAST favorite pregnancy symptom. SWOLLEN FEET. At this point I don’t know if I’m more excited to give birth for this swelling to go down or to meet my kid! I’m kidding (kind of). But seriously, the swelling is gnarly. Most of my shoes don’t fit, which is something that truly scares me because if my feet grow a size I will flip my shit. I finally have a good collection of investment shoes that I spent a lot of $$ on so….basically these pig feet need to return to their normal 7.5 size or else….I’ve also taken off my wedding rings, which makes me sad. I feel so naked without them but my fingers are pretty swollen as well so I just can’t have them squeezing me. I was assured by my doctor that the swelling is due to this extreme heat and from me being on my feet a lot. At this point he would like me to take it down a notch and relax but like I said above, I feel so much better staying active. I’m allowing myself some lazy afternoons if I truly have nothing left to do in the day.
In order to relieve some of the pressure from my feet I lay on my back with my legs up the wall (a yoga position suggested to me by a follower) for about 15-30 minutes. I could lay there all day to be honest but it’s not really the best position to be in for longer than 30 minutes for a pregnant lady. I can physically feel the fluids draining from my feet as I do this and it temporarily de-puffs my feet. I have yet to try an ice bath, but sometimes I use my ice roller on my feet for the tops. It helps / feels nice but doesn’t really do the trick like my legs-up-the-wall position.
My diet is still the same. I have noticed that my appetite can get a little ravenous, especially on busy days, and I I find myself finishing all of my food, which is honestly not something I’m used to. Paul usually gets my leftovers and recently there hasn’t been any left. The baby is supposed to do some serious growing over the next 5 weeks so it makes sense why my appetite has increased. However, what I’m eating hasn’t changed. Still doing eggs in the morning (with half a bagel or avocado toast), smoothie in the mid-morning, salad with chicken for lunch, fruit and nuts as a snack, and some sort of protein (chicken, fish, or beans) with veggies and a grain for dinner. If I have a sweet tooth I’ll eat a yogurt or some dark chocolate. I’m not depriving myself if I want a treat–I still believe everything in moderation is fine–but I’m also not one to eat Cheetos or something along those lines so I don’t feel guilty whatsoever.
I still have 5 weeks to go, but so far I’ve gained about 20 pounds. According to my doctor, everything is progressing perfectly normal and my weight gain is excellent. He has said that while I’m on the smaller side of the spectrum, I’m still within the normal range. He estimates baby girl will deliver at 6.5 pounds. I definitely feel like things are getting tight in my belly. Every movement is visible and sometimes a little painful because she’s pretty cramped. She loves to hang out in my side and kick the shit out of my ribs, which is the strangest feeling in the world. I love being reminded that she’s in there but sometimes the feeling shocks me and I gasp out loud.
Getting dressed is just getting trickier as I grow because my belly needs more space. A lot of my dresses that have lasted me until this point are starting to get a little too tight around the belly. I’m still not wearing any maternity clothing and loose is just SO unflattering so I’m making do. In fact, the most comfortable thing for me to wear is a bikini. I’m spending a lot of my down time at the pool and beach getting some vitamin D and letting my belly be free.
I was told this last stretch is going to be rough–I’m going to start getting really uncomfortable and just overall “done.” To be honest, I’ve had those moments throughout my entire pregnancy. Whether it was a mental, emotional, or physical thing that triggered me to feel that way, I know the feeling. I’m just embracing all the good days and moments and hoping there are more of those than the bad. Pregnancy is not easy, even though I’d say I’ve had a fairly easy pregnancy compared to a lot of the horror stories I’ve heard. Having a strong support system around me is truly the only way I could have done this. I feel for any woman who has to go through this alone…it’s such an adjustment with so many crazy things happening to you that I really cannot even imagine doing this alone.
I cannot believe this is my last trimester update! I’m hoping to get a couple more pregnancy posts up before baby girl arrives, but if there is anything specific you want me to share let me know down below in the comments.
